Stuart Ralston opened Vinette on Broughton Street in October 2025, weeks after closing Aizle, his debut restaurant of eleven years. This one is wine-led and French-leaning: small plates, a pig's head croquette among the £6 snacks, and a cellar run by head sommelier Stuart Skea built almost entirely on Old World growers. It sits at 36 Broughton Street in the New Town, on the old Fhior site, with the speakeasy Vivien downstairs. Weekend set lunch is £32 for two courses, £36 for three, wine included.
The Kitchen
Stuart Ralston built his reputation at Aizle, the blind tasting-menu restaurant he ran for eleven years until its last service on 21 September 2025, and at the Michelin-starred Lyla, named Best Restaurant in Scotland at the 2025 National Restaurant Awards. Vinette, opened with co-owner Jade Johnston in October 2025, is his loosest room: a Parisian-leaning bistro of sharing plates rather than a fixed menu. The snacks are all £6, among them a pig's head croquette, potato chips with cream cheese and smoked trout roe, and rarebit with marmalade, and the a la carte runs through lunch and dinner. Head sommelier Stuart Skea oversees a by-the-glass list that turns over constantly, weighted to small Old World growers. Weekend set lunch is £32 for two courses or £36 for three with wine. The address, 36 Broughton Street, was Scott Smith's Fhior until 2025; downstairs is Vivien, the team's cocktail bar. The cooking is confident and unfussy, the opposite of Aizle's ceremony.
The Room
Vinette is a small, warm New Town bistro: bentwood chairs, marble-topped tables, a zinc-toned bar and a wall of bottles that doubles as the wine list. The sound level is a lively hum rather than a hush, the lighting is low and candlelit after dark, and tables sit close together in the Parisian way. Around forty covers across the ground floor. There is no dress code; smart-casual is the norm. Vivien, the cocktail bar downstairs, takes the same walk-in-friendly approach for a drink before or after dinner.
Best for a First Date
Book Vinette for a first date because the room is small enough to lean in, the sharing plates give you something to do with your hands when conversation stalls, and the by-the-glass list lets you order a single glass without committing to a bottle or a three-hour tasting menu. Stuart Skea will steer you to something interesting for £9 or £12 a glass. Start with the £6 snacks, share a few plates, and drop to Vivien downstairs for a nightcap if it is going well. As an example: a Thursday at eight, two seats at the bar, three plates and a glass each.
Not for anyone after a tasting menu or a hushed, formal room — Vinette is a loud, close-packed bistro of sharing plates, not the Aizle format Ralston retired.