Edinburgh restaurants: Nicola Sturgeon tucks into curry at Edinburgh restaurant and poses for pics with staff

She may have found the world of politics too hot to handle, but Nicola Sturgeon still loves a good curry

Staff and customers at an award-winning Edinburgh restaurant were stunned when Nicola Sturgeon dropped by this week.

The former First Minister and ex-SNP leader visited popular Indian and Nepalese eaterie Gautam's on Wednesday, and happily posed for pictures after tucking into one of their delicious curries.

Following Ms Stugeon's visit, staff at the family-run restaurant took to social media to tell of surprise. In a post on Facebook, they wrote: “We were very pleasantly surprised when our previous First Minister walked in through our doors at Gautam’s last week. We are delighted that she enjoyed her time with us and we look forward to seeing her again.”

Staff and customers at Edinburgh restaurant Gautam's were stunned when Nicola Sturgeon dropped by this week.

Following the post, fans of the restaurant filled the comments section, with Facebook user writing: Amazing! She has great taste in Indian and Nepalese food the. It’s our favourite – we can see it from our window. Wish we’d known and would’ve invited her up for a cuppa.”

As reported in the Evening News, Gautam’s reopened in February after a stunning renovation, having closed for refurbishment in January.

They unveiled a fresh new look with the help of local artists. The venue is now unrecognisable after its makeover, with purple walls, bright orange sofas and new wooden flooring.

Gautam’s boss Khima Gautam said: “We used award-winning designer JA!COCO!, who has completed restaurants such as Superico, Cocktail Mafia and Scran to carry out the plans in order to attract our custumers to dine with us in the restaurant.

“It is a gesture of our long-standing appreciation and love to grow within the Meadowbank area of Edinburgh,” added Khima, who is originally from Nepal and now lives in Leith.