The Atholl at The Howard

The Howard was created in the 1960s from three late-Georgian townhouses to form a debonair hotel in Edinburgh's New Town. Furnished in period style, it's a smart and stylish place, with the small Atholl dining room on the ground floor. Attentive, well-drilled staff serve a menu of modern Scottish food that gently updates Scottish classics, perhaps skirlie potatoes with rump of Pentland lamb, or can be as modish as scallops with roast pork belly, mushy peas and lemon foam, followed by accurately grilled Gigha halibut with steamed greens, a fairly shy chorizo mash and citrus oil. Finish with a selection of cheeses from Mellis, or a praline crème brûlée with hazelnut biscotti and pineapple granité.