The Bonham

The Bonham is one of a small group of excellent Edinburgh hotels, employs a boutique style in converted Victorian townhouse premises, & is only a few minutes’ walk from the west end of Princes Street. Its dining room is spacious & airy with a high ceiling, contemporary colours & artworks while French head chef Michel Bouyer offers a nicely crafted version of modern Franco-Scots cuisine. He’s not averse to knocking out a beautifully simple special (steamed sea bass & root vegetables in an individual casserole, say) but a typical three courses might involve the more elaborate likes of seared hand-dived scallops with cauliflower puree to start followed by a vegetarian main option of baked stuffed artichoke with goats' cheese crumble, greens & red pesto, & freshly prepared tarte tatin with vanilla ice cream for dessert. The cooking is well matched to an interesting wine list running to around 50 bins, there’s a good value weekday lunch set (£13.50/£16 for two/three courses) & a weekend lunch deal that’s incredible value for money: the Boozy Snoozy gives a table of four diners three courses each, plus two bottles of wine, for £65.