Edinburgh | The delights of the Empress of the North

Edinburgh has a reputation for being a beautiful city, but we bet you don’t know how delicious it is. In five days and a dozen meals, our culinary columnist ate (and drank) nothing but good food in the greatest conviviality. She has brought you her good addresses for all budgets.

The Palmerston

It is in this bank converted into a restaurant that the gourmet journey begins. The bar is set very high from the first bites of beans with romesco sauce and homemade bread with very yellow and tasty butter. Generous bistro-style cuisine is served here, lunch and dinner, with an exceptional wine list that takes you on a world tour of artisan estates. When we arrived around noon, on a Saturday, the room was rather quiet, but a few hours earlier, lunchers were robbing the counter of the breads and pastries laid out every morning except Monday, from 9 a.m. A essential during the day or evening.

Visit The Palmerston website (in English)

Lind and Lime and Port of Leith Distillery

Why just have an aperitif in a bar when you can go to the source in a distillery, gin and tonic in hand? A gin factory that doesn’t produce its base alcohol may not be the most exciting of visits, but our lively young guide makes the hour very entertaining. The Lind and Lime boutique is particularly well stocked with hand-picked artisanal products.

A 10-minute walk away is a vertical distillery, that of Port of Leith, which belongs to the same company as Lind and Lime (gin which is now on sale at the SAQ). In the port, we have been producing whiskey (in the making) for only a few months. On the ninth floor there is a superb glass-enclosed restaurant-bar where you can drink very good cocktails, order a whiskey from the extensive menu and eat delicious small dishes.

Visit the Lind and Lime Distillery website

Visit the Port of Leith Distillery website

Pomelo

Plump hand-pulled noodles with peanut sauce: that’s all you’ll want to eat for lunch at this small modern Chinese restaurant in the south of the city. In the evening, the menu is a little more developed and everything looks delicious. As if I wasn’t already won over, the wine list finally seduces me with artisan wines chosen expressly to pair with cuisine with a strong personality.

Visit the Pomelo website (in English)

Sabzi

This delightful Indian family restaurant bridges the gap between traditional cuisine and modern offerings (like an apple pie samosa). Find some friends so you can share the entire menu, complete with a soothing mango lassi drink.

Visit the Sabzi website (in English)

The Spence

To experience a real “wow!” moment. », you have to stop by for a drink and a bite to eat at Spence, a superb restaurant in the equally spectacular Gleneagles Townhouse. This private club deigns to rent rooms and share part of its breathtaking spaces with non-members. Although the place is crazy chic, you won’t be refused entry – you won’t even be looked down on – even if you’ve just come down from a hike at Arthur’s Seat, in limp clothes! That’s real class!

Visit the Gleaneagles Townhouse website

Montrose

This pretty white corner house is the little sister of Edinburgh’s most popular restaurant. Despite numerous attempts – including one in person with my most pitiful expression – I was unable to get a table at the beautiful Timberyard. However, I spent a very nice evening on the ground floor of Montrose, a minimalist room without being cold, animated by passionate, enthusiastic and kind service. Upstairs, where a short tasting menu is served, the space is zen and sensual. It feels like a spa, including the scent of palo santo. Upstairs and downstairs, we serve small, very original, textured dishes with precise tastes. The wines are as we like them, artisanal and sought-after.

Visit the Montrose website (in English)

Ardfern

The newest addition to the family whose parents are The Little Chartroom and Eleonore, Ardfern serves brunch during the day and simple small plates in the evening. At any time, you can leave with a bottle of wine at a fair price. THE scottish breakfast could not be more complete, as was the generous plate of Sunday roast, composed of a thick slice of very rare beef with hash browns. Whether you choose watermelon juice, a Guinness or a glass of Slovenian “orange” wine, you will drink well.

Visit the Ardfern website (in English)

Mary’s Milk Bar

No ingredient is Mary’s proof, and she turns absolutely everything into gelato, whether it’s yeast-based Marmite spread, gorgonzola or a peaty scotch. The flavors change all the time and the queue is inevitable in front of this little gold mine at the foot of Edinburgh Castle.

Visit the Mary’s Milk Bar website

The Bow Bar

This is one of the nicest pubs in town. The bartender takes the time to ask me about my taste in whiskey and gives me six or seven options that might meet my criteria. I ended up with a Lady of the Glen 12 year old from the Teaninich distillery, cask strength (58.7% alcohol by volume) finished in aquavit barrels. Bingo! Central and unpretentious, it’s the perfect place to stop after a day in the Old Town.

Visit The Bow Bar website (in English)

Spry

With a cutting board and a cooking ring behind the bar, the chef manages to create excellent dishes using local and seasonal ingredients. Artisanal products like the superb East Coast Cured sausages and British cheeses complement the menu well. Spry is a wine bar first and foremost and the bottle selection is incredible. In the basement, the same love of well-made liquids can be felt at the Ante café/bakery, which sometimes transforms into Dusk in the evening, to put exceptional spirits and cocktails in the spotlight.

Visit the Spry website (in English)

Where to relax (and also eat!)

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Fingal

If you are fascinated by the British monarchy and have a budget (on average $550 CAD per night), you can opt for this luxury boutique hotel where Anne, the Princess Royal, stays in the presidential suite two or three times a day. year.

The particularity of Fingal? It is a ship that once maintained the most remote lighthouses in Scotland. Built in 1963 then decommissioned in 2000, the ship was purchased by the Royal Yacht Britannia in 2014. It was transformed into a floating hotel with 22 opulent cabins, some small and cozy, others more spacious, even on two levels. . The Fingal has been welcoming customers to the Port of Leith since 2019.

You can also stop by Fingal without staying there, for full afternoon tea (from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.), for example, at 65 pounds per person ($115 CAN), or reserve a table on evening. I had low expectations regarding the cuisine – even if, at 80 pounds for three courses, or $140 CAN, we should have some! – and maybe that’s why I was so impressed. Each plate is a colorful, complex, artistic creation. And the fireworks continue in the mouth. Absolutely worth trying one evening if you go out, despite the somewhat old-fashioned side of the dining room.

Visit the Fingal website (in English)

Market Street Hotel

This hotel is exceptionally well located in the Old Town. Off-season prices can start at around $250 CAD, but in the height of summer you should expect to pay more, like everywhere else in Edinburgh. The rooms are particularly well thought out and comfortable. In the chic and bright Nor’ Loft, you can sip champagne while enjoying beautiful views of the city.

Visit the Market Street Hotel website