Edinburgh weekend break guide: the best places to eat, drink and stay
The best places to eat and drink in Edinburgh. From whisky-infused porridge to wild venison pate and haggis topped with duck eggs, the Scottish staples are being given a modern twist in the city’s capital.
1 Kick off the day with a healthy breakfast at EARTHY (1-6 Canonmills Bridge), the third branch of this funky market café and deli. Try the Superfood Breakfast: crunchy homemade granola, fresh fruit salad, creamy yoghurt, wild flower honey and a seasonal smoothie.
2 Follow a sugary trail to THE MARSHMALLOW LADY shop and café. These fluffy featherlight concoctions come in seasonal flavours; pick up some whisky ones now or wait until summer for fresh raspberry.
3 Mooch around EDINBURGH FARMERS’ MARKET among jaunty blue and white striped awnings clustered beneath the castle. Stock up on crumbly Scottish tablet, artisan breads and cold-pressed rapeseed oil or tuck into a pot of porridge from Stoats Porridge Bar. Flavours range from cranachan (raspberries, sweet toasted oats, honey and single cream) to Balvenie doublewood whisky and hone.
4 Tear into the signature sourdough pizzas at PETER’S YARD in villagey Stockbridge, the city’s second branch of the artisanal Swedish bakery and café. Or try a cardamom spiced hot chocolate and grab a cinnamon bun to go.
5 The latest venture from Michelinstarred Tom Kitchin and Dominic Jack is THE SCRAN & SCALLIE, a stylish gastropub, also in Stockbridge. Tuck into sheip’s heid scotch broth, £5, pig’s ear carpaccio with sauce gribiche, £6, or hearty braised hogget shoulder, £15.
6 Join loyal locals queuing up outside tiny neighbourhood deli HERBIE for a jar of its signature burnt orange marmalade, chilli jam, or famous chicken liver pâté.
7 THE DOGS, a popular, shabby chic little joint, does an off-beat take on Scottish favourites such as haggis, black pudding and bacon hash with a fried duck egg. Finish with the legendary lemon posset with oat and ginger biscuit.
8 Flick through the drinks list at family-run TIMBERYARD, set in a 19th-century costume and props warehouse. Seasonal cordials, infusions and mixers (homemade and natural colas, tonics and ginger beer) are made using herbs and spices from the kitchen garden. Auld Reekie is a smooth blend of whisky, smoke, golden syrup and orange. Pair with a bite, delicious and equally imaginative small plates.
9 Among the 60 or so cheeses crammed into champion cheesemonger I. J. MELLIS’ Grassmarket branch are Scottish favourites tangy Isle of Mull cheddar and organic semi-soft Criffel from Dumfriesshire. New to the range is Auld Reekie from Aberdeenshire, a delicately smoked, tangy cow’s cheese.
10 FIELD, a spic and span little restaurant that opened at the beginning of the year, has stellar foodie credentials, run by a breakaway team from the Plumed Horse in Leith. Try the rabbit spring roll with carrot and coriander.
11 Huge hams hang from the ceiling and shelves brim with Scottish and Italian delicacies at Edinburgh institution, VALVONA & CROLLA. Buy its speciality Fonteluna sausage. The recipe, created in the mountain village in Italy where the owners originally came from, uses a unique blend of spices and has been in the family for centuries. Sit back, smell the roses and nibble the nasturtiums at GARDENER’S COTTAGE. Simple wooden, communal tables sit in a postcard-pretty 19th-century stone cottage in the heart of the city, and a six-course set dinner menu costs just £30. Seasonal dishes include duck with salt crust turnip, onion and beer purée, and hake with cauliflower mash and razor clams.
13 For an aperitif head to STAC POLLY. The restaurant opened a gin bar at the beginning of the year and you can now choose from an extensive range of Scottish gins such as Hendricks, The Botanist from Islay and Caorunn, which comes served in a bowl-like glass with a wedge of apple. Order a light bite to go with it – venison pâté, redcurrant jelly and crusty bread, or mackerel pâté, caper berries and oatcakes. Menus change daily at CAFE ST HONORE, a cosy bistro down a cobbled lane. What doesn’t is the focus on provenance and seasonality. Try dishes such as Stornoway black pudding with poached free-range egg and stewed Bramley apple.
15 Rising star and Great British Menu chef MARK GREENAWAY launched his restaurant at the start of the year. Savour his signature Loch Fyne crab cannelloni with smoked cauliflower custard, lemon pearls, herb butter and baby coriander – and leave room for desserts such as broken citrus tart.
FIRST PUBLISHED: NOVEMBER 2013
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