The Best of Edinburgh: A Local’s Guide
My beautiful hometown of Edinburgh was recently voted the absolute best city in the world by Time Out - high and worthy praise indeed for a green, walkable city that has something for everyone. 🏴
Come for her old soul, exquisite beauty and don’t love her any less for her wild weather (a daily carousel of all 4 seasons in rapid succession).
Which brings me to one of my most-frequently asked questions; when is the best time to visit? That all depends..
The world-famous Fringe Festival takes over the city every August and it’s an impressive way to experience Edinburgh for the first time. For a whole month the city bursts at the seams with art and performances in every possible setting - as well as the Book Festival, Jazz Festival, Film Festival and more, which makes it the most popular (and alas expensive) time to visit. The period over Christmas and Hogmanay (New Year’s Eve) is also completely magical - ice skating in the streets, fire festivals and street parties abounds.
But for whenever you decide to visit us, here are a handful of my favourite addresses and things to do.
Where To Eat and Drink
Food On The Go
All hail Civerino’s Slice - the reigning king of divine pizza slices as big (nay - bigger!) than your head, while Bross Bagels is the (literal) queen of bagels (owner Mama Bross combines Montreal style bagels with NYC deli inspired fillings). Stop at Oink for takeaway pulled pork buns with homemade stuffing and apple sauce.
Visit cheesemonger I.J. Mellis for a tin of Gordal Olives, delicious cheeses, scotch eggs wrapped in brown paper and crusty bread for a DIY picnic or lunch at home.
Dreamy Cafes / SWEET TREATS
🍦Mary’s Milk Bar for ice cream in the Grassmarket is one of those rare gems that is ALWAYS worth queuing for. “Ice Cream?!?!” I hear you say! Even with our less than toasty climate, we love a scoop (or an Affogato) from MMB - the best views of the castle and delicious coffee too. Their lights ARE ice creams and the stools are made from recycled milk cartons!
The Pastry Section is hands down my favourite bakery in Edinburgh (try the Frangipane Tart and prepare for your life to change forever) - so good that you need to think fast, they sell out every day by 1-2pm. Liggy’s Cakes is the best for cupcakes and custom occasion cakes. For the coeliac humans in your life, Sugar Daddy is THE gluten free bakery for you.
Teeny tiny Wellington Coffee on George Street makes my favourite flat white in the city (I also love Cairngorm and The Milkman). If you can catch the Stockbridge Market on a Sunday, I recommend the Steampunk Coffee van or The Bearded Barista!
For journalling, working on my novel or just whiling away the afternoon, I love the peaceful lobby of the Eden Locke on George Street and the sunny back window table surrounded by plants at Grow Urban.
RESTAURANTS I LOVE
(The * means that it’s a top pick if you’re short on time and need to prioritise, but you really can’t go wrong with any of these places.)
The Devil’s Advocate* is an atmospheric restaurant and wine bar hidden up a quintessentially Edinburgh alleyway on the ascent to the Royal Mile. One of my favourites, try their delicious sharing boards by candlelight or enjoy a cosy glass of wine under an awning on their terrace - especially cosy when it rains.
Noto* is probably my favourite restaurant in Edinburgh, serving stunning sharing plates with interesting ingredients, often with Japanese influences in unexpected ways.
The Bon Vivant is a candlelit wine bar and restaurant with a Dickensian feel from the same group as the Devil’s Advocate - similar style food and local produce. Around the corner is atmospheric pub The Queen’s Arms, with olde worlde timber booths that feel like something from The Lord of the Rings.
El Cartel* is unparalleled in the taco department. When I tried their street corn with butter, everything changed! They now have a few venues around the city - my favourite (the original) on Thistle St is currently closed.
The Outsider is just around the corner from the Royal Mile, with magnificent views of the castle (try to book a window-side table). Their menu is hand-written daily, with sort of contemporary-european-scottish-influenced dishes using local, seasonal produce.
The Spence is the restaurant of the newly opened Gleneagles Townhouse. In the words of the old uncle from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Spence is P-O-S-H posh. Divine pink velvet booths under a ceiling so ornate you’ll need a neck rub when you get home.
Baba* serve delicious Lebanese style Mezze on George St, directly opposite Tiger Lily which is good for a sparkly glamorous drink and afternoon tea always.
For the best Thai food in the city, go to Nok’s Kitchen (on the Royal Mile or our local, Stockbridge). Craving Japanese cuisine? Kanpai is my favourite Japanese restaurant (I have dreams about the miso aubergine). We also love Hatakaya for Tonkotsu and Kenji Sushi in Stockbridge.
You can’t go wrong with brunch at Dishoom on St Andrew’s Square, instagrammable Scran or The Pantry in Stockbridge.
Timberyard* - Really cool with an almost Scandi feel - tasting menu, have tried once - super impressed. Family owned. Family run restaurant in the heart of Edinburgh using hyper seasonal ingredients. Scandinavian minimalism reminiscent of NOMA in Copenhagen. Warehouse feel with Scottish touches.
The Lookout* - A tiny little cube of a restaurant perched on the top of Calton Hill (an amazing hill in the city centre which has stunning views) - went here after my Legal Civil part of my wedding. Again, almost Michelin with tasting menu style food. It’s a tiny glass cube, booking recommended!
Rooftops Bars with BEAUTIFUL views:
Johnnie Walker Princes Street rooftop bar 1820 is Edinburgh’s newest and coolest rooftop with stunning views of the castle and a beautiful selection of whiskies and cocktails. For serious whisky lovers, their second bar the Explorer’s Bothy is exquisite also (the interior feels like you are onboard a luxurious space vessel).
Cold Town House - Really handy for the old town, tucked just beneath the castle (with cosy heaters and ski bubbles). They make their own range of beers (try the pornstar martini IPA - sounds weird, tastes delicious) and this is a great pit stop in the historic area.
After Dark
Step away from the Buckfast! For here are some of my preferred Edinburgh locales for the best drinks and loveliest settings in town. Slainte!
Hoot the Redeemer has an eclectic 1950s New Orleans fun fair vibe complete with animatronic Tarot reader (think mini Tom Hanks in Big), a Punch & Judy DJ booth and a retro crane claw machine for determining the key components of your next cocktail at random. The bar is friendly and laid back, with vintage theatre seats and a great selection of disco drinks.
Bramble is an inconspicuous wee bar hidden beneath City Alterations (a sweet family-owned tailor). So discrete you’d easily miss the tiny sign peeping up from a sombre stairwell but the drinks are divine. Bramble’s fun-loving, retro inspired cousin Lucky Liquor Co. is just a block down the same street. With just 13 drinks at a time and an emphasis on the homemade, it’s worth a whirl on their checkerboard tiles to a vinyl soundtrack.
Panda & Sons is a fun Prohibition-era speakeasy lying in wait behind a retro barbershop façade. Think vintage hairdryers repurposed as lamps, crimson armchairs and a menu that reads like a novel. The drinks are imbued with storytelling and drama (one half expects to turn around and spy Christopher Walkin in a velvet dressing gown..in a good way).
For beautiful wine flights and Frenchman-approved cheese and charcuterie boards, head to Smith and Gertrude down in Stockbridge, followed by The Last Word Saloon for a nightcap.
Coins Jolis (Pretty Corners), A Shortlist:
Circus Lane in Stockbridge.
Along the Water of Leith to Dean Village.
Granny’s Green Steps, below the castle.
Victoria St in the Grassmarket.
The views from Calton Hill.
Things to do:
Have the pants scared off you at the Real Mary King’s Close - a tour of the underground vaults beneath the old town that focuses mainly on the history with just a hint of the spooky stuff. Avoid some of the other vaults tours if you don’t enjoy having the complete bejeezus scared out of you, by a guide dressed like Dracula (the same goes for Surgeon’s Hall museum of you’re not a fan of pickled organs). I learned the hard way, friends.
The Johnnie Walker Experience is an impressive, theatrical exploration of the brand’s unique history, serving you different drinks tailored to your very own flavour profile.
Long known as the iconic capital of whisky, you won’t be hard pressed to find a dram in these here parts. The Royal Mile is even home to a comprehensive “Whisky Experience”
The Scotch Whisky Experience on the Royal Mile involves a swirling ride in a giant wooden barrel through a virtual distillery (observed through the eyes of a single grain of malt!) and a vivid scratch and sniff tour of the nation’s whisky producing regions. Although it’s about to reopen after a renovation so the might have done away with the whirling barrels (I hope not).
The Scotsman Picturehouse is lavish cinema transporting viewers back to the golden age of Hollywood with beautiful lighting and more red velvet than you can shake a stick at.
Where to Stay
Opened in Summer 2022 The Gleneagles Townhouse was described by Conde Nast as “the great-granddaughter of the original – the one that cut loose, ran away, swung from a few chandeliers but eventually came back, found a respectable address in town and started to remember her manners.”
The OG Gleneagles was acquired by the Ennismore group (of Hoxton hotel fame) a few years ago - which explains the exquisite soft furnishings and all the zshushing that’s been happening up in Auchterarder. Hotel guests at the Townhouse have access to the members-only rooftop Lamplighters (you lucky people).
At the very bottom of the royal mile, Cheval Abbey Strand Residences is a new collection of serviced apartments in good company facing our long-extinct volcano Arthur’s Seat, the Scottish Parliament and Holyrood Palace. The building itself has an incredible history - once housing the large court of Mary Queen of Scots while she was resident at the palace across the street.
Porteous Studio is a hidden architect-designed studio on a cobbled mews just off the Grassmarket. Porteous is set in a former 18th-century blacksmith’s workshop and was transformed by local couple-run design practice Izat Arundell. Described by CN Traveller as their favourite Airbnb in Edinburgh.
Eden Locke is an “aparthotel for self-sufficient people”. One of the best New Town locations on George Street, the lobby is home to a beautiful coffee shop and wine bar (ideal for sitting with a laptop or watching the world go by for hours).
We stayed at Princes Street Suites with friends a few years ago and couldn’t believe what good value for money it was, with views across the old town and everything we needed. Pretty sure we ended up in the Penthouse by mistake!