Scotland is a country famed for its food and drink, from among the finest game, whiskies and seafood around to the guiltiest of pleasures, and the Scottish capital takes full advantage of the country’s gastronomic heritage.
Edinburgh is a fantastic foodie city and a great place to get to grips with what makes Scotland and its belly tick. With beautiful local ingredients and an unpretentious love of food, not to mention the foodie contributions of its more recent incomers, Edinburgh is one of our favourite cities for food and drink in the world. So what should you eat and drink when in the city?
Eat
If you don’t really know much about Scottish gastronomy, then we recommend heading for Aizle, a restaurant named after the Scots word for spark that serves tasting menus that showcase the best of country’s ingredients. Seasonal and exceptionally cooked, although this is a little on the steep end (not too bad at all for what you get), we highly recommend this to anyone who want to see what can be done with the area’s ingredients.
Aizle
Also on the more pricy end is The Wee Restaurant. There are two of these, with one in the New Town and one in North Queensferry. We recommend visiting the one in North Queensferry due to the charming location in a small house just under the Forth Bridge. This is a great option for lunch. Another great option is Rhubarb in the charming grounds of Prestonfield House, just overlooking Arthur’s Seat – a good choice for afternoon tea or Sunday lunch too, with a friendly cat whose made the manor house his home too. Great food, very classy, and very reasonable.
Rhubarb
In the Old Town, things are a little more touristy but nonetheless worth a visit. Cannonball, for example, is one of the restaurants in the city owned by a famous Scottish Italian family that has good Scottish cuisine while The Witchery, which is nearby, has good quality food and fantastic décor, despite being a bit pricy (visit for lunch, there’s a good deal on lunch menus). Amber is also nearby, which is much cheaper but provides a good range of Scottish traditional dishes like haggis, stovies and Cullen skink at an extremely reasonable price if you want to try a few small dishes. A little further away in Stockbridge, The Scran and Scallie is also a good option for delicious Scottish classics, with exceptional pies.
You don’t need to spend a great deal of money to get a great deal for your food in Edinburgh and many of its best loved foodie institutions are proof of this. Oink, for example, is among the most popular eateries in the city with multiple locations. Choose a pork roll or box with crackling, a side of stuffing or haggis with a bit of shortbread and Irn Bru on the side, all for a fantastic price. Mum’s Comfort Food is another example and one of our favourite restaurants in the world. With unpretentious traditional classics (from haggis to sausages) and good beers in a charming eatery with copies of the Beano and Dandy to browse while you unwind, this is also a very reasonably priced restaurant. You also have to try their cranachan, which is a classic Scottish dessert that mixes cream, raspberries, oats and whisky – it’s one of the nicest desserts we’ve ever had.
Haggis at Mum's Comfort Food
If you fancy a burger, head for Hollyrood 9A, which also serves a good selection of cocktails. Mussel Inn is also well worth a visit for those looking to sample local seafood for an excellent price; their mussels are superb, as are their oysters and whitebait. One of our favourite restaurants in the city is Wings, which is just off the Royal Mile. This has a huge variety of wings in different sauces that range from very mild to hospitalisation-worthy heat. It’s also reasonably priced and will leave you wanting every city in the world to have one.
Pain at Wings
For something sweet, we recommend trying classic bakes and cakes at Mimi’s Bakehouse, one of Baba Budan’s famous donuts (nice with a cup of coffee as you sit outside looking at the world go by), and Mary’s Milk Bar in Grassmarket for generous helpings of incredible ice cream, among the nicest we’ve had outside of Italy. Harry Potter fans may also want to visit The Elephant House for a bake and a cup of tea, which is where a lot of it was apparently written.
Baba Budan donuts
If you want to see the sights of the city and can’t be bothered to walk anywhere, then consider booking an afternoon tea on a double decker bus. We also highly recommend visiting IJ Mellis, which offers an incredible selection of Scottish cheeses – try the Mull cheddar. If you’re visiting around Christmas time, then the Edinburgh Christmas market is also worth a visit.
Drink
A lot of visitors to Edinburgh will be there not just for its food but also its drink; from beers to gins and whiskies, there’s a lot to taste and explore. For a traditional Scottish pub experience, we recommend visiting Sandy Bells, which has a great selection of Scotch and local beers, as well as live bands and a pub dog. If you’re not familiar with pub culture, this is a friendly place to dive right in. Another good pub is the Stockbridge Tap, with an unbeatable selection of beers and knowledgeable staff, although the atmosphere is a good deal less lively than at Sandy Bells. Imagine a pub run by the scouts and you have a good idea of what it’s like. Well worth a visit though.
For craft beers, we recommend visiting Salt Horse in the Old Town. Whiski Rooms is nearby and in a beautiful location on the Mound overlooking the New Town. If you don’t know much about Scotch, this is a great place to get acquainted with it, with tasting flights and helpful staff to guide you in your selection. We highly recommend Islay whiskies if you want something unusual – imagine the whisky version of blue cheese.
Whiski Rooms tasting
In the New Town, make sure to visit Hoot the Redeemer. This is one of our favourite bars in the world. Head down the stairs into an underground realm and discover some of the city’s most innovative cocktails. Can’t make your mind up? Head to their cocktail arcade claw machine and select your ingredients before bringing them to the bar to make you something. Alternatively, get a boozy ice cream (they even do Buckfast ice cream) or just ask for the bar tender’s recommendations. Heads and Tales is also nearby, which is where Edinburgh Gin is distilled. Ask its knowledgeable staff for recommendations in this relaxing subterranean distillery/bar. Paradise Palms is also another good bar for inventive cocktails (including a Buckfast daquiri), albeit a little busier than the others mentioned here.
Cocktail at Hoot the Redeemer
For those who just want a quiet dram of whisky or a cup of tea next to a warm fire, then we recommend Under the Stairs, which despite being right in the heart of town, feels very relaxed. A good place to get out of the rain if you find it doing so during your visit.
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