Laila’s

What a delightful little place!
I took my American parents to a wide variety of restaurants while they were in Edinburgh, as they live in a small town without access to much foodie diversity. As they’d never had Mediterranean before and it’s one of my absolute favorites, I was on the lookout for a place that fit the bill – Laila’s, happily, was just that!
Laila’s is set just off the Royal Mile down Cockburn Street, which is a charming side-​street in the heart of Edinburgh. It fits the cuteness of the street well, as the inside of Laila’s has amazing atmosphere. The lighting on the walls are particularly snazzy in my opinion! It’s cozy but large enough that you feel quite private within, which is lovely in comparison to joints that squeeze in as many tables as possible in their space allotment.
We were warmly welcomed by the staff there, and in no short order we had our drinks (non alcoholic, this place is BYOB though!) and a platter of dips – baba ganoush, tzitziki, and hummus of course, with a lovely basket of bread for dipping. I’ll admit the hummus and baba ganoush were pretty standard fare, but the tzatziki was nom-​tastic!
Now on to the mains! This is where Laila’s really impressed me. My dad had a lamb pasta, my mom had grilled chicken with pomegranate rice, and I myself stuck with a trusty falafel wrap. Four stars all around for solid mains, although I could’ve gone for a bit more of that trusty falafel fatty, cumin-​soaked flavor – have I been corrupted by all the kebab shops in town, perhaps? But the five stars of the evening definitely went to the grilled chicken and pomegranate rice. I’m normally not a huge fan of pomegranates, but that rice was INCREDIBLE. I spent most of the evening trying to sneak as much of it as I could off my mum’s plate!
All in all, I think Laila’s is a lovely joint with atmosphere, charm, and lovely meals that’ll leave you feeling satisfied and certainly far healthier than eating say, yet another fish & chips meal at the local pub!

Muy sabrosos y abundantes platos a un precio razonable para su locación. El servicio es bueno y mucha amabilidad de parte de la moza y tiene WiFi gratis.

Great food & service in intimate non-​touristic atmosphere. BYOB (mention Laila’s at the Mama’s store across the street for 10% wine bottle discount). Grilled Salmon on couscous was excellent and wife said her ratatouille was best she ever had!

Mmmmm … Such a delicious and refreshing break from pub food. We shared the mezzo plate and our son got the chargrilled chicken on pomegranate rice. Terrific venison salumi. We added the babaganoush because we love eggplants. Incredible homemade middle eastern bread that hit the spot. There was nothing left on our plates. Try the elderflower sparkling cider and be sure to save room for dessert. Definitely a hidden treasure.

The food my wife and I had at Laila’s was amazing. We ordered the bread with mixed dips — the baba ghanoush and tzatziki dips were out of this world! The oak smoked cheese with tomato sandwich and the chicken skewers were also fantastic. The restaurant is cozy with a homey feel and incredibly friendly staff. Highly recommend and will definitely return here next time we make it to Edinburgh!

Ended up here at 10pm on a Saturday night (Valentine’s, actually) after finishing a ghost tour. I was hungry but didn’t want to overdo it, since it was going to be bedtime soon enough. And I will admit it, the free wifi got me through the door, bc free wifi is like gold when I am traveling internationally.
Got seated promptly, and the waitress let me know the kitchen was close to closing, so my options were limited. She said falafel, I said OK (I love falafel).
I was expecting the usual wrap, some cucumbers and tomatoes, tahini, etc. This was SO MUCH better. Easily the best falafel sandwich I have had. The falafel itself was good, and plentiful, but what made it special was they had wrapped it and then essentially panini pressed it, and the cucumbers and tomato seemed to be dressed or lightly pickled. It was just delicious, and I wish I had found it sooner so I could have gone there again.
The service was great — waitress was very sweet, checked on me but wasn’t annoying, etc.

really great stop on the way back to princess street. nice fresh made food! exactly what we needed for dinner.

I like it. The lamb is very delicious!!! The decoration make me feel relax. It’s a great place

This place is quaint and has outdoor seating. The location is right off the royal mile yet walking distance to princes street. Quite perfect for a lunch out while exploring the city.
We had the chicken. I had chicken gyro type thing. It wasn’t that great. The chicken was cut into small bits and mixed with some kind of sauce. It was all wrapped in a pita with lettuce & tomatoes. But my eating partner had the grilled chicken thighs. Amazing! The sauce was so good and they were grilled really well. Super tasty.
We also had a starter. A trio of dips. Hummus, babaganoush and tzaziki. None were really that stand out. Pretty bog standard. I would order again but don’t expect amazingness. However, we really liked the bread the dips were served with. It was thicker than pita but not crusty bread. It was quite special.

Luckily we booked for Saturday night as it was packed. It’s quite a small restaurant, they have booths for bigger groups. Food is so so nice. I went for a meze selection– feta salad (this was my favourite), halloumi with cranberry sauce, a potato salad & baba ghanoush with Iranian bread. All was delish. I also tried the grilled chicken skewer– really nice tender chicken with gentle spicing. You only get one skewer but it’s enough, there’s about 2 chicken breasts on the whole skewer. Didn’t really like the Ariani drink (personal taste) — it’s a yoghurt drink with salt.
I’d go back just for that feta salad. Yum. We also took away the baclava and a saffron & cardamom sorbet. Baclava is really nice, quite sticky but I prefer that. Oh and it’s BYOB no corkage.