Various Edinburgh Recommendations
Most of these I can back from my own experience, while others are recommendations from people I think would have a good opinion. If they’re good, your welcome. It not, it was someone else.
Cafés ☕
Cult Coffee - specialty coffee if you care
Not Just Coffee - great treats
The Milkman - big line but never let me down with genuinely good pastries and cakes
Food 🍜
Freddy’s - touristy but honestly great
The Green Mantle - pub but the burgers were class wtf
Tanjore - authentic South Indian food, get the thali
Taco Libre - haven’t been but supposed to be very good and authentic
El Dorado Taqueria - authentic Mexican food + tamales
Noodles Home - busy but really good
Noodles and Dumplings - really good ramen I’ve heard
Dumplings of Chine - really good dumplings I’ve heard
Nanyang Malaysian Restaurant - Huge portions of good Thai food
Moratti - best doorty kebab, huge, cheap, pizzas are meant to be good too
Bánh Mì Brothers - cheap bánh mìs
Xiangbala Hotpot - recommended to me for hot pot
Pomelo - recommended to me too 🤷♂️
Nile Valley Café - cheap big wraps that are actually decent
Pubs + Bars 🍻
The Ventoux - trendy cool bar near the meadows
Brauhaus - my favourite bar, cool wine and beer selection
Seamus’ - good Irish pub
Earl of Marchmont - youthful local pub, good character
Royal Oak - small pub teetering on old man-y, good tunes though
Captains Bar - bit touristy but can be relied upon to have live music
Cabaret Voltaire - haven’t been but some locals go so idk
Sandy Bell’s - small Irish pub, good tunes too
Powder Room - nice little pub with live music on a Thursday
Decanter - lovely wine + picky bits bar, in lovely part of town too
Things to Do 🧗♀️
Arthur’s Seat - yeah
Portobello - Seaside neighbourhood with padel courts and loads of lovely cafes
Pentlands - Quick Bus to a solid hike, bus to Flotterstone Inn, then walk to Currie, shorter and longer hike options, high recommend if you have time
Botanical Gardens - Good not Great, HUGE houses nearby to have a look at
Queensferry - busable nearby town, actually lovely and cute but also small
Blackford Park - lovely walk if you’re in the area
Fudge Kitchen - delicious fudge, free samples
Alien Bloc - climbing gym
Roxy Lanes - bowling and pool
The Meadows - sit out and chill if it’s nice outside, there’s also a hippy coop there with a small cafe, always stuff on to peoplewatch
Bedlam Theatre - small nice theatre with a cute bar inside
Surgeons Hall Museum - worth going and free for students I think, kind of gross but yeah cool
Black Lion Games - cute little board game shop if you’re nearby
Grassmarket - touristy but it’s just a great spot
Armchair Books - best bookstore in Edinburgh probably, very cool and cute