Top 10 budget restaurants, pubs and cafes in Edinburgh How much? That tends to be the reaction when looking at pub and restaurant menus in Edinburgh. But there are hidden gems where you can eat well on a budget. Updating his last report on the Scottish capital, Tony Naylor chooses a fresh 10 • Know a great place to eat on a budget in the city? Add your suggestion in the comments below • Find dozens of expert tips on eating, drinking, the arts, nightlife and more in our Edinburgh city guide

Sunrise over Edinburgh – time for breakfast. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod

Tony Naylor

Wednesday 25 September 2013 06.00 BST

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Thomson's Bar

A premises to warm the heart of any pub purist, Thomson's has no music,

several real ales and serves, at lunchtime only, a tight, affordable menu of three

pies, a daily hot dish and a few panini. I had assumed that the website's advice to

get there dead on midday, to be certain of getting a pie and a seat, was hype. But,

no. I arrive at 12.20pm and the place is already packed with office workers

tucking into enormous steak pies with lush, well-worked mash and serviceable

mushy peas (£5). Perching my plate on a ledge, I tuck in with gusto, the only

caveat being that the bottoms of these entirely puff pastry pies can get a shade

gloopy under the weight of all that steak and gravy. A half of Cromarty Brewing's

rigorously bitter Rogue Wave (£1.90), seals a very satisfactory lunch.

Pie lovers who can't stretch to a fiver could try Piemaker (38 South Bridge, 0131

558 1728, thepiemaker.co.uk), a pasty and pie shop which it is almost impossible

to talk about without using the phrase a posh Greggs. On a rundown stretch of

South Bridge, it sells a wide range of relatively exotic and cheap savouries

(lamb's liver and bacon for £1, say), which deliver more flavour than you might

expect. For instance, a slosh of stout gives its steak and ale (£2.49) decent depth,

and the advertised oregano shines through.

• Meals £2.50-£5. 182-184 Morrison Street, 0131-228

5700,thomsonsbaredinburgh.co.uk

Yummytori

"Yummytori is like a Miley Cyrus party for my mouth," raves one punter (on a

mirror given over to such hagiographic graffiti). I wouldn't go that far. Even if I

knew what it meant. What I do know, however – and hold me a space on the wall

for this zinger – is that Yummytori is pretty good, for the money. It specialises in

yakitori, grilled skewers, and ramen noodle bowls, with perhaps its best bargains

to be had in the afternoon, when you can grab a bento box of three skewers, rice,

salad and a side (£5 takeaway, eat-in £6.90) with miso soup and dessert. The

light soy and mirin sauce that covers the skewers was a shade sweet for me, but

that goes with the territory. Chicken meatballs spiked with lemongrass were the

pick of the trio: the stubby rice was authentically sticky, and the seaweed

scattered salad was interesting. A full belly and novel flavours, for a fiver? Miley,

Billy Ray, the whole Cyrus clan would surely approve of that.

• Double skewers/tapas from £3, ramen bowls from £6.90. 90-92 Lothian

Road, 0131-229 2206; yummytori.co.uk

Los Cardos

Los Cardos,

Edinburgh

Quiz Irvine Welsh on his guilty pleasures and you might expect a pretty lurid

response. But as he told Shortlist magazine, chief among them these days is the

haggis burrito at Los Cardos. He is not alone in his addiction. Many in

Edinburgh are equally in thrall to this takeaway's novel treatment of that trad

Scottish staple. As a non-native, however, I opted for the carnitas burrito, filled

with slow-cooked pulled pork, which, after hours marinating in a tomatillo-

based Mexican salsa verde, had taken on a distinctly fruity tang. These aren't the

cheapest burritos and Los Cardos should go easier on the sour cream if they

want everything – black beans, vivacious salsas – to shine, but they're a hefty,

filling meal and tasty, too. Even without the haggis.

• Burritos £5.15-£6.30. 281 Leith Walk, 0131 555 6619, loscardos.co.uk

Tanjore

Bad ones must exist, but I've yet to eat at a South Indian restaurant that,

compared with the heavy, interchangeable dishes of your average high street

curry house, is anything but a revelation. Tanjore, a rudimentary restaurant

space jollied up with tapestries and wooden screens, is another lesson in how

fresh and vibrant curry can be. Its lamb masala dosa is exceptional. The crepe-

like dosa has a lively lactic twang to it; the lamb, lentil and potato filling is

elegantly and sensitively spiced; and the accompanying chutneys are light and

clean and, particularly the mint and coconut, pack a deceptive, long-fuse heat.

Also, BYOB with no corkage.

Less sophisticated, but cheaper and, arguably, a lot more fun, Bollywood Coffee

Box (curry'n'rice, £3.50-£4.50, 99a Bruntsfield Place, 07910

453121,bollywoodcoffeebox.wordpress.com), is another favourite with curry lovers,

housed in a former police box. Artist-cook Nutan Bala has repurposed this tiny

hut as a takeaway/arts space: it's decorated with poems, drawings, temporary art

and more. Somehow, from within this Tardis, while chatting away 19 to the

dozen over blaring music – "If you come here, the rule is you have to dance!" –

Bala rustles up neat snacks, such as pakoras and samosas, as well as wholesome

curries and dals.

• Lunch thali £8, main dishes (with shared rice) from £6.95-£11.20. 6-8 Clerk

Street, 0131-478 6518, tanjore.co.uk

Union of Genius

Done right and prepared with love, plain old soup can be a wonderful thing.

That's the thinking at Union of Genius, a colourful little takeaway cafe with just a

handful of seats. It is all reassuringly right-on. The emphasis is on local

ingredients and suppliers (including matched artisan breads from Dough Re Mi),

and the kitchen cooks a selection from more than 80 tried and trusted recipes

from scratch, daily. The soups get pretty out there: Ghanaian chicken and peanut

curry; Moroccan harira; coronation chicken; even swede, cardamom and black

tea. But, first, try UoG's caldo verde (from £3.80), a soup of such vivid paprika

and chorizo-based warmth that, even on the filthiest of winter afternoons (and

aren't they all, in Edinburgh?), it'll lift your flagging spirits.

Union of Genius supplies a number of local outlets with soups and salads,

including nearby third-wave coffee shop, Brew Lab (6-8 South College

Street,brewlabcoffee.co.uk). The space itself may look half-finished, but don't

worry: all that fashionable exposed, distressed concrete is no reflection on its

ability to serve an (impeccable) flat white, £2.50.

• Soups, savouries and salads £2.50-£7. 8 Forrest Road, 0131-226

4436,unionofgenius.com

Manna House Bakery & Cafe

Photograph: Marcin

Mazurkiewicz

A short, appetite-sharpening walk up Abbey Mount from the Scottish

parliament, this bakery-cafe more than justifies the detour. It's a small, homely

space (with a few worn painted tables and chairs, and a small gallery of original

art), but delivers big, polished flavours at keen prices. The centrepiece is, of

course, a glittering counter of cakes, tray bakes – don't miss the cinnamon and

apple crumble slices, £1.80 – and finely wrought patisserie. However, the sweet

stuff is but one strand of Manna's work. Daily, it also produces grand bacon and

cheese croissants, soups, salads and posh sandwiches (porchetta, smoked

mackerel, mozzarella in spelt and honey), all, naturally, served on Manna's own

rustic breads. A slice of bacon and spinach quiche (£2.80) was, if not literally

manna from heaven, pretty miraculous: solid in the hand, light in the mouth, its

filling properly seasoned and fully loaded with those primary ingredients.

If you're shopping here for a picnic in Royal Terrace or Regent Gardens, make

sure you stop in at Cornelius next door (18-20 Easter Road, 0131-652

2405,corneliusbeers.com). It carries a remarkable range of craft beers from near

(Fyne Ales, Tempest) and far (Mikkeller, Nøgne Ø), from £1.80 a bottle.

• Eat-in breakfast 60p-£4.25, lunch £2.50-£5. 22-24 Easter Road, 0131-652

2349,themannahousebakery.co.uk

Edinburgh Larder

Is there so much condensation in the windows that you can't see the menu?

Don't worry. That's a good sign. This simple cafe is all steamed up because it's

busy with punters who value its foodist rigour (lots of scratch-cooking, keen

emphasis on ace Scottish produce). From dense, chewy Scots morning rolls,

filled with good things at breakfast, through a lunch menu of cheese, smoked fish

and deli platters, upmarket sandwiches and salads, the Larder delivers – and

just a stone's throw from the Royal Mile, too. Even if you don't want to sit in, you

could pick up a cake while you're passing. The walnut chocolate brownie is

terrific.

• Breakfast £2.75-£9.50, light meals £5-£8.50. 15 Blackfriars Street, 0131 556

6922; edinburghlarder.co.uk

Broughton Deli

There are sexier (and more expensive) deli-cafes, but Broughton demonstrates

its quality where it matters – on the plate – while offering more variety than

most. The menu travels far and wide, from breakfasts of Mexican eggs, US

pancakes and a fry-up that includes venison lorne – an unusual take on the

Scottish square sausage – through to north African flatbread meals and a ramen

soup. Its selection of jazzy, creative salads was excellent, particularly an East

Asian-style medley of raw cabbage, radish and broccoli. The warm, spicy flavours

in a squash and chickpea tagine, mined with explosive shards of preserved

lemon, could have been a little more clearly delineated, but that was a minor

quibble. This hot takeaway dish of the day punched its weight and, for £5.50,

was a big old portion.

• Eat-in breakfasts £3.95-£8.50, mains £6.80-£9.50, takeaway sandwiches

and meals £3.50-£7. 7 Barony Street, 0131 558 7111, broughton-deli.co.uk

Holyrood 9A

Craft beer and burgers: what's not to like? Although I wasn't quite as taken with

Holyrood as some locals are. I like a burger that's a beef bomb, the dominant

flavour in my bun, whereas my Holyrood patty was more in the style of one of

those lightly flavoured minced steak burgers, which have a tendency to be

somewhat overwhelmed by the sauces and cheese. My cheese burger (excellent

sourdough bun and spot-on fries, incidentally), topped with Swiss, fried onions

and mustard mayo, tasted sweet rather than profoundly savoury. It's a matter of

taste and I'd happily eat it again. It just didn't rock my world to its core. Unlike

Holyrood's 25 keg and cask beer pumps, which are a glorious sight. A half

of Joker IPA (£2), from ace Scottish brewer Williams Bros was magnificent:

sharply bitter, almost sourly tropical.

Talking of burgers, across town Wannaburger (burgers from £2.99. 7-8

Queensferry Street, 0131 220 0036, wannaburger.com) is a plucky independent

trying to take on the fast food giants. You pay McDonald's prices and you get

something that tastes, well, a lot like Maccy D's. But if that's your bag, better you

eat here than under the golden arches. And you can wash it down with a

Brooklyn lager (bottle, £3.89).

• Burger and fries from £7.95. 9A Holyrood Road, 0131-556

5044,theholyrood.co.uk

Nile Valley

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A couple of doors down from the Mosque Kitchen, a

legendaryEdinburgh moneysaver, this Sudanese cafe is almost as well-loved. At

lunch, students flock for its toasted wraps: huge batons served on lightly

toastedkhobz bread, featuring north African favourites such as (ethereally light,

crisply encased) falafel with hummus and spicy peanuts; baba ganoush; fulbeans

with onions and tomato; and, erm, a rather more prosaic tuna and sweetcorn. A

few African maps and mementos, a highlife soundtrack and cheery service bring

a bit of sparkle to an otherwise basic joint. It's the food, however, that is the real

bright spot. A wider à la carte menu of intriguing dishes is available into the

evening but here mains hover around the £10 mark.

• Wraps £3-£4.50. 6 Chapel Street, 0131-667 8200

Travel between Manchester and Edinburgh was provided by First

TransPennine Express (tpexpress.co.uk)