Reports from a Semester of Rest and Relaxation: Eating my way through Edinburgh

These past couple of weeks, as part of my “gap” semester after graduating a semester early, I’ve been in Amsterdam, mostly stuck on the couch due to a nasty virus. But last week, as part of my grand European tour during my semester off, I visited my friend who is doing a master’s in Edinburgh. I was pretty excited, since it’s been a hot second since I saw her or was in the UK. Plus, the one and only time I had been to Edinburgh I hadn’t really done much. So, I was pretty excited to hop onto an EasyJet flight to visit the land of tartan and thick accents.

Schiphol security was mercifully quick this time, so luckily I managed to just make it to Joe and the Juice to get my normal pre-flight meal of a juice and tuna sandwich right before they closed. Because I had anticipated the usual insane lines at Schiphol, I had arrived ridiculously early for my flight, especially since my flight was later delayed. This meant I then spent hours meandering around the airport, eating chicken mcnuggets, and watching reels before at last it was time. 

Once in Edinburgh, I headed straight to my friend’s place, and after a much needed catchup session, headed straight to sleep. 

During my first day, we grabbed a quick brunch at Thomas J Walls Coffee. I got their shakshuka with chorizo, which was pretty solid, although I didn’t love the chewy, overcooked kale. 

I then grabbed a chocolate frosted donut from Kilted Donut, which was a little doughy but overall very tasty. Next time I probably would get a more interesting flavor. After my friend went to class, we then met up to grab some much-needed hot chocolate from Uplands Roast, which was thick and rich, almost like Italian-style hot chocolate and had the right amount of marshmallows (almost overflowing). 

My friend then gave me a brief tour of Edinburgh that included a quick stop at the Talbot Rice gallery. 

We then headed to a Frankenstein-themed bar, as my friend was planning on meeting her friends there for their trivia night and I had some time before my dinner plans. Despite the slightly peculiar decor (they had a massive Frankenstein’s monster statue at the entrance and were playing different Frankenstein adaptations on the TV), I will say they had a surprisingly tasty pornstar martini. 

For dinner, I met up with a high school friend at tipo, which I loved. We got the sourdough focaccia (not pictured, but deliciously fluffy with a rich olive-oil flavor) and the the lamb fritte with white anchovy. Even though I strongly dislike lamb, I actually really enjoyed it, as the lamb flavor was pretty mild, and it tasted just like a juicy, fried meatball.  We also got the burrata with tomatoes and chili, which was unsurprisingly a hit. I mean, how can you go wrong with creamy, fresh burrata and a savory, salty tomato jam. Yum. 

For my main course, I ordered the pappardelle with crab and chili, which was solid, but I which the sauce was just a little less thick and a bit more smooth. 

While both the vanilla and chocolate soft serve and tiramisu were tasty, but the tiramisu was the real star of the show here. Perhaps the entire meal. Something about the espresso it was soaked in, plus the airy, light ricotta was so, so good. 

The next day, my friend and I met up for her first visit to one of my favorite restaurants ever: Dishoom. Unsurprisingly, it was just as good as I expected. The unlimited house chai was comfortingly spiced without being too sweet, the mandatory house black daal was creamy and rich, and the tomato-based chicken ruby was still warm and moreish. The paneer tikka was pretty solid, especially when dipped in daal, and the charred chili butter-bhutta corn was a surprise hit, and the chili and lime topping provided a refreshing contrast to otherwise heavy meal.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon meandering around Edinburgh since it happened to be a lovely day, which included a stop at the idyllic Dean Village that evokes a small town in the countryside.

After some much needed rest, we headed to dinner at Henderson’s, a vegetarian restaurant with a surprisingly hefty cocktail program. I got their pornstar martini, which, while it definitely included less artificial flavorings than previous ones I’ve had, this meant it also tasted a bit stronger. I did love the bruleed passionfruit that they also provided a spoon for, as oftentimes I feel like the passionfruit halve that bars often put into the drink isn’t really meant to be eaten, which is quite a waste. 

To start, we shared the oyster mushroom “scallops,” which were tasty, but also felt like they were a bit stingy on the portion sizes. 

I got the “haggis” with whisky cream sauce and mash for my main, which, although I’m not too sure it resembles haggis all that much, it was certainly filling and delicious. I do think the mash could be a bit more creamy though.

For dessert, I got a gingerbread house cocktail, which was unfortunately overpowered by the licor 43, and I wish the vanilla ice cream hadn’t completely melted into the drink. The baked Alaska redeemed them though, as I loved the toasty meringue with the caramel and banana “ice cream” and biscuit crumble instead of the customary cake(which I’ve never really liked anyways) at the bottom. It felt like a new take on one of my favorite desserts, banoffee pie

We then embarked on a mini bar crawl across the hits, which, ended, as any good night out should, with chips and gravy and an episode of h2o: just add water, the perfect end to this blast from the past of a trip.