Edinburgh at Christmas can be a sensory overload. Hordes of people crowding the pavements (often whacking you with their shopping bags), excited children high on sugar, and the relentless piping of Christmas music out of the various festive markets in the city centre… it’s enough to leave you exhausted.
So, this festive season, why not escape the crowds and enjoy a far more civilised experience in Leith? Just a 15-minute tram ride from Princes Street takes you to the Foot of the Walk, the starting point of Leith’s bustling subculture.
You can pick up some Christmas presents in Leith’s quirky independent stores, or warm up with a coffee in one of the many delightful cafes. And for food to remember, you need look no further than Leith’s newest restaurant, Dulse.
Found in the former home of ASKR, on Constitution Street, this is the second Dulse opened by chef Dean Banks. He founded the original Dulse on Queensferry Street in the capital’s west end, before starting a pop-up in the Leith site – which was such a success that he has now made it a permanent home.
On first arriving into Dulse, it gives an undeniable air of ‘fine dining’, with tastefully pared-back décor and sensitively attentive staff. I was surprised, therefore, to see that the lunch menu offered three courses for just £29 per person (or £23 for two courses).
By the time I had tasted the food, I was even more incredulous at the price. Because my starter – peppered trout with crème fraiche and a crisp rye bread – was quite frankly one of the best fish dishes I have ever had. My partner opted for the Shetland Mussels, served in a huge bowl that almost felt too generous for a set lunch menu.
We eagerly awaited our mains, a pan roast coley with nduja cassoulet and a St Andrews Bay Lobster thermidor, with gleeful anticipation. Full disclosure: there was an additional £15 supplement charge for the lobster, but I felt it still represented impressive value for money. It was, as expected, delightfully indulgent and buttery, while the light and fresh coley was grounded by the warming butter bean cassoulet. This truly is high-end food, but at a much more accessible price point.
Desserts soon followed, a key lime pavlova and classic affogato that were a perfectly light way to finish our meal. After all, you don’t want to overeat at lunchtime and end up asleep on the train home (although, I admit to doing just that, having explored a few of Leith’s pubs during the course of the afternoon).
Getting the tram back to Princes Street, and arriving into the chaos of the Christmas crowds, cemented that Leith might just be the place to be this festive season. You heard it here first…
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here