Scotland The Best author Peter Irvine says there's a growing divide between Glasgow and Edinburgh. The man behind the acclaimed guide book says the capital has roared ahead post-pandemic but Scotland's biggest city has been left behind.

Irvine said: “Edinburgh has turned into a great international city. The range of food is fantastic now, and it’s from fine dining and deluxe hotels to artisan bakers. And that’s a very good mix. It has responded to market forces and the market at the top end is definitely there.

“It’s phenomenal how many new hotels there are and a lot of them are deluxe hotels and are incredibly expensive.

“It just buzzes everything up. It’s really great. And the number of places that have roof terraces … I can remember when there were no roof terraces. Nobody even got the idea of roof terraces. Now it’s de rigueur.

Being an international city has consequences, however. Eating out in Edinburgh can be very expensive, Irvine points out.

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“The number of restaurants that have become fine dining tasting menu places is extraordinary. I understand, of course, that perhaps it’s easier to organise in the kitchen. And because it’s a ‘tasting menu’ the place can charge a lot for it, up to £150 a head. In Edinburgh there’s about two new tasting menu restaurants opening every week. I find it hard to see how that’s going to continue.

Glasgow has had its share of success stories in recent years, perhaps most notably the rise and rise of Finnieston, but the hospitality sector has been hit hard by the cost of living crisis and there is, Irvine believes, still not enough good hotels.

“I don’t want to put Glasgow down. I love Glasgow. It is a really important city. It has loads of things that Edinburgh doesn’t have, including, most importantly, the people. I just think this period has been really hard.

“I don’t live in Glasgow but I think I’m right in saying Glasgow restaurants are full at the weekend. Definitely Saturday. But midweek? Not so much.”

The signs of recovery are there, Irvine believes. Just not in the city centre.

“The new places are opening where rent rates are cheap and that’s what happens. Gen Zs are not going to open in the city centre. You wouldn’t expect them to, and actually we don’t want them to. So in Glasgow they open in the South Side.”

Scotland the Best by Peter Irvine, £17.99, is published by Collins today