Ka Pao Edinburgh Edinburgh EH1 3AE

"The Ka Pao is a restaurant features south eastern Asian cuisine. The dishes served are a bit unusual (at least to me which made me interested in visiting) and the choice is not extensive - which is a good sign that the quality will be good. You can opt to have several smaller dishes rather than the convention of having a starter and main meal. This gives the chance of trying more dishes - I recommend this. It is in the St James Centre but its location is tucked away and easily passed by but is worth the effort of seeking it out. Staff are friendly and keen to explain the composition of the dishes and recommend combinations."

"They say do not judge a book by its cover. I passed by this restaurant many times and never thought of going in. It was the last one we tried in St James Square, and realised it was the best food experience we had in that center. The menu they offer is unique, a clever mix of spices, peanuts is evident in most of their dishes. And almost every plate is delicious (I tried them all). I recommend the OX Tongue for meat lovers, and the corn ribs are a must. The food is of fine dining quality for a reasonable price. The waiters are professional and very friendly. I cannot recommend this place enough."

"The food was great. Deep fried oyster mushrooms were so lovely and the sauce was nice. The cauliflower curry was very tasty as well and very suitable for rice. The most stunning dish for me was the mango sorbet. The portion was big and it costs only 4 quid. The taste was amazing as well. You can feel mango and lime flavour balanced in the mouth. Highly recommend this restaurant. They have a moderate number of vegan dishes as well."

"The building is in the new St James Quarter, which is a really nice location as it is right in town and everything is very new and exciting round there. The inside of the restaurant is beautiful and stylish, and has a really nice atmosphere. The staff are extremely polite and tentative and offer to hang up coats, constantly getting water and offering advice on dishes. The food is reasonably priced with some interesting things to try (highly recommend the oyster). Portion sizes were much bigger than I had expected which was a lovely surprise. The quality of the food, however, really let this place down. It was extremely salty, and while there were some really nice, interesting dishes, I was so thirsty from the high salt content. It really just felt like your bang average corner Chinese takeaway. Some people like this and that’s fine if you do, but I felt like with the staff being so friendly and the place oozing class and style, I was going to be in for some fabulous food. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed :(."

"Had lunch with my daughter here today and loved every mouthful. Great selection of foods to try. Fried chicken a must have and fresh vegetables and dip delicious. In fact everything was simply divine. If you don't normally do desserts, you must here. The panacotta and fresh fruit will be dragging me back again. Staff couldn't be more helpful and attentive and happy."