The Anchor Inn

Vast and characterful, this rustic restaurant is housed in a former merchant’s house on the historic quayside. Flagged floors, cast iron pillars and exposed brickwork feature downstairs, with equal amounts of character upstairs courtesy of sloping floors, wonky ceilings and carved beams. Detailed, original dishes – such as chicken strozzapreti with spinach, peas and parmesan – are based around fine produce and offer punchy flavours, while also maintaining a lightness of touch. The Sunday Feast menu offers a refined, well-priced take on the traditional Sunday roast.

This intimate, personably run restaurant is just around the corner from the eponymous chef-owner’s flagship, House of Tides, and serves a multi-course tasting menu of well-balanced, highly intricate and complex dishes. The kitchen’s skill allows top-drawer ingredients to shine, whether that be scallops or pigeon, and the meal ends on a high with the varied, exquisitely constructed desserts. The chefs present the plates to guests themselves and provide detailed descriptions of their make-up. Go for the wine pairing for the ultimate dining experience.

This much-loved 'proper' pub is named after the lane it sits on, in the most historic part of the city. Housed within a converted warehouse by the quay, the operation is split between the cosy ground-floor bar – serving snacks and over 50 different beers – and the rustic upstairs dining room. Here, the kitchen produces a consistently high quality offering of hearty, punchily flavoured dishes like haggis on toast and grilled calves liver with bacon, sage and crispy onions. Fair prices and a friendly team add to the appeal.

This long-standing restaurant continues to operate with smooth efficiency and serve unfussy, eminently satisfying dishes you want to eat again and again. Start with a gin from the large selection behind the zinc-topped counter then head through to the smart red-and-black brasserie. The à la carte offers a wide selection of confidently cooked, classically based dishes that showcase the kitchen's great understanding of ingredients and flavour. The fixed-price menu offers a wallet-friendly option, while Sunday lunch includes a traditional roast.