The Best Pre-Theatre Menus In Edinburgh

Published . By DESIGNMYNIGHT.

This arty city has a wealth of options when it comes to catching a show. Edinburgh Playhouse hosts some of the largest productions in the UK; the Festival Theatre hosts ballet, opera, musicals and plays; the Royal Lyceum is a renowned producing theatre staging classic and contemporary plays; the Usher Hall is a biggie for music; the Traverse is the place for new writing; while the King’s Theatre is an historic venue putting on the capital’s pre-eminent pantomime. Plus there are lots of smaller spaces for innovative new pieces. Whichever you frequent, you’re never far from a fantastic pre-theatre menu in Edinburgh to keep hunger at bay till after the second act.

Best Edinburgh Pre-Theatre Restaurants

Dine

  • Scottish, Vegetarian Friendly
  • 10 (1F) Cambridge Street, (above the Traverse Theatre), Edinburgh, United Kingdom, EH1 2ED

Just steps away from the Usher Hall and Lyceum, and inside the same building as the Traverse, Dine couldn’t be a better setting for those who enjoy a night of culture. The pre-theatre / early dining offer is available from Monday to Saturday with sittings from 5pm to 6.30pm, priced at £23.50 for two courses and £30.50 for three courses. This changes seasonally, but you can expect dishes like torched goat’s cheese, fried seabass and strawberry fool. Dine has a wonderful champagne and cocktail list, so where you save from dining off-peak, you can splurge on your drinks. The award-winning brasserie features a polished wood interior with a circular atrium and an indoor apple tree, making it a top spot for pre-theatre dining in Edinburgh.

Cannonball

  • Scottish
  • 356 Castle Hill, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, EH1 2NE

The Royal Mile-based restaurant, part of the popular Contini Group, has a pre-theatre offering for £25 per person, which can also be taken as a two-course set lunch.  Tuck into dishes made using native produce, such as Findlays of Portobello haggis cannonballs with pickled turnip, and Glengoyne and Peterhead haddock goujon with hand-cut chips. The restaurant is set in a three-storey townhouse that dates from the 17th century (but there is lift access to every level). Request a table by a window for views of Edinburgh Castle, the Camera Obscura and down the historic High Street.

Mamma Roma

  • Italian, Family Friendly
  • 4-7 Antigua St, Edinburgh EH1 3NH, UK
If you like big-name musicals for all the family, the Playhouse Theatre is your go-to for a glitzy night out, and there’s a large range of places you can get a meal beforehand. Those bringing kids to the show will need somewhere with a menu catering to little ones’ tastes — cue Mamma Roma. Just across the road from the theatre, it has a dedicated children’s menu and a pre-theatre menu, which is available before every performance at the venue. Four courses (including coffee) are priced at £27.95 per head. From this, you can order dishes including mussels cooked in a creamy Amaretto Disaronno sauce; oven-baked lasagna made with 100% steak mince; and Mamma’s choice of daily homemade desserts. The restaurant is family-owned, having been founded in 1996 by Mennato Mastrocinque and his father Giovanni, and is perfect for a pre-theatre dinner in Edinburgh.

Cafe Andaluz

  • Spanish, Tapas
  • 10-11 George IV Bridge, Old Town, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, EH1 1EE
There are two locations for this Spanish restaurant in the capital, but if you’re heading to the Festival Theatre we recommend you book for the George IV venue. Rather than weighing you down with the traditional starter, mains and pud of pre-theatre set menus, this one offers a range of small plates. Get any three tapas from the menu from £19.95 per person and add a dessert on top for an extra £6 per person (prices will enlarge a little if you order a certain premium dishes). This deal can be nabbed from Monday to Thursday between 11.30am and 6.30pm, so works well for a matinee or a midweek evening show. If you’re arranging a work or family trip to the theatre and there are more than 11 of you, you can also book a private dining room which has great views of the castle. 

Tattu

  • Contemporary Chinese
  • The Mint Building at The Registers, West Register Street, EH2 2AA

Known across the city for its jaw-dropping, blossom-filled interiors, Tattu is a name that's never far from anyone's lips for girly time and date night. If you're looking for pre-theatre menus for your meal out, then this restaurant also delivers, offering just that Monday to Friday between 12pm and 5pm - covering you before matinee and evening performances. You'll get two courses for £29.90 or three for £34.90 here. There's wok-fried 'angry bird' chicken, kung po tofu or balsamic teriyaki salmon for the main event, although it's the pan-seared pork dumplings or wild mushroom and black truffle spring rolls that will get you racing out the blocks for starters. To finish? Their famous Asian pear sticky toffee pudding.

Interiors of Tattu with cascading purple blossoms on the ceiling.

Recommended by