Edinburgh Restaurants

Our trip started in Edinburgh?s old city after an afternoon nap to recover from losing a night?s sleep on the plane. We wandered out the door of our apartment and landed in a busy Italian restaurant on the Royal Mile called Bella Italia (I think it is part of a chain). It was Friday night and very busy, but service was great and very prompt. The pizza was an excellent thin crust with lots of flavor and not too heavy. The meatballs were satisfying and the Caesar salad was very fresh. We were very happy with our first outing and I was looking forward to what we could find if we got a little sleep. The prices were also very reasonable considering the exchange rate was around $1.80 CAD for 1 pound sterling. Entrees were about 10 pounds on average at most restaurants.
The rest of the time in Edinburgh, we had very similar experiences to our first night. Our expectations gradually increased as the days went on but we didn?t expect too much to start. We had a very nice meal at a French family restaurant in the new town area called Café Rouge (also a chain). We had intended to go to something on Rose Street, but with the young children most places did not suit our needs. For our final night in Edinburgh, we went to a restaurant called the Wee Windaes on the Royal Mile again. Although the décor has not been updated in a long time and it was a little too quiet, it lived up to its billing of traditional Scottish cuisine. My father in-law enjoyed the restaurant as I think it was more his pace (he is 82), but the food was a little bland and the chicken was over cooked for my liking.
The most pleasant surprise had to be the hundreds of little sandwich and soup shops scattered throughout the old and new town. Considering we haven?t been to a fast food restaurant in probably over 5 years, it was nice to see we could easily get a great soup and fresh sandwich on almost any corner.