There’s a famous Saatchi & Saatchi sequence of adverts which, during the ‘80s, sold London’s V&A museum as “an ace caff with quite a nice museum attached.” Fortunately, Edinburgh, too, has a few “quite nice” museums and galleries. Better still, some of them even have caffs attached.

Edinburgh’s art galleries provide a chance to recover and recuperate, and to discover the city’s culture beyond the offerings of Why Not? and Lava&Ignite. Whether it’s the startling peculiarity of Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller’s installation art, on display now at the Fruitmarket (see Arts & Entertainment, p.26) or the familiarity of Sir Henry Raeburn’s famous “skating minister,” hanging permanently in the National, there’s plenty to be said for indulgent moments of reflection and contemplation. Plus, for the most part, they are free; and, since one of the National Galleries' major collections is under threat of sale, there has, it seems, never been a better time to go.

But there’s the rub: while Edinburgh’s galleries are—with the exception of ticketed exhibitions—free, a post-exhibition lunch, unsurprisingly, isn’t. And what’s more, Saatchi & Saatchi’s aforementioned “caff” was never really a “caff” at all. Expect not to stumble across a greasy spoon between the Reynolds and the Rembrandts. Expect not to pay caff prices, either. That said, with paintings worth millions of pounds elsewhere in the building, one might be forgiven for expecting food a little above the ordinary in these artistic eateries. That, surely, is worth a few pennies. Isn’t it?

The Gallery Restaurant, The National Galleries Complex

Those feeling inclined to donate towards the £50 million pound target to retain, amongst others, the majestic Titians, will be glad to know that profits from the aptly named Gallery restaurant contribute to the galleries' revenue. Serving lunch from 11:45-4:00 and afternoon tea between 2:30-4:30, head chef John Rutter has stayed true to the galleries’ self-consciously Scottish profile, producing a menu which proudly announces the Scottish provenance of all the food – as well as “Impressionist cocktails” to match the Royal Scottish Academy’s Impressionism & Scotland exhibition (see Arts & Entertainment, p.27).

I ordered Arbroath smokie, followed by guinea fowl with pearl barley. Sensibly for this very pale fish, the other ingredients combined for a wonderfully colourful dish, and the sweet, concentrated flavour of roasted plum tomatoes went nicely with the smoky fish. That fishy flavour, however, was compromised a little by the massive mound of chilled lettuce.

There were no such problems with the guinea fowl, which arrived in the form of wonderfully juicy breast. The pearl barley provided a not-too-heavy starchiness which sat well alongside wilted rocked and a light lemon and thyme sauce. The dish was perfect for the advance of autumn, both anticipating the crispness of game season while retaining the sunny clean flavours of summer. If only we’d had one.

My dining companion plumped for chicken liver parfait and oatcakes, followed by the Eyemouth crab. Accompanied by a very cute tower of homemade oatcakes, the smooth, light parfait delivered some punchy flavours indeed, including a solid hit of garlic nicely kept in check by the sweetness of sherry. It was complemented well by a citrussy dressed carrot and sultana salad.

The Eyemouth crabmeat was prettily accompanied by an avocado salsa, providing a nice textural contrast. But, because of the lack of brown crabmeat, the dish wanted for a seashorey slap to tip it towards a main course – it could have adorned an upmarket sandwich very well. Indeed, the mixed cress topping did little to help shift this impression. That said, crab, avocado and cress clearly do make a cracking combination.

With starters from £3.95-£5.95, and mains from £8.95-£16.50, this needn’t be an overly expensive treat and, as a result, the light, airy restaurant space is remarkably busy for a weekday afternoon. Sure the customers aren’t the youngest around, but the numerous shocks of white hair suggest that these are ladies who’ve lunched – frequently. If anyone knows where to find a delicious meal with views of Princes St Gardens—and, bizarrely enough, of an excitable collie pulling its wheelchair-bound owner—these are they.

The Fruitmarket Gallery

This Old Town gallery has, until very recently, been home to This house of books has no windows, the most recent exhibition by Canadian installation artists Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller. By most accounts, theirs has been an eclectic piece, combining exciting materials, sounds and textures. But, by any account, the food on offer here isn’t quite as exciting.

There is a good selection of drinks, including organic soft drinks, and wine at £12.25 per bottle. There’s also a fairly imaginative sandwich selection – a good choice for lunch, if a little pricey. The New Yorker—pastrami, sweet mustard dressing and dill pickle in a wholemeal roll—came with a good salad, plus extra pickles and mixed seeds which added crunch and made for a relatively virtuous lunch. But the sandwich lacked the quantity of filling to be a real New Yorker.

My companion chose the day’s special of chorizo, pepper and potato stew. A hungry chap, he noted in particular the healthy proportion of chorizo to potato, and the hearty ladle-full of liquid to be mopped up with the crusty bread that accompanied. The flavours weren’t as impressive as one might have expected, though, and the chorizo had a woolly texture having been overcooked somewhat. It was certainly filling, but a little disappointing at £8.50.

The food at the Fruitmarket café is undoubtedly pretty: both plates were nicely dusted with paprika and parsley. It’s a little odd, though, given that the gallery tends to steer clear of “pretty” when selecting works for display, and one can’t help but feel there’s a little style over substance here. Nonetheless, the Fruitmarket offers an interesting, contemporary menu as befits its artwork. But you might find tastier and more keenly priced food elsewhere.

Café Newton at the Dean Gallery

A little outside of Edinburgh’s busy centre—though still connected by the free gallery bus—the Dean Gallery and the Dean Gallery of Modern Art offer views of wonderfully spacious, audaciously sculpted gardens. Inside Café Newton, however, the setting is a little more restrained, with suitably contemporary furnishings and black & white photos of pre-war golfers.

In fact, there’s a great deal which makes this feel a little like a cosy caff. For starters, there is an excellent tea selection, which excited even our anti-oxidant infused, loose leaved palates. We went for the Belfast brew and apple and mint, which came in their own cute and covetable little pots.

The food, however, is far from cosy: old meets new as traditional ingredients are used in a contemporary way, fulfilling the café’s stated aim to serve “unpretentious, tasty and stylish food”. All ingredients are organic, fair trade and as local and seasonal as possible. This makes the pricing even more reasonable and—as at The National Gallery—there is an emphasis on Scottish produce, like my companion’s salad of grilled Stornoway black pudding, egg and spinach, which was pronounced "pleasingly breakfast-like", the earthy stodge of the black pudding lifted by the tomato and beetroot. At a very reasonable £5.75, the salad was generous and came with some good crusty bread.

The daily special, roast butternut squash and thyme risotto, was well cooked, well portioned and well priced at £6.25. The rice retained its desirably chalky bite, and the assertive salt and earth flavours of the parmesan and thyme played well against the sweetness of the roasted squash – a lovely, warming lunch which was perfect for the onset of autumn.

If the café’s array of home-made scones—including the now seldom-seen cheese scone—is not sufficient temptation to indulge, then the self-titled “best chocolate brownie in Edinburgh” should be: it may well live up to its billing, achieving lightness of texture yet remaining wickedly unctuous and fudgy. The deep chocolatey hit rounded off an overall impression of good food, cooked simply and generously.