Dishoom Edinburgh

What it’s like

Bombay-style café in St Andrew Square doing breakfast through to late dinner, with chai for the queue if you miss a table.

This is a Bombay café through and through, open from 8am for breakfast (think Breakfast Naan Rolls or Akuri Pau) and then rolling straight into an all-day menu from noon that covers lunch, afternoon snacks, dinner and a late one if you fancy it. Vada Pau and khati rolls at lunch, samosas and Chicken Ruby for dinner. It's a proper sit-down restaurant rather than a grab-and-go, so budget a bit more time than a quick lunch stop.

Booking works up to 6pm, but after that they only take reservations for groups of six or more. That means if you're a family of four turning up at 7pm on a Friday, you're in the walk-in queue with everyone else, and they're honest that this can run 30 minutes to an hour. The upside is they bring round complimentary chai while you wait, which takes the edge off standing about with hungry kids.

Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal options all run through the menu, so fussy eaters and mixed diets aren't a problem. There's outdoor seating too when the weather allows, which is handy if you'd rather not sit a toddler still in a packed indoor café. It's a short walk from Waverley station and right by the tram stop, though there's no car park attached, so you're relying on the public car parks nearby if you're driving in.

The place is wheelchair accessible via a lift, with accessible seating and a disabled loo, but they ask you to phone ahead so they can sort the lift and access needs before you arrive. Worth doing that call a day or two out rather than on the morning, given how busy the café clearly gets.

Facilities

Need to know

Booking

Book anytime before 6pm. After 6pm, groups of 6+ only

Parking

No on-site parking. Public car parks nearby

Food

Full-service Indian restaurant

Wheelchairs

Accessible via lift with accessible seating and disabled loo

Dogs

Service dogs allowed indoors. All dogs welcome outdoors (weather permitting)

Getting there by bus or train

5-7 mins walk from Edinburgh Waverley station

• No booking after 6pm unless you're six or more, so plan around the walk-in queue.
• Outdoor seating opens up when the weather's decent, useful if you want more space with kids.
• It's a five to seven minute walk from Waverley station and right by the tram stop, so you can skip driving in altogether.
• Group bookings run 10 to 20 people Monday to Thursday, and 10 to 14 at weekends.

Plan your visit

See all Indian & South Asian in Edinburgh · Things to do in Edinburgh