Edinburgh restaurants: Asian-inspired street food restaurant Lucky Yu to open in Broughton Street
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Edinburgh’s popular Lucky Yu is set to open in Broughton Street this week, serving Asian-inspired street-style food with an expanded menu and later opening hours. Lucky Yu offers up bao, yakitori, cocktails, sake, beer & wine but is famed for its takeaway and delivery dumplings and chicken wings.
The new restaurant at 53-55 Broughton Street will serve some of the old favourites with the addition of new creations from head chef Duncan Adamson, ex-Gardener’s Cottage Chef. After opening on Elm Row in Leith in 2018 it quickly became a hit with reviewers on Tripadvisor describing it as “a hidden gem”. Owners said they outgrew the site and moved to Tollcross to meet a surge in demand for their delivery service which proved extremely popular during lockdown.
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Hide AdJohn Howard, owner of Lucky Yu and the city’s Bodega taqueria, said: “When I first looked at the site I knew it was perfect for Lucky Yu. We’ve installed a robata grill so we will be expanding the menu but keeping the dumplings, homemade bao and yakitori that people know. We’ve also spent as much time on our drinks menu with cocktails and wines that pair with the food and beer from Newbarns. We’re going to be opening later, serving food & drinks till 12 at weekends which is something we think is missing from the city.”
The restaurant is co-owned and was designed by Meredith Wilkie, who said: “I’ve taken as my design inspiration wabi-sabi meets neon Tokyo; like if ancient Japanese artistry and urban neon glamour had a love child. The space is designed to be immersive, to hopefully transport the customer to another place - making for a real experience, not just a delicious meal - without being a theme restaurant. The style is clean and sharp, but also weathered and sexy - when the lights are low and the pink neon comes into its own, the place has an intimate, seductive vibe.
“With a total of 80 covers, we have a mixture of banquette and traditional seating available and a low dining counter at the bar. Two to three areas will be bookable for groups with spaces suitable for small groups of six or larger groups of up to 30.”
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