Jul 27

Jul 27 edinburgh coffee & eats.

we did and saw as much as we could during our one day in edinburgh, but we had to eat too. here’s where we got our sustenance..

127

not only was our hotel conveniently located, super cozy and beautifully designed, the ground floor lobby is also an amaaaaazing coffee shop called 127 (the street number). we got our day started with flat whites and a croissant - is there anything better?

the cafe royal

after spending the morning exploring the castle, we made our way back into new town to have lunch at cafe royal. it’s an old school restaurant and bar that’s been open since the early 1800s!

scottish monkfish fillet, goan tomato and coconut curry, saffron rice.

holy heck, talk about beautiful, grand interiors. i couldn’t get over all the delicious details in the wood and glass works, and the food was great, too.

brew lab

for a late afternoon pick-me-up, we stopped into a little place called brew lab that also served an excellent flat white. it’s near or right by a university so was pretty packed full of college kids.

mussel inn seafood restaurant

even though we only had one day in edinburgh, we had two nights! that means two dinners! our first night, we went to mussel inn seafood restaurant because there’s little we love more in the world than mussels.

sauteed tiger prawns, spicy chorizo sausage, sliced red onion, charred baby gem lettuce.

also, they source their seafood locally (and sustainably!), which makes super fresh, super tasty seafood even better in my opinion.

pot of mussels, white wine, garlic, shallots, cream.

wedgwood

i had not mentioned it until now, but our full day in edinburgh also happened to be our wedding anniversary. we booked a table at wedgwood in advance, and after a day of exploring the city, was the perfect way to unwind. it’s very nice without feeling stuffy or pretentious, and the service was warm and welcoming.

lobster thermidor creme brulee, pepper dulse, parmesan shortbread, caviar. — *lobster thermidor creme brulee*, pepper dulse, parmesan shortbread, caviar.

they have a “wee tour of scotland” tasting menu option which we just had to do and i loved everything. i really had not thought about scotland having good food before going on this trip (it’s not to say i thought there wouldn’t be good food in scotland, but it’s not one of the things that comes to mind when you think about or people talk about scotland). i was very quickly proven wrong!

scorched douglas fir cured salmon, beetroot, blood orange. — *scorched douglas fir cured salmon*, beetroot, blood orange.

salt baked celeriac, cocoa, carrot, chicory, orange. — *salt baked celeriac*, cocoa, carrot, chicory, orange.

roast monkfish, lentils, smoked sausage, onion broth. — *roast monkfish*, lentils, smoked sausage, onion broth.

herb crust hogget loin, anchovy stuffed breast, fermented wild garlic croquette. — herb crust *hogget* loin, anchovy stuffed breast, fermented wild garlic croquette.

do you know what hogget is? i didn’t. turns out it’s sheep that is between 1-2 years old. younger sheep are called lamb, which i think we’ve all heard of, and older sheep is called mutton. also, it’s delicious.