The story
Purslane is a modern European restaurant at 33a St. Stephen Street in Edinburgh, and The Good Food Guide lists it as Good for 2026. The small, personally run room sits in the Stockbridge district, in a basement furnished with cushions, plants and prints.
Paul Gunning runs the kitchen as head chef and owner, and his career has taken him from London to Brittany and Australia. Dinner is a five or seven course tasting menu that gives classic ideas modern interpretations. Michelin recommends the restaurant for its ambitious modern dishes, which pair tried-and-tested flavours with modern techniques.
Roast pigeon breast has appeared with quinoa, beetroot, chicory and Granny Smith apple. The lamb assiette brings roast cannon, a boudin of sweetbreads, braised leg and sautéed lamb's liver. Dessert follows a pre-dessert, and might be rhubarb with apricot purée, vanilla-poached apricots and yoghurt sorbet.
Lunch offers a smaller carte of simpler dishes, such as smoked ham hock with white bean cassoulet or roast chicken breast with fondant potato and Vichy carrots. The wine list is hand-picked and mostly organic, drawn from producers across the globe.
Recognition
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Sitting pretty in Edinburgh’s trendy Stockbridge district, this bijou, personally run restaurant plies its trade in a cosy but smart basement furnished in pleasantly informal, metropolitan style, complete with cushions, plants and prints. Dinner is a tasting menu of five or seven courses, where classic ideas are given savvy modern interpretations: roast pigeon breast might arrive in company with quinoa, beetroot, chicory and Granny Smith apple; salmon gets the elevated ballotine treatment; and there’s a complex assiette of lamb involving roast cannon, a boudin of sweetbreads, braised leg and sautéed lamb’s liver with all manner of accompaniments. After that, a pre-dessert heralds the likes of chocolate and raspberry mousse or rhubarb with apricot purée, vanilla-poached apricots, ginger bread and yoghurt sorbet. At lunchtime, you can pick from a smaller carte of simpler dishes such as smoked ham hock with white bean cassoulet or roast chicken breast with fondant potato and Vichy carrots. The wine list is a hand-picked selection of (mostly) organic bottles from vineyards and producers across the globe.
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