The Best Eats in Edinburgh
Walking around Edinburgh, it’s great to see crowds again! Thousands of people have flocked to Edinburgh this year to experience some live music and drama once again, something we’ve been deprived of over the last eighteen months.
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is one the most prestigious and vibrant cultural celebrations in the world. Every year, performers – poets, comedians, and Shakespearean actors alike – come together to exhibit their work, share their passion with like-minded people, and (fingers crossed!) get some complimentary reviews in the Guardian along the way.
This year, the Fringe is putting on a slimmed down version of the famous fest. However, although the Fringe itself may be thinner than usual, the sheer quantity of food available will be sure to fatten you up. There are street food pop-ups everywhere, Underbelly Festival (at the Fringe) is doing a roaring trade in pizza slices and bratwurst; and of course, you’ve got the whole of Edinburgh’s permanent cuisine scene at your fingertips, just waiting to be sampled and savoured.
Here are some of the best places discovered last weekend. Hopefully I’ll make you hungry enough to pop on the next LNER to Waverley.
1. Valvona and Crolla
Where: Jenners Street, 48 Princes Street, Edinburgh EH2 2AF
What makes it so great: I can’t stop going on about this place, and even if I could I wouldn’t, because that’s how amazing it is. It’s genuinely some of the best Italian food you can get outside of Italy. Going into this place, you get the sense that they really know what they’re talking about when it comes to food, and that sense only strengthens as you experience more and more of it. A couple of my friends and I split the antipasto platter, some arancini, burrata salad, and zucchini frites. Meanwhile, we made our other friend order his own food because we knew that he was greedy enough to eat our share of everything and his own beside. Instead, he had the Rigatoni con sugo di salciccie – which he assured us was absolutely delicious. It certainly smelt good.
2. Taisteal
Where: 1 Forth Street, Edinburgh EH1 3JX
What makes it so great: Taisteal is a fancy kind of place, but the food is surprisingly reasonable for what you get. You can get five courses for £30 – so treat yourself, I would definitely recommend it. It’s an intimate, family-run place too, and they have just opened their second branch in Raeburn Place on the other side of town. I had some of the best food I’ve ever had at this place – the lobster ravioli was particularly delicious, as was the Thai tartare and the Gressingham duck breast. However, the real star of the show for me was the pear tart tatin with gorgonzola... it was easily the best dessert I’ve ever had. It’s no wonder this place has been included in the Edinburgh Michelin guide, the AA guide, and the Good Food Guide!
(Credit: Square Meal)
3. Makars Gourmet Mash Bar
Where: 9 North Bank Street, Edinburgh EH1 2LP
What makes it so great: This place has acquired legendary status in Edinburgh, and for good reason too. Known as "Edinburgh’s little Gem", Makars specialises in good honest food… all served with a side of mash. I really wanted to go to this place, because mash is pretty much my favourite food on the planet. It reminds me of autumnal evenings, steaming stews, and my mum making my sister and I peel potatoes for what felt like hours before giving up on it and just having skin-on mash instead. I had the chargrilled chicken in a whisky, peppercorn & mustard sauce because the idea of chicken soaked in whiskey seemed almost too good to be true. It was incredible. However, if you don’t believe us, all you’ve got to do is look at their impressive array of awards; Makars is the two-time UK Winners of TripAdvisor UK restaurant of the year AND the winners of the Open Tables Dinners Choice award.
(Credit: Makars)
4. Howies
Where: 10-14 Victoria Street, Edinburgh EH1 2HG
What makes it so great: Howies is an Edinburgh staple, having been open in the Scottish capital since 2001. It specialises in classic Scottish cuisine… and by that, I don’t mean deep-fried Mars bars. My friends and I wanted to go because we really wanted to experience Scottish cuisine in its purest form. When we sat down, we were excited because they had all the dishes we wanted to try – the Scottish haddock chowder was delicious, as was the Catch of the Day (Scottish hake) and the venison casserole. However, the real star of the show at Howies is their haggis, neeps, and tatties (meaning mash and turnips). I was the only one in the group brave enough to try it. I was beginning to really question my life choices before it arrived, but when it finally came, I was so so so glad I’d taken the risk – it was delicious! Howies’ haggis is award-winning, and I would definitely recommend it if you wanted to take the plunge!
(Credit: Howies)
5. Oink!
Where: 34 Victoria Street, Old Town, Edinburgh EH1 2JW
What makes it so great: There was only one place on my ‘Must Eat Here’ list in Edinburgh, and that was Oink. They call themselves the “best hog roast in Edinburgh,” and after eating here I can really see why. Think Subway but for delicious, fresh hog roasts; instead of bland, uninteresting baguettes. You can choose between small, medium, and large; you can add apple and stuffing or perhaps chilli jam, and you can even add extra pork scratching for that extra pork crunch! The queues at this place were absolutely ginormous – we had to wait 20 minutes before we actually got into the shop! Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of seating inside, but that’s okay because this is really the type of food you sit on a park bench with and absolutely devour anyway. Oink! is so popular now, there’s another three branches open in Edinburgh - I’m just waiting for the day they announce they’re setting up shop in south London.
(Credit: Oink!)
And they say Scots don't know how to do food!
Words by Rebecca Clayton