An independent restaurant in Edinburgh's New Town, offering New York-inspired Asian cuisine with a focus on sharing plates, bespoke cocktails, and small domaine wines.
Stuart Ralston is an acclaimed, award-winning chef and successful restaurateur based in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is the founder of a group of notable restaurants including Lyla, Aizle, Noto, Tipo, and Vinette.
Noto Edinburgh is an independent restaurant offering a New York-inspired dining experience with a strong focus on Asian cuisine. It's known for its sharing plates, bespoke cocktails, and a curated selection of small domaine wines. Located on Thistle Street in Edinburgh's New Town, it is part of Chef Stuart Ralston's Aizle Hospitality Group and is recognized for providing good quality and value.
Customers consistently praise Noto Edinburgh for its creative, delicious, and beautifully presented Asian-inspired dishes, often highlighting the exceptional value of the £30 lunch deal. The staff are generally described as friendly, attentive, and accommodating, especially with dietary preferences. While the ambiance is appreciated for its simple, elegant, and minimalist decor, some reviews mention occasional slow service during busy periods. The crab and focaccia dish, featuring North Sea Crab, is frequently lauded, though a few found it slightly overrated.
Additional Details
Noto Edinburgh is one of several establishments under Chef Stuart Ralston's Aizle Hospitality Group, which also includes the Michelin-starred Lyla and Italian restaurant Tipo. The restaurant emphasizes a sharing plate concept and offers a selection of small domaine wines alongside its bespoke cocktails.
Reservations are highly recommended, especially for weekday evenings, as the restaurant can get busy. If you are on a tight schedule, it's advisable to allow extra time when dining during peak hours due to potentially slower service.
Awards & Recognition
MICHELIN Guide Bib Gourmand • 2026
5
This Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant is tucked away on cozy Thistle Street in Edinburgh’s New Town, divided into dining room and bar, both with a homey feel.
Hands down my absolute favourite restaurant in Edinburgh. The food is creative, delicious, and beautifully presented, most of them contained Asian elements and so pleasing to look at. Dishes are simple, elegant décor and thoughtful tableware. The legendary North Sea Crab lives up to its hype, along with standout dishes like fried pork belly, steamed egg, and chocolate mousse.
The £30 lunch deal is exceptional value. The kitchen happily accommodates dietary preferences, adjusting dishes thoughtfully. Every course was genuinely tasty and enjoyable.
Service is good, staff taking time to explain each dish in detail, however, without hearty feel. With a glass of opening champagne, it comes to about £50 per head.
Still, it is one of the top meals of Edinburgh but not as bright as before.
Noto focuses on Asian-inspired small plates and cocktails. Every dish was a sublime mélange of Asian and Western flavours, crafted with care and intention. If you can only order one thing, definitely order the crab and focaccia: soft and pillowy focaccia soak up a creamy and buttery crab sauce resulting in a glorious symphony of textures and umami flavours.
For drinks, I had the sticky rice negroni and the flavours were perfectly balanced. I tasted notes of pandan, black sticky rice, and coconut; very reminiscent of the Indonesian dessert pulut hitam. It also paired really well with the food.
Service was excellent. The staff were very accommodating and patient with our group of 4 adults and 4 children. They were genuinely warm and friendly with the kids, and made all of us feel welcome. Thank you for the lovely experience.
Lunch at Noto delivers exactly what you hope for at this price point. The £30 lunch menu is excellent value, offering thoughtful, well-executed dishes that feel a step above the usual set lunch fare. It is difficult to find much better value in this bracket without compromising on quality or creativity.
The savoury courses were consistently good, balanced and confidently put together, but it was the desserts that really stood out.
The only drawback was the pace of service. A busy lunch sitting meant things moved more slowly than ideal, which took a little shine off the experience. It is understandable given the popularity, but worth noting if you are on a tight schedule.
Overall, this is a strong option for a high-quality yet affordable lunch. With standout desserts and genuine value for money, it is well worth a visit, just allow a bit of extra time if dining at peak hours.
food: such a good experience and food. asian with a high dining spin but everything stayed authentic to its roots. definitely my favorite meal of the trip and a top meal of my life. highly recommend. my favorite was probably the fried pork belly, steam egg, and the chocolate mousse. the crab butter they are known for is good but maybe a little overrated
service: very nice staff that was inviting
ambiance: i love the vibe and decorations of this place. very simple and minimalist in a good way. also love the plates and bowls. looking back at the food now everything is just so pleasing to look at.
Interesting Asian fusion menu which were all decently plated. Service was very friendly and attentive. Reasonable portion for the two of us.
Suggest making a reservation as it gets busy even on a weekday evening.
It is quite pricey if you are looking for Asian flavor but it is reasonable if you are interested in fusion food. The menu serves common Asian and mainly Japanese food but we were expecting more given the Michelin Bib Gourmand status.
Overall, it was a nice dining experience still.
