Edinburgh does not sit still. Even as the scaffolding finally comes down on North Bridge after the best part of a decade, new restaurants, hotels, exhibitions and experiences keep appearing across the city. This guide focuses on what has actually opened recently or is confirmed for 2026 — no wishful thinking, no rumour. If you have been away for a year or two, some of these will surprise you.
Royal Scottish Academy: 200 Years of Scottish Art
The RSA turns 200 in 2026, and it is marking the occasion with its most ambitious programme yet. Running throughout the year at its neoclassical galleries on the Mound, the bicentenary includes the 200th RSA Annual Exhibition (9 May to 14 June), Scotland’s largest and longest-running showcase of contemporary art. Before that, RSA New Contemporaries (28 March to 22 April) spotlights 64 recent graduates. Later in the year, Chaos & Control: Printmaking in Scotland Now (27 June to 26 July) brings together contemporary printmakers, while This 26 (12 September to 11 October) presents 26 artists from the RSA’s opportunity programme.
Entry to the RSA galleries on the Mound is free for most exhibitions. The building sits at the foot of the Mound, directly on Princes Street, and is impossible to miss.
Joan Eardley: The Nature of Painting
At Modern Two (part of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in the Dean Village area), a major Joan Eardley retrospective opens on 2 April and runs until 28 June 2026. Eardley is one of Scotland’s most beloved painters, known for her visceral depictions of Glasgow street children and the storms off Catterline on the Aberdeenshire coast. This exhibition places her work alongside pieces by Constable, Monet, Dubuffet and Scottish contemporaries like Bet Low, offering a fresh perspective on how she engaged with the artistic world around her. Admission is free.
Lyla Expands with Overnight Rooms
Stuart Ralston’s Michelin-starred Lyla, set in a Georgian townhouse on Royal Terrace, has added four bedrooms to the experience in early 2026. The rooms occupy the townhouse formerly home to 21212, and breakfast is served in-room with views across to the Firth of Forth — think Lyla pastries, home-cured bacon and charcuterie. Overnight stays with dinner for two start from around 650 pounds including breakfast; rooms without dining begin at 310 pounds. For anyone planning a special trip to Edinburgh, this is one of the most refined places to stay and eat under one roof.
The Cooper’s Rest: Leith’s Revived Gastropub
Due to open in spring 2026, The Cooper’s Rest at 295 Easter Road in Leith is a collaboration between The Palmerston (one of Edinburgh’s best neighbourhood restaurants) and Newbarns Brewery. The pub has been closed since 2015, once a favourite of Hibs supporters heading to Easter Road stadium. The new incarnation promises to be a proper pub — one where you can sit at the bar all afternoon over pints of Newbarns beer — with a kitchen focused on modern comfort food using seasonal Scottish produce. Spirits come from Leith-based distillers including Woodrow’s of Edinburgh and Electric Spirit Co. Worth keeping an eye on if you are visiting from spring onwards.
Vinette and Vivien: Parisian Wine Bar Meets Cocktail Den
Opened in October 2025 at 36 Broughton Street (the former home of Fhior), Vinette is a Parisian-style wine bar from Stuart Ralston and Jade Johnston. The kitchen, run by Ralston’s brother Calum, serves bistro sharing plates — braised duck hearts on toast, grilled Iberico pork chop with cider-braised onions, pigs head croquettes with smoked paprika. Downstairs, Vivien is a cocktail bar named after the poet Renee Vivien, with a drinks programme headed by Rebekah George. Both venues are still relatively new and less crowded than Edinburgh’s better-known wine bars.
Nishiki: Japanese Izakaya in the West End
Opened in August 2025 at 151-155 Morrison Street, Nishiki is a 40-cover Japanese izakaya from the team behind Yamato. It is one of Scotland’s first dedicated sake bars, with an all-day menu spanning breakfast through dinner. The izakaya-style small plates include hand-rolled sushi and grilled dishes, while the breakfast menu features Japanese-fusion French toast alongside premium matcha and Japanese teas. The Japandi interior — natural wood, washi paper, steel lighting — makes it a calm, appealing space in the busy West End. Booking is advisable at weekends.
Barry Fish: Seafood on Leith’s Shore
Chef Barry Bryson opened his first independent restaurant in February 2025 at 62 Shore, Leith, on the same stretch as The Kitchin and Martin Wishart. Barry Fish is a 34-cover seafood spot serving Loch Fyne oysters, Eyemouth crab, sea bream ceviche and a showstopping whole lobster. Bryson spent 14 years as a specialist events chef, cooking for the British Embassy in Uruguay and for brands like Chanel and Aston Martin. The restaurant is relaxed despite the pedigree, and at lunchtime the Low-Tide menu offers excellent value.
Sotto: Italian Wine and Trattoria in Stockbridge
Opened in October 2024 at 28-32 Deanhaugh Street in Stockbridge, Sotto is a two-floor Italian wine bar and trattoria from Edinburgh-born sommelier James Clark. The name means "under" in Italian, a nod to the downstairs trattoria and wine cellar housing over 200 Italian wines from every region. Upstairs functions as an enoteca where you can drop in for a glass and a bite. Clark honed his craft at Divino Enoteca, The Palmerston and East End Cellars in Adelaide. Sotto has quickly become a Stockbridge fixture, particularly on weekend evenings.
The Hoxton: A New Hotel Quarter in Haymarket
The Hoxton Edinburgh opened in June 2025, occupying 11 joined-together Georgian townhouses just minutes from Haymarket station. The 214-room hotel includes an all-day Italian restaurant (Patatino), a small cinema, a ballroom events space and — launching from September — three self-contained, three-bedroom apartments for longer stays. The rooms are spread across both sides of the street, with the main building housing 150 rooms and 64 in the townhouse opposite. Original Georgian features have been preserved throughout, and the ground-floor spaces are open to non-guests for coffee, lunch and drinks.
The Lost Close and Above & Below Tours
The Lost Close, a series of underground vaults beneath Parliament Square just off the Royal Mile, was rediscovered in 2019 during renovation works. Buried since Edinburgh’s Great Fire of 1824, the atmospheric candlelit chambers now host whisky, gin and craft beer tastings. In February 2026, The Lost Close partnered with The Real Mary King’s Close for a new Above & Below Edinburgh experience — a combined tour that begins underground at Mary King’s Close before continuing above ground through the Old Town and into The Lost Close itself. At 40 pounds per person, it is a comprehensive way to explore Edinburgh’s layered history in a single visit. Check the Real Mary King’s Close website for updated scheduling beyond the February run.
North Bridge: Finally Emerging from Scaffolding
This is not a new attraction, but it is worth noting. North Bridge, the A-listed Victorian structure connecting the Old Town to Princes Street, has been under repair since 2018 at a cost now estimated at over 85 million pounds. Major work is expected to be substantially complete by spring 2026, with full scaffolding removal by summer. For the first time in years, all four lanes and both pavements should be back in full use, and the views down to Waverley Station and across to the Firth of Forth will be unobstructed again. It will feel like a different city.
Practical Tips
Many of Edinburgh’s newer restaurants are small — 30 to 40 covers — so booking ahead is essential, particularly Thursday to Saturday. For the RSA bicentenary exhibitions, check the Royal Scottish Academy website for specific opening dates as the programme runs in distinct blocks throughout the year. The Hoxton is a good base for exploring the West End and Old Town on foot, while Leith (for Barry Fish and the forthcoming Cooper’s Rest) is a short bus ride or 25-minute walk from the centre.
Edinburgh’s new openings tend to cluster in a few neighbourhoods: Broughton Street and the New Town for wine bars and cocktails, Stockbridge for relaxed dining, Leith for serious seafood, and the Old Town for cultural attractions. A well-planned day could easily take in a morning exhibition at the RSA, lunch at Barry Fish in Leith, and dinner at Vinette on Broughton Street.
Sources & Useful Links
- Royal Scottish Academy Bicentenary Programme
- Joan Eardley: The Nature of Painting at National Galleries of Scotland
- Lyla Edinburgh - Official Website
- The Lost Close - Underground Experiences
- The Real Mary King’s Close
- Nishiki Edinburgh - Official Website
- Barry Fish - Official Website
- Sotto Edinburgh - Official Website
- The Hoxton Edinburgh
- Edinburgh City Guide - Forever Edinburgh
