Edinburgh Bitesize
 

Recently back from another trip north of the border, this time for Mr M’s birthday. I don’t really have time for a full trip report so thought I’d try this briefer, bitesize/photo essay format, with recs for a few places to sightsee, eat and drink. Stay tuned!

1. Old Town.

Ok let’s get the obvious shortbread, castles and tartan option out of the way first.... You don’t need a guided tour - just wander the streets and very narrow alleys looking for your own photo ops.


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Shopping.

Jenners is an arts and crafts building reminiscent of Liberty in London. Sleepy and quiet, and has clearly seen better days, but still worth a look for the fabulous Lochcarron Weavers tartan blankets in up to the minute pink, purple and orange colour palettes.

Harvey Nichols is smaller than its London counterpart but still handy for harder to find fragrance brands like Tom Ford and Armani Privee, as well quirky 70s style homewares and local spirits (Shetlands gin). Top floor has a sushi conveyer exclusively devoted to desserts and mini bottles of champagne (The Chocolate Bar).

Across in the old town check out Yoshi for handbags shaped like Custard Creams!

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>>Top floor has a sushi conveyer exclusively devoted to desserts and mini bottles of champagne (The Chocolate Bar)<<

Didn't know about that -- will have to hit the Chocolate Bar next visit . . .

I love Yoshi bags - where is the shop? I do have sales resistance with the animals because I have a few Radley's, but they do have cute stuff.

Yoshi is on Victoria Street, about 2/3 of the way down.

Would also recommend Rose Street for antique jewellery (if you are feeling flush), Mellis for cheese and Armstrong's for vintage clothing.

Thanks, I usually stay somewhere on the upper end of the Royal Mile so it would be close.

I prowl Rose street just about every trip.

I also didn't know about the chocolate bar. I've never been in Harvey Nichols but am going to check it out next time. I've never been to Rose street either so more on my list.

I'm not much of a shopper unless it's a book store, but I do like Rose Street especially the cobble stones.😁 Haven"t been in Jenners for some time. Found it a bit claustrophobic when I last visited, and didn't know about Harvey Nichols.I must've walked by it a number of times.

I enjoyed your pictures of the Royal Mile. I think a walk along the mile should be a must for all tourists.

That "walk"can be particularly interesting during the Fringe. Talk about "tourist clogged."

Loved the pics! WE loved it when we visited. I am interested in your other posts.

At the risk of revealing extreme old-f@rtness, I'm going to mention an old Jenners story from back in the day.

When my wife and I arrived in Edinburgh and started looking for someplace to live, we ended up in Jenners' property department. At the time Jenners was trying to be an all-purpose department store, with a much wider range of merchandise - all of it high end, mind - and services aimed at the carriage trade, including real estate brokering and property management. The lady we spoke to, invariably dressed head to foot in tweedy apparel undoubtedly acquired a couple of floors down, conveyed the kind of extreme snootiness one would expect to be directed at a couple of twenty-something Americans invading this bastion of Victorian propriety. In retrospect she looked like a Morningside version of Theresa May.

She sent us on several inspection missions to properties managed by Jenners on behalf of their owners, mostly flats in the New Town that were either incredibly tiny or which would drain our savings much too quickly, but which were on "respectable" (her words) streets. By our final visit she had obviously become frustrated with our unwelcome persistence, so she opened her (not very thick) binder of listings and announced, "Well, we have this property in St. Stephen Street.... if you don't mind where you live."

At the time St. Stephen Street was entering its Bohemian period. It's a street originally built to house artisans and the like engaged in building the New Town, just a block or two to the south, but by then was predominately working class. On the street level, however, there were increasing numbers of antique stores and tiny boutiques, next to the scrap metal merchant who took an unusual number of midnight deliveries, if ya know what I mean. The flat was spacious (and fairly primitive - coal fires in three rooms and no other heat) and we were delighted. When we expressed this delight to Madame Jenners, she literally slid her half-spectacles down her nose and looked up at us like Minerva McGonagall, and said, "Fine." We ended up living for years in that little flat.

Bohemian is good. :-)

I tend to avoid The Royal Mile as it's always heaving with tourists, so my photos are just a bit further on from there on Victoria Street and Grassmarket.

Ok next up - Thistle Street.

Back in the new town and home of my favourite bar in Edinburgh, Bon Vivant, which has an array of unusual bespoke whisky based cocktails. I like the Scots Colada, but the photo below is of some equally addictive firey rum-banana concoction. Table service is a nice touch.

Opposite is El Cartel, which does Mexican street food. I tried the dark carnitas (soft tacos with shredded duck and a pecan salsa) and there is a mile long list of frozen margaritas. Fun day-of-the-dead themed decor.

Dusit on the same street does an appealing sub-£15 thai set lunch menu with pork and lemongrass, tamarind prawns etc served in a chic, contemporary dining room.

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I forgot all about this.

Next post - lunch at Martin Wishart - savoury macarons (beetroot flavour filled with horseradish cream), mackeral and tomato confit, hake with caponata, guinea fowl on a bed of leeks, almond panacotta and peaches, and chocolate delice in a pomegranate soup with mint oil. Yum. The restaurant is in Leith - we got a taxi up there from the city centre, then a bus back later. We spent the evening in Cafe Royal (gin fest) and Bon Vivant (more cocktails).

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Fun! I have only been in Edinburgh during August, twice, and I am sure it is a very different experience without the hordes. But I can only imagine going in August; if I’m going all the way to Edinburgh, I want the festivals to be on.

>>I forgot all about this.<< . . . you 'forgot' about . . . Martin Wishart? :)

Isn't it wonderful!

I love the Fringe too, Nikki, and we had originally planned to go in August, but unfortunately the trip had to be rescheduled. Maybe that should be a GTG one year!

Yes Janis, it's fab - but I'm a bit torn between that and Tom Kitchin at The Kitchin. I think I liked the ambience slightly better at Kitchin, but the freebies (macarons, pea veloute, crab shots etc etc) were better at Wisharts. First world problems lol.