The Dining Room (CLOSED)

Fans of a dram will find ample reason to be cheerful here. Set in Edinburgh’s New Town, a beautiful Georgian building hosts one of the city’s two private members’ bars for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Upstairs, you’ll find the Society – a more contemporary outfit than its roguishly charming Leith sibling. Downstairs sits The Dining Room, which serves as just that.

With space for just 30 or so diners, the stylishly furnished room fills up quickly during lunch and dinner. Chef James Freeman’s menu is exciting and his dishes beautifully presented, from tartare of mackerel and roast quail to beef cheek and wild sea trout. There’s plenty to choose from, with the indulgent, five-course tasting menu the obvious choice if money is no object.

If you opt for à la carte, the accompanying whisky flight package helps create a real sense of place and occasion. When available, the set menu is a snip at under £20. You don’t need to be a member at the Society to eat here, and you’d be mad not to take the opportunity to nip upstairs for a dram afterwards; a rite of passage that eating here affords you.