Eating our way through Edinburgh

Hello friends. Coming at you today with something joyful during this weird time of pandemic virus and panic buying. Last weekend we enjoyed some of Edinburgh’s finest (in our opinion) culinary delights. Ant’s highlight of the trip was “all of the food.” So, we thought that we would share with you “all of” these highlights. Some places we planned on eating at, some found on that trusty well know travel review app and some recommended in the guest book at the Airbnb where we stayed. Also, apologies in advance for the varying image quality, some were take on my Dad's snazzy camera and some on our phones. 

Day One. We arrived by train mid-afternoon so the only meal we had in Edinburgh was tea (or dinner if you’re from the South). After careful consideration we marched over to Makar’s Gourmet Mash Bar. You guessed it, they specialise in mashed potato orientated cuisine. You choose the accompaniment to your mash. Ant opted for the wild boar sausages with cheese and chives mash and I, the skirlie vegetarian sausage with mustard mash. Gourmet is definitely the correct way to describe this mash. It was brilliant. They run a well-oiled machine at Makar’s but they do get busy and we didn’t book. We went on a Thursday night and were able to sit down at a table straight away but you might want to think about booking during busy periods if you can.

Day Two. We got up early and zoomed over to Dishoom for breakfast. Dishoom has multiple locations across the UK so if you are in Manchester or London you can also access their delicious menu. You may or may not know that I am a vegetarian so we always seek out restaurants with lots of options, meaty and vegetarian/vegan. Dishoom can offer something for everyone which earns it brownie points immediately. I had the Eggless Akuri which was a tofu scramble, homemade buns and grilled tomatoes. It was super tasty, full of flavour with a warming heat but not spicy. Ant had the Big Bombay which was a plate filled with all of your traditional cooked breakfast treats and those famous homemade buns too. We also had a side of vegan black pudding which was really interesting – sort of sweet, lots of texture. We have to mention the house chai. Oh, my, goodness. Bottomless sweet and delicious chai – what’s not to like? I think it is the best chai I have ever had in the UK. Dishoom is really popular and if you’re trying to keep to a schedule I would recommend booking in advance. 

After a little wander around the castle, and some hours later we were finally hungry for lunch. I had loaded up at breakfast and so for lunch, we went for an Acai Bowl at Hula Juice Bar & Health Eatery. It was really tasty, refreshing and fruity. Ant had a Ginger Jack juice because he had his eye on something else for lunch. 

Just outside Hula is The Haggis Box, an award-winning food vendor for the best Haggis in Scotland. They sell meat, vegetarian and vegan haggis. Ant described his haggis, neeps and tatties as rich, full of flavour and classic Scotland. The whisky and mustard cream sauce was a highlight of the dish. 

Before venturing out for our evening meal we stopped off at the Dragonfly Cocktail Bar. It was super close to where we were staying in Grassmarket and so highly convenient. I had a Margarita Tailored which was a grapefruit margarita. Ant had a Green Hot Chilli Painters which consisted of Tanqueray gin, Ancho Reyes Verde poblano chilli liqueur, lemon, red wine, whites, tomato & chilli. It sounds bizarre and it was kind of bizzare but really tasty. If you’re feeling bold we would highly recommend trying it. 

For our tea we booked to eat at David Bann Restaurant. David Bann is a vegetarian restaurant that prides itself on “creative and elective cuisine.” I think this sums up the food pretty well. We did that classic thing when you can’t decide what you want to order – so we ate half of each dish and then swapped.  To start we had aubergine, chickpea and cashew koftas, as well as olive polenta with grilled vegetables, goat’s cheese and pesto. For main, quinoa, spinach, pinenuts and sundried tomato courgette wrap with roasted baby potatoes was one dish. The other, risotto of roasted red pepper, spinach and butter beans. The highlight for me was dessert, an assiette of desserts for two which included whisky pannacotta, homemade chocolates filled with sambuca, coffee and white chocolate, hot apple and cinnamon tart, with raspberry ice cream and pineapple sorbet. I also want to mention the cocktail that I had which was an elderflower and rosemary Collins – it was absolutely delicious. 

Day Three. The lovely Rosie Hampton joined us for the day (@rosiehampton_ on Twitter, go and give her a cheeky follow). We tried out Mimi’s Bakehouse for brunch, a place that had been recommended by multiple sources. I can’t find a menu online to find out what the savoury dishes that Ant and Rosie had but you can mostly figure it out from the photos. I had the banana and Biscoff French toast which was MEGA. I couldn’t finish it all, I had to share but if you have a massive appetite you might make it through. 

Rosie had to scoot off back to Glasgow for an event where she was volunteering so it was just Ant and I again for tea. We checked out Vietnam House Restaurant in Edinburgh’s West End. We read online that they do the best Pho outside of Vietnam and Ant can confirm it was proper Vietnamese Pho. I had vegan Pho which is a little different to traditional beef broth Pho, but was equally as nice from I can remember of beef Pho. If you have been to Vietnam and miss the cuisine definitely give Vietnam House a visit. If you have never been to Vietnam but would like to try some of the cuisine ‘proper’ – also try the food at Vietnam House. Unfortunately we didn't take any photos here! Think we were a bit tired. 

Day Four, our final day in Edinburgh. We had breakfast at a café close to our Airbnb which was very average so not worth mentioning. For lunch, before we headed over to the train station, we gave Henderson’s Salad Table Restaurant a try. All vegetarian food, a sort of edgy cafeteria vibe. You choose what you want from the serving station and take your tray over to a table. Really delicious vegetarian food. I had the haggis, neeps and tatties because you’ve got to do it at least once on a trip to Scotland. Ant had two different types of salad – which I could not tell you the name of but I do remember they were chocka full of goodness. 

On our way to the train station we somehow ended up in Bibi’s Bakery – unable to choose one flavour of macaroon, of course, I got two. Pistachio and Raspberry and the other was Rhubarb and Custard. The perfect sweet treat to end a lovely weekend. 

Hopefully when all of this virus business has come to an end you can get to Edinburgh and sample some of these tasty treats for yourself. In the meantime, stay positive, keep it all in perspective and keep trucking. 

Em x