IMAGES: PICFAIR; TILL BRITZE PHOTOGRAPHY; 4CORNERS
NEIGHBOURHOOD
Stockbridge If Leith is up-and-coming, then Stockbridge has up-and-come. Only a 10-minute walk from Edinburgh’s most prominent retail artery, Princes Street, Stockbridge feels like a town of its own, a ferociously well-to-do island in the midst of the wider city. To walk through its centre is to see that
this is no ordinary Scottish high street. There’s George Mewes Cheese; there are cakemakers and furniture restorers; art galleries and picture framers; wine shops and wine bars; an almost preposterous number of delis and bakeries; even more restaurants; I.J. Mellis, another cheesemonger; and, tucked just off the high street, a cricket ground — as rare in Scotland as snow in Arabia. The Stockbridge farmers’ market is one
of the nation’s largest and, once you’ve gorged yourself on freshly made pies and washed it down with a locally brewed IPA, the 200-year-old Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh has more than 13,000 plant species to contemplate and admire. That’s assuming you aren’t content to just
contemplate and admire the loveliness of Stockbridge itself, a place unashamed by its affluence, confident without seeming cocky — a fine place to visit or live, so long as you can afford to do so.
“The whole vibe of Stockbridge is
something you fall in love with,” says chef Tom Kitchin, just as a lunch service begins at his excellently named gastropub, The Scran & Scallie. “When we started up, this was sort of the wrong end of Stockbridge, which is crazy now you think about it. It’s an incredible area, a really nice neighbourhood.” Kitchin’s eponymous restaurant, with its
cherished Michelin star, is located in Leith, and has a very different feel to this former pizzeria. Here, the brickwork has been leſt exposed and the wooden furniture clearly doesn’t come from a single set. “It’s much more home-cooking style, much more pubby,” says the chef. “We call it our ‘happy place’ because people are so relaxed here. We have things like ham and chips, the fish pie. We can’t take them off the menu because locals will be like: ‘Hey, where’s my fish pie?’” Kitchin tells me it’s not unusual to see his
staff running along the street from Bowers (the fancy butcher a few doors down) with fresh produce slung over their shoulders. The result is that, as well as the menu’s popular perennials, seasonal recommendations come along that are equally irresistible. During my visit, I follow the chef’s advice and have some of the early season grouse. It’s not exactly pub grub, but it’s probably the finest game bird I’ve ever eaten — and very Stockbridge.
When in Edinburgh
AFTERNOON TEA AT FINGAL
A one-time lighthouse service vessel, today Fingal is a floating hotel that invokes the golden
age of ocean cruising. Visited by the Queen and frequented by
celebrities, its restaurant offers a spectacular aſternoon tea.
fingal.co.uk
PORTOBELLO Long since swallowed by the
wider city, Portobello still has the feel of a seaside town. There’s everything you’d expect: long
promenades, ice cream and, at St Andrews Restaurant, what
some insist is the best fish and chips in Scotland.
porty.org.uk
ARTHUR’S SEAT
The hike to the top of the city’s most prominent peak makes for an ideal half-day trip, especially as Visit Scotland now provides a free audio guide in the form of a podcast.
visitscotland.com
ROYAL YACHT BRITANNIA
Decommissioned in 1997, HMY Britannia is now permanently berthed in Leith and each year
draws more than 300,000 people, who come to wonder about what
life must have been like on board.
royalyachtbritannia.co.uk
HOUSE OF GODS
Having opened at the end of 2019 in the Old Town, this boutique hotel is something special. It also has one of the coolest
cocktail bars in the city and just 22 super-stylish rooms.
houseofgodshotel.com
Jan/Feb 2021 57
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