Dishoom Edinburgh

You'll smell the black daal before you even step inside this gorgeous recreation of a 1960s Bombay café on St Andrew Square. The queues snake around the corner most evenings – and rightly so. This isn't your standard curry house but something far more interesting: proper Indian comfort food served in a setting that feels like stepping into old Bombay, complete with ceiling fans and vintage Bollywood posters. The breakfast naan rolls are genuinely life-changing, whilst their house black daal has achieved near-legendary status among Edinburgh's food obsessives. Yes, you'll wait for a table, but grab a chai and people-watch from George Street – it's all part of the experience.