This article appears as part of the Food Matters newsletter.
Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Edinburgh.
There’s no escaping the draw of the capital city at this time of year, from endless press releases advertising Fringe events to the impressive lineups of both the Edinburgh Food Festival and next weekend’s Foodies Festival at Inverleith Park.
Even still, I’ll readily admit that I am often sceptical about making the journey from Queen Street to Waverly in the height of summer.
Crowds of slow-moving tourists test patience levels, restaurants and cafes are packed out from noon until night and the wait for a return train inexplicably feels like an eternity once the novelty of picture-perfect streets and bagpipers starts to wear off.
Compared to the relatively subdued streets of Glasgow, it’s all just a little bit much.
But let’s rewind to a few weeks back, as midday struck at The Herald office triggering rumbling stomachs and talk of all things food.
After a fierce debate over optimum meal deal combinations, one colleague happened to mention a TikTok video she had seen the night before, in which a typically upbeat food blogger introduced viewers to the wonders of Makars Gourmet Mash Bar on North Bank Street.
Frankly, she had me at the description of smoked bacon and spring onion-infused mashed potato.
A quick snoop through the restaurant’s website revealed a passion for local produce, plenty more carby goodness and more importantly, a first-of-its-kind ‘mushroom emporium’.
A what?
Well, as it turns out, the emporium is a basement deep below the busy restaurant which was converted into a dark and humid haven for mushroom growing after Chief Makar John met ‘Fun Guy’ Chris quite by chance while out roller-skating.
Quickly bonding over Chris’s lockdown hobby turned business, a plan was hatched as the pair joined forces to produce a plant-based alternative to rival the gargantuan portions of lamb shank and beef shoulder which fly out of the kitchen at Makar’s.
Suitably tempted away from my desk by the promise of a truly innovative and somewhat surreal foodie project beneath the pavement level of Edinburgh’s city centre, I found myself preparing for an explorative trip.
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I’m glad to confirm this UV-lit subterranean space, which is open for diners to visit every day, proved to be every bit as weird and wonderful as it sounded and look forward to sharing the full story with you in The Herald and online next week.
Leaving the restaurant with a box of bulbous Lion's Mane and Oyster mushrooms, which easily takes the prize for the strangest gift I’ve ever returned to the office with, it struck me once more that the best way to get to the heart of the city is through the people who keep it fed.
Suddenly, even having to squeeze past the hundreds gathered around a Royal Mile busker who had seen fit to play the accordion, juggle fire AND ride a unicycle all at once didn’t seem to spark the eye roll that it would have done just an hour before meeting the team at Makars.
With so much good still to come from Edinburgh this summer, it might just be time to update that railcard.
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