Our guide to Edinburgh: Food
19th June 2021
Takeaway
Matto Pizza
🍕 Cadzow Place, Edinburgh, EH7 5SN
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
We didn’t think we’d ever beat our local pizza place in London; they did a fantastic cherry tomato and basil pizza and we never strayed from it, no matter how interesting any other places or other toppings sounded.
Oh how we were wrong. Matto, we bow down to you, pizza gods; your chilli honey is unreal.
My go to was the pepperoni, basil and chilli honey (Pizza 10) with extra olives — think we ordered 4 times in total over 4 weeks! Can also vouch for Pizza 7, with ham hock, mushroom and olives, as well as their take on the classic margherita, Pizza 2. No only was it delicious, but it was dangerously close — a mere 4 minute walk from the apartment. We daren’t order for delivery!
Oriento
🍣 160 Dundas St, Edinburgh EH3 5DQ
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
On one of the first nights we arrived we craved some decent sushi as it’d been a good few months since we had any. Oriental did not disappoint. It’s available on Deliveroo, that’s how we found it!
We ordered a salmon poke bowl, a sushi platter, vegetable gyozas, chicken noodle soup and custard buns to finish. One of the best delivered Japanese orders I’ve ever had, couldn’t fault any of it — unfortunately we were so excited to eat that we didn’t take a photo!
Bross Bagels (Portobello)
🥯 177 Portobello High St, Portobello, Edinburgh EH15 1EU
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Portobello high street sits just off the beach front, and after a chill (quite literally at some points) on the beach we decided to grab a light snack before heading home. I’ve never seen such a vast array of bagel fillings, both hot and cold, as well as dessert options! We went for the Montreal — filled with lox, cream cheese and capers with lemon and dill, and the Hungry vegan — a smashed avocado and cherry tomato cold bagel. Perfect!
— — — — — — — — —
Restaurants & Pubs
Howie’s
🏴 29 Waterloo Pl, Edinburgh EH1 3BQ
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Howie’s is an elegant, Scottish restaurant right next to Calton Hill serving seasonal Scotland-inspired dishes! It was our first dinner inside a restaurant since 2020 and we were very excited. Along with copious drinks, we ordered starters of sweetcorn fritters and a mackerel, fennel, orange & watercress salad followed by a venison stew and venison haunch, with a side of almond and blue cheese broccoli! The venison haunch was the stand out dish; the meat was cooked beautifully and the salsa verde and mash were so tasty — the broccoli was also delicious although a little rich towards the end.
Educated Flea
🥘 32B Broughton St, Edinburgh EH1 3SB
⭐️⭐️⭐️
We met up with friends in the Educated Flea on a warm summer’s night. The service was excellent, and very attentive. We just had starters and mains that evening, beginning with the Feta & pistachio dip with corn chips, and then I ordered the lamb rump, sweet potato & coconut puree, crispy sticky rice cakes, pineapple salsa, and spiced jus and for Alex, the chicken supreme, with aloo chaat, roast red pepper chutney, crispy chicken skin, pickled mustard seeds, and curried coconut sauce. Alex’s dish was delicious, but I must admit that mine seemed to be a strange mishmash of flavours.
Atholl Arms
🍔 Bridgehead, Tay Terrace, Dunkeld PH8 0AQ
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
About an hour and a half from Edinburgh is the most idyllic village named Dunkeld. It’s right on the river Tay, the views are wonderful, the high street is adorable, and there’s walks a plenty around there.
After a lovely walk up over the hills, we sat outside in the spacious outdoor terrace area of the Atholl Arms. It’s right on the river front, and has a covered area for some shelter but also plenty of picnic tables in the sun, and bar stools overlooking the river which looked perfect for a drink in the sun, so something to suit everyone’s needs — it’s also dog friendly!
I was a fair bit hungrier than Alex, so I opted for the wagyu burger on a sourdough bun with fries, which I shared with Alex who had the duck breast and smoked egg — both went down really well. Highly recommend the whole experience.
The Sheep Heid Inn
🥩 43–45 The Causeway, Edinburgh EH15 3QA
⭐️⭐️⭐️
To celebrate our last couple of days in Edinburgh, and our love for Scotland’s food and Holyrood Park, we booked a table at one of the oldest inns in Edinburgh in the Duddingston area. We sat in the cosy, outdoor area and loved the cosy vibe, surrounded by bustling tables, lots of plants and a few dogs too!
We starting off sharing the most deliciously creamy garlic mushrooms on a crumpet, followed by salmon and samphire and pork belly with scallops, black pudding and a horseradish mash. The stand out dish was definitely the mushrooms on crumpet. Sadly my pork seemed a little dry — wasn’t sure if the bar had just been set too high on the mushrooms really! Having said that, the salmon was nice; light and fresh and served beautifully.
— — — — — — — — —
Cafes
Mimi’s Bakehouse
🧁 63 Shore, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6RA
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A lovely cafe offering takeout from the kiosk and indoor and outdoor seating. We visited the Leith branch on one of our walk-runs and grabbed some breakfast. The sausage brioche roll was so yum, although bigger than my face. Still somehow managed to eat it all but couldn’t run much afterwards.
Red Kite Cafe
🥧 7–8 Cadzow Pl, Edinburgh EH7 5SN
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Our favourite local! We worked in here a couple of times and the staff were super accommodating; it’s a nice chilled out vibe there with lots of tables with plenty of space. On top of that, the food is absolutely delicious; the quiches are some of the best I’ve ever had and there’s always a new home-made sweet treat on the counter. The coffee is also great, as well as the extensive selection of teas!
Little Fitzroy
☕️ 46 Easter Rd, Edinburgh EH7 5PJ
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Little Fitzroy was also one of my favourites for takeaway coffee. The filter was excellent and the staff were always super friendly. The pastries and cakes always looked unbelievably good too!
Think Pastry
🇬🇷 80 Montrose Terrace, Edinburgh EH7 5DP
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
We bought far too much bougatsa from this place. So so good. Would commute an hour to get this sweet custard pie again. The spanakopita was also top notch.
Twelve Triangles
🥐 22–24 Easter Rd, Edinburgh EH7 5RG
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Another great place for takeout coffee and breads and pastries. The croissants and pain au chocolats were infallible and the coffee was really good too.
Hula Juice Bar
🥗 94A Fountainbridge, Edinburgh EH3 9QA
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
We worked in the larger Hula cafe on one occasion and it was a great decision. The breakfasts were super yum, the staff was really friendly and attentive and there was a great vibe in there, relaxed but also bubbly. The wifi was also really good, and there were plugs available under a few of the tables, so 10/10 for workable cafe!
The Loft Cafe and Bar (Haddington)
🥪 Peffer’s Pl, Haddington EH41 3DR
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Alex found us a really lovely cycle route around the south east coast of Scotland, starting and ending at the Law in North Berwick. En route of this cycle, just so happened to be the cute little town of Haddington, home to The Loft cafe. A light bite was just what we fancied, and the cheese and ham toastie really hit the spot. Beautiful ham, really mature cheddar and just the right amount of onion chutney, served with a delicious array of side salad. Perfect!
