Family-style restaurant with some of the best Indian food in Edinburgh. The flavors really pop, the portions are quite generous, and the prices are affordable. The place is popular with both locals and tourists alike, so reservations are a MUST. If the variety of the menu overwhelms you, and you want to play it safe, The Garlic Nan, Vegetable Samosas, and Chicken Pakorah are among the "smaller" items that pack just as much flavour as everything else. Be mindful of some of the meat items, as they can pack quite a kick. Drinks are plentiful, as well, but don't expect the best selection of alcoholic beverages. Hey, no place is perfect. read more

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Ordered the vegetable samosas, chicken curry, pilau rice and garlic naan. Everything was piping hot and absolutely delicious. The chicken was so tender it was falling apart. Service was very attentive without being overly intrusive. The restaurant was busy and got a bit noisy but again, not overly bothersome. Definitely a great meal. read more

Mother India's Cafe - Chicken curry, pilau rice and garlic naan with a pint of Kingfisher. - Indian Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Gorgeous restaurant located in Old Town Edinburgh. It's about a 15 minute uphill walk from Holyrood Palace and well worth the journey! The food is Tapas style and the restaurant recommends 3-4 dishes for 2 people. In a group of three we ordered: 2 orders of Samosas, 2 naans, Pakoras, 3 papadums, Daal Makhani, Chana Daal, and Pilau rice. This costed about €59. Pops are in glass bottles and are served with a glass on the side with ice. If you're not big on spice this place is for you. The food is lightly seasoned. Service was lovely, all the staff were very accommodating, patient, and polite. read more

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Our family of four were finishing up a long day of seeing shows and enjoying Fringe. We happened upon Mother India and are so happy we did! I worried we might not get a table, as from the outside it looks smallish, but we were seated immediately and the place kind of goes on and on once you venture downstairs. The menu is extensive and we wished to try many, many plates. Our server patiently waited while we listed all the things. We were promptly served a generous pile of papadum. And the naan! All of our food was delicious - saag paneer, butter chicken, vegetable pakora, chilli chicken dosa, along with mango chutney & coriander chutney. Service efficient and friendly. I highly recommend Mother India's! read more

In search of Indian food our first night in Edinburgh. This restaurant was packed but somehow we waited 5 minutes for the server accommodated us with a table in the lower level. That level was amazing . Food was amazing too. Butter chicken, dahl and saag paneer was so delicious. Naan and rice were fresh and tasty. Masala tea was a nice accompaniment. read more

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10 years ago my wife and I lived nearby and were in here at least once a week. Ever since we make an annual trip back and it never disappoints. Staff are super friendly, service is attentive but not overbearing. Food is phenomenal, I would get 5 plates between two and enough Nan bread to share. Always lively enough inside, if you want a quieter time go later in the evening. read more

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Edinburgh. Their food is some of the most creative and flavorful Indian food I have had anywhere. You can't go wrong with anything you order here. We especially loved the meat and vegetable samosas, the aubergine fritters, saag paneer, railway lamb, and mango chicken. read more

Everything was delicious: lamb biryani, butter chicken, palak paneer, curries, nan. It was so good we went back. Even my younger one who is not a big meat eater now says it's the best biryanis in the world. Service was polite, fast, and also patient with the kids. read more

Enjoyed a wonderful dinner on Valentine's Day at Mother India's. I'd booked Dishoom and here and decided since I've been to Dishoom in London I'm coming here instead. I'm very happy that I did. The food was outstanding. The garlic chili chicken is to die for! This was my favorite dish. I also ordered veggie samosas, cheese naan, rice, and aloo gobi to pair with my kingfisher. I can't wait to return! Fantastic dinner choice, and everything is walking distance around here so it was lovely to stroll back to my hotel after a very satisfying meal. Make a booking here if you're looking for a casual yummy and fulfilling dinner. read more

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I love the food here. So good and fresh. Always crowded. I really love that you can order half portions. Since it's just for me that's great because I can order a second entree read more

Have had two wonderful meals at Mother India's Cafe. Smaller plates, but decent portions for the price. I have gotten the Lamb Keema Mutter and Spicy Keema Dosa, as well as garlic naan, rice, and the Saag Paneer. All were absolutely wonderful and I wish I was eating them again right now, especially the Dosa. I will absolutely return to this place time and time again! Service is extremely quick and you get your food and drinks very soon after ordering. However, it's typically booked at busy times, so I would make a booking if you're planning to visit. read more

Mother India's Cafe - Spicy Keema Dosa - Indian Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Fantastic service, the food was perfect! Couldn't ask for a better Indian meal. The atmosphere is neat and cozy. Very affordable as well.

This restaurant was highly recommended by our driver from the airport who is East Indian and Scottish. I went there for lunch a little after opening and received a table. It filled up quickly. The service was friendly but a little slow and I had to wait for the check for a bit but the food was delicious. I had the butter chicken with tender pieces of meat and a smooth, savory sauce. I paired it with garlic naan. It was a great recommendation and also nice that it's off the Royal Mile and less busy. read more

Mother India's Cafe - Butter chicken and garlic naan - Indian Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Definitely some of the best Indian food I have had! Ordered takeout to take back to our hotel after a long day exploring the city. The service was wonderful, very accommodating! The flavors of everything were amazing. Would highly recommend giving it a try! read more

Mother India's Cafe - Butter Chicken, Basmati Rice, Garlic Spiced Potatoes, Garlic Pita - Indian Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

probably the best option for indian cuisine in edinburgh (not that i've tried all the other places), a good competitor for the classic Dishoom. all the food was delicious and didn't take super long to come out. we went for a late lunch around 2 and was able to get seats right away. read more

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Very enjoyable restaurant. Food was excellent; well prepared and very tasty. Service was also spot on. Good mix of locals and tourists. Heard Canadian, German, and American accents. Highly recommend read more

Mother India's were doing breakfast during the festival and we all enjoyed our very different options - eggs, bread or fruit-based. I personally love having a (mostly) savoury rather than sweet, American-style breakfast. Based on the quality of the breakfast I'd like to try lunch or dinner too. read more

Mother India's Cafe - Breakfast during festival - Indian Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

A guidebook recommended Mother India's and Dishoom, but after reading the menus for both, we opted for another India's. I'm so glad we did! We popped in right when they opened for dinner at 5 PM. The menu recommends 3-4 dishes for 2 and I would agree. We hadn't eaten since 7 am and we're pretty hungry from wandering around all day-- we cleared our dishes! Pricing was very reasonable: $22.50 for pitta/naan, basmati rice, butter chicken, saag paneer, and the chili garlic chicken for two. Ambiance is casual but very modern and clean, with a hint of richness to it (textured wallpapers, warm colors, 1920's-esque lighting). Service was great and quite quick (thought that may be due to the time of day we ate). I would definitely recommend! read more

Mother India's Cafe - Indian Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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naan and butter chicken were both 10/10. Open later than 89.367% of the places here. Highly rec

Fantastic food and great experience overall. Perfect for a taste of India. Location is central in city Allso

I'm not a huge Indian food fan but I had heard good things about this restaurant so I thought I would check it out. It did not disappoint!! It was the perfect amount of food for one person and the curry was so good! I will definitely be going back. read more

Mother India's Cafe - Indian Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Arrived on a Thursday at 7 p.m. after reading Yelp reviews. There was no seating so we waited a few minutes for a table to open. The staff seated us, gave us a few minutes to look at the menu and we ordered. The dishes are tapas, but larger servings than some. We ordered nan and three other dishes, including chicken in a basil cream sauce, which was sweet compared the other spicy dishes. Our food was very good. The beer we ordered was Edinburgh Gold. read more

Indian tapas place. I really like their small quantities. Gives an opportunity to try more things. Since we were with friends we tried quite a few things, and they were all good. Dal makhni Chana Dal Saag paneer Pindi chole Crispy Chaat Pani Puri Mixed pakoras read more

Mother's India Cafe is on a cute street in Edinburgh, right off the main path! Super cute and cozy inside but also very respectable and elegant. Everyone is very kind and attentive towards you. Food came very quickly and was plenty of food!! I got the basmati rice, garlic naan (huge piece) the Chana Daal (yellow lentils with cumin and onion) and then Chicken Tikka Basil Curry. Everything was sooo delicious and was extremely authentic. One thing I didn't enjoy was their Sangiovese red wine from Veneto. It was too sweet and tasted just like actual grape juice, which is not normal for that region. Otherwise, excellent restaurant and I would 100% come back here again! read more

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Wow, just wow. This was amazing Indian. The smaller portions were perfect (it's described as tapas but really not that small) to allow us to try a variety of things. Saag paneer, butter chicken, the aubergine and the haddack massala. Everything was amazing, we also had garlic and peshawari naan. If only I lived closer this would be my go-to place. It's bigger than it looks from the outside, there's also a downstairs seating area, so don't let lines discourage you! They also carry a mango and lime Peacock cider which pairs perfectly with the food. read more

Still one of my favourite places for Indian food in Edinburgh. Even on a Monday night it's busy. I really like the tapas style dishes which make for a great social experience. The daal makni & the dosas are always a highlight. Service is always really good too. read more

Mother India's Cafe - Lamb Karachi, chicken saag, daal mackhi & raita - Indian Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

We visited Mother India for dinner - thankfully you can make a booking at the Edinburgh Cafe which meant our table was ready and waiting as soon as we arrived. The menu is similar to the Glasgow cafe - tapas dishes to share, they recommend 3-4 between two people. As there was 4 of us we went for 8 dishes with rice, naan and poppadums. For me, the stand out dishes were the daal makni - similar to the black daal I had recently at Mother India in Glasgow, it was SO delicious. This one had kidney beans in it as well. I also loved the chilli chicken dosa which was lovely and light, a really fresh dish to break up the curries. And the other dish I'd recommend was the baby aubergine and potato, a delicious veggie option. I'm a huge Mother India fan so am delighted to say that the Edinburgh branch lived up to my very high expectations! The bill was about £20 pp which included drinks, so incredibly reasonable as we couldn't even finish all the food. So make a booking in advance, order loads of dishes to share and enjoy! read more

Mother India's Cafe - Delicious selection - Indian Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Location was key for me during my visit to Edinburgh and Mother India's cafe was right round the corner from out hotel. We were taken to a lovely seat by the window and brought a selection of dips and sauces with lovely light popadoms to nibble on whilst we salivated over the menu. Both opting for a kingfisher pint we decided the we would go for the recommended amount of dishes between two, four. We ordered butter chicken, garlic mushroom pakora, lamb sag and a minced meat pancake. All were tasty, filling and very well made but my favourite was the lamb. Tender and jam packed full of flavour. For dessert we both opted for a gulab jammin with Porreli ice cream. Wow! Now I've tried mother india's cafe I can't wait to go to the Glasgow branch to try more tasty treats. read more

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An Indian style tapas restaurant which although quite new is very popular with the locals. I really like this place just because I can order a selection of Indian foods and try a bit of a variety. However, if it's crowded (which is usually is) it gets very noisy, as the sound seems to bounce of the walls and celling. Our waiter was good, although if you have a small tolerance for very hot stuff do not go with their suggestions of medium- our was charmingly tearing up during my date.(so pretty with makeup down my cheeks- yes) On Friday's and Saturday evenings book in advance. It's reasonably priced as far as Edinburgh restaurants as well. read more

Mother India's Cafe - Indian Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Wonderful late night dinner food! We shared 4 dishes and 1 garlic pita between two people. This was a good amount to fill up on, but not too much. The food was excellent and extremely delicious. read more

Mother India's Cafe - Indian Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Execellent menu with dishes served tapas style. I enjoyed my lunch so much that I went back for dinner. The curry chicken is so delicious and I recommend the daal, aloo gobi, and this spicy lamb dish wrapped in a pancake (forgot the name). Staff was very attentive and the prices and portion were good (we had a table of two) So, so good. read more

This is some great Indian food! Well-made and good service. We had a great tapas-style lunch. read more

Mother India's Cafe - The food is simply too delicious to take a photo before eating most of it. - Indian Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

A friend told me I should go and try this place, presumably because he was so sick of me banging on about In Delhi just up the road from here. Maybe I didn't go in with an open mind, but I have to say there was nothing particularly special about this place. Yes, they do an amazing selection of spiced, herbal or green teas, and yes the nibbles-sized dishes on the food menu were tasty (the mushroom poori and chilli chicken dosa in particular), i thought the whole place lacked a bit of character that so many other indian eateries have. The furniture/décor was very formal and serious, which is pretty much the opposite of what a restaurant with a tapas mentality should be in my opinion - I loved how we were constantly dipping into eachother's dishes sampling sharing them all, but sitting at those tables I felt as though I was doing something I shouldn't be every time I did. read more

Mother India's Cafe - Indian Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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I first noticed Mother India's Cafe when sitting in cafe Nero across the road, looking out. It looked interesting so I had to try it. This Indian Restaurant certainly is a bit different. As the others have suggested, it isn't just another takeaway or Indian buffet house, but a tapas style restaurant where you can sample many dishes. In this respect Mother India's Cafe earns points for being different. I did enjoy the food here at Mother India's Cafe but I more enjoyed the tea. The latter was quite exciting, the former, for all its ingenuity, wasn't as great as I had hoped. I also have to agree with Fiona about the setting. Inside it is rather too bland and formal and I didn't feel overly relaxed. At the same time the waiter was very friendly and the pricing was average. Not a bad Indian restaurant with a novel idea, but it could do with improving its atmosphere. read more

Mother India's Cafe - Indian Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

This restaurant was recommended by a bartender in a pub . It did not disappoint. We were able to sneak in without a reservation. The service was great and the food amazing. read more

The food and hospitality are amazing! We took the nan garlic bread twice! the chicken masala, lamb with curry and the dal were amazing! The haddock fish is not as good as the former dishes. We really enjoyed the chai masala! Highly recommended ! read more

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We came here on a cold snowy evening while on vacation to Edinburgh from the USA and got a table without a reservation. Ok they seated us behind a pillar but that's fine. For two people we ordered the fish pakora, chicken dosa, chicken Tikki basil masala, and butter chicken. The food came quickly. The portions are small so order at least two per person, and expect tapas style dining. Overall the flavor was good and the food was fresh. We would definitely consider visiting again. read more

Very flavorful! Moderately expensive, it's 2ish pounds for some rice which I'm not used to paying for. The portions were a bit small too, about a mouthful for 6-7 pounds. They advertise the menu as a tapas style menu so I guess that's how they priced it..? read more

Mother India's Cafe - Menu - Indian Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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I had read about Mother India's in both Glasgow and Edinburgh. It was mostly full for lunch, but we didn't have to wait to get a table. They do take reservations. Wines are pretty cheap: I got a 250 ml Sangiovese for £6, and it went pretty well with the food. They also had beers. Surprisingly, I didn't see any lassis on the menu. Food (family style): - Chana daal: not too greasy or salty - Chili king prawns: a bit overcooked, strong on the cumin, better with a squeeze of lemon - Chicken breast and mushroom curry: lighter, non cream based. I appreciate a healthier curry - Mutton railway curry: richer, good for dipping naan. Slightly gamey - Garlic pita: not super garlicky, but it had the right amount of fluffiness and the right texture - Cheese and coriander naan: thicker than the pita. I think I actually preferred the pita texture a bit more, but the naan was still good Food came pretty quickly, and the bill ended up being just under £40 for two people with 2 glasses of wine. read more

I love Indian food to death since having my first taste of it in London a few years ago and I'm so glad I came here for my first big meal in Edinburgh. I had the chicken curry and rice. Everything was delicious and the prices were reasonable. We (my mother and I) actually made two stops here for lunch. She also had this fruit smoothie with a combination of yogurt that was delicious. Unfortunately I don't remember the name of the drink. All in all, great service, great price, and pretty awesome atmosphere. I might prefer this to Dishoom! read more