RFK Rankings · Edinburgh
Best Restaurants Open Late in Edinburgh 2026
Open Late · Edinburgh · 6 tables ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published April 26, 2024 · Updated June 15, 2026
Bar Napoli's wood-fired margherita lands at three in the morning on Hanover Street, and it is close to the only serious plate in Edinburgh that does. This is an early city: the celebrated kitchens, Hawksmoor included, stop by ten, and most of what stays open late is chip shops and kebab windows. The genuine sit-down late map is short and skews to the weekend, a Neapolitan trattoria, a Bombay cafe, a forty-year halal institution and a few Italian and Mexican rooms that run to midnight on Friday and Saturday. These six keep a real kitchen, not a fryer, going past eleven, and they are ranked by how late they cook, how good it is, and what you pay.
1.Bar Napoli
Edinburgh's latest real kitchen plates Neapolitan pizza to 3am at 12 pounds; for the latest genuine kitchen in town, book it.
Bar Napoli on Hanover Street in the New Town has run since 1993 and keeps the latest genuine kitchen in the city, plating Neapolitan pizza and pasta to 2am midweek and 3am on Friday and Saturday. The wood-fired margherita with buffalo mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes is the order, with pizzas at £12 to £16. It is a real sit-down trattoria with an open kitchen, not a takeaway, which makes it the genuine late option in a city that mostly shuts at eleven. For a proper late dinner after a show, book it.
Book weekends; kitchen to 3am Fri and Sat.
2.Dishoom Edinburgh
Bombay comfort food and black daal run to midnight on weekends at St Andrew Square; for a late curry, reserve ahead.
Dishoom on St Andrew Square, the Bombay-Irani room from the Thakrar brothers that opened in 2016, serves its full menu to around midnight Thursday to Saturday and 11pm earlier in the week. The 24-hour black daal and the Salli Boti are the orders, with mains at £9 to £15, fair value for the room and the cooking. It is a cafe rather than a drinks-led bar, so the kitchen genuinely runs late rather than the bar alone. For a late curry at the weekend, reserve ahead.
Reserve; full menu to ~midnight Thu to Sat.
3.Kebab Mahal
This Nicolson Square halal institution serves curries to 1am for under 11 pounds; for cheap late food since 1979, pile in.
Kebab Mahal on Nicolson Square in the Southside has fed Edinburgh since 1979, a halal Punjabi cafe with table service and a kitchen open to 11:50pm midweek and 1am on Friday and Saturday. The kebab platters and curries with fresh naan are the orders, with mains under £11, which is genuine late-night value. It is an institution rather than a kebab window, sit-down and consistent, busy with students and post-pub crowds. For cheap late food with a forty-year record, pile in.
Walk in; kitchen to 1am Fri and Sat.
4.La Favorita
Sourdough pizza runs to midnight on Leith Walk weekends at 14 pounds; for a late slice worth the trip, walk in.
La Favorita on Leith Walk, part of the Crolla family's Vittoria group serving the city since 1970, runs its pizza kitchen to midnight on Friday and Saturday. The wood-fired sourdough pizza is the order, blistered and serious, with pizzas at £12 to £17. Midweek it closes at eleven, so this is a weekend late table, and a good one when central Edinburgh has shut. For a late slice worth the walk down Leith Walk, walk in.
Weekends; pizza kitchen to midnight.
5.Giuliano's
Family Italian pasta lands until 11:30pm on weekends near the Playhouse at 12 pounds; for late carbonara, drop by.
Giuliano's at the top of Leith Walk, opposite the Playhouse, is a family Italian running since 1990 with a kitchen open to 11:30pm on Friday and Saturday. The carbonara and the pizzas are the orders, with plates at £11 to £15, and the post-theatre crowd keeps it busy late. Midweek it closes at eleven, so plan it for a weekend, ideally after a show next door. For late carbonara by the Playhouse, drop by.
Weekends; kitchen to 11:30pm.
6.El Cartel
Fresh tacos run to 11:45pm on weekends in Thistle Street at 6 pounds; for a late Mexican bite, try it once.
El Cartel on Thistle Street in the New Town, the Mexican street-food room that opened in 2015, runs its kitchen to 11:45pm on Friday and Saturday only. The hand-pressed al pastor and baja fish tacos are the orders, at £5 to £6.50 each or around £20 to £25 a head. It is the most interesting late food in the city, though strictly a weekend option, as it closes at ten earlier in the week. For a late Mexican plate on a Friday, try it once.
Friday and Saturday only; to 11:45pm.
Not for a late dinner
Right city, wrong hour
Hawksmoor Edinburgh. Hawksmoor on West Register Street is the city's best steakhouse and its bar stays open to midnight on Friday and Saturday, but its kitchen closes at 9:30pm midweek and 10pm at the weekend. The room staying open is not the kitchen cooking, the classic late-night trap. Book it for an early dinner and do not count on it after ten.
The City. The City fish-and-chip cafe on Nicolson Street appears on every old late-night Edinburgh list as a 1am institution, but its hours have contracted and it now closes at 10pm seven days. It is a cautionary case for trusting stale guides, and no longer a late table at all. Check current hours before you walk anywhere late in this city.
Booking a late table in Edinburgh
The rule in Edinburgh is to check the kitchen, not the venue, because the city's best rooms close their stoves by ten even when the bar runs to midnight. For a genuine late dinner any night, Bar Napoli on Hanover Street and Kebab Mahal in the Southside are the reliable bets, both cooking past eleven seven days, with Dishoom running to around midnight Thursday to Saturday. Book Bar Napoli and Dishoom at the weekend, when the post-show crowd fills them.
The Italian and Mexican rooms here, La Favorita, Giuliano's and El Cartel, are weekend-only late tables, so save them for Friday and Saturday and confirm the kitchen's last order when you book. Be wary of stale late-night lists for this city, as several famous names have pulled their hours back, the old 1am chip cafes now closing at ten. When in doubt, ring ahead, because in Edinburgh the posted closing time and the last food order are rarely the same.
Frequently asked
Which Edinburgh restaurant has the latest kitchen?
Bar Napoli on Hanover Street keeps the latest genuine sit-down kitchen in the city, plating Neapolitan pizza and pasta to 2am midweek and 3am on Friday and Saturday. Kebab Mahal in the Southside runs to 1am on weekends, and Dishoom serves to around midnight Thursday to Saturday. For a real plate in the small hours, Bar Napoli is the one.
Do Edinburgh kitchens close early?
Yes. Edinburgh is an early-dining city, and its best rooms, Hawksmoor included, stop cooking by ten even when the bar runs later. Most of what stays open past eleven is chip shops and kebab windows. This list is built around the handful of genuine sit-down restaurants that keep a kitchen going past 23:00, several of them on weekends only.
Where can I eat late in Edinburgh on a budget?
Kebab Mahal in the Southside is the value pick, a halal Punjabi institution since 1979 with curries and kebabs under 11 pounds and a kitchen to 1am on weekends. El Cartel does tacos at 5 to 6.50 pounds, and Giuliano's and La Favorita run pizza and pasta from around 11 to 17 pounds. All beat the late-night takeaway windows on quality.
What is the best late dinner in Edinburgh?
Bar Napoli is the best full late dinner, a real Neapolitan trattoria cooking to 2 or 3am with pizzas at 12 to 16 pounds. For something more polished, Dishoom serves its Bombay menu to around midnight Thursday to Saturday at St Andrew Square. Both are genuine kitchens rather than bars trading on a late licence.
Can I walk in for a late table in Edinburgh?
Often, yes. Kebab Mahal, La Favorita and El Cartel take late walk-ins, and Bar Napoli usually has room midweek. Dishoom is booking-led at the weekend, so reserve ahead for a late table. Remember that several of these rooms only cook past eleven on Friday and Saturday, so check the night and confirm the kitchen's last order before you set out.
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