Saturday mornings under the castle rock, with venison, shellfish and cheese from people who produced them.
Running since 1999 on Castle Terrace, directly under the south face of the castle rock, this is a producers’ market rather than a street-food market — the rule is that stallholders sell what they grow, rear, catch or make.
What is there
Venison and game from Perthshire and the Borders. Shellfish from the west coast — scallops, langoustines, crab — often being cooked on the stall. Beef from Aberdeen Angus and Highland herds. Cheese from Scottish creameries, including Isle of Mull cheddar and Lanark Blue. Smoked salmon, hot and cold. Bread, preserves, honey, eggs, vegetables, and in season the soft fruit that Scotland does very well.
There is also a run of hot food stalls — wild boar rolls, buffalo burgers, haggis — which is what most visitors come for and is only part of it.
The setting
The castle rock rises directly behind the stalls, which is a genuinely dramatic backdrop and makes it one of the more photogenic markets in Britain.
The other markets
Stockbridge Market on Sundays, in Jubilee Gardens by the Water of Leith, is smaller, more crafts-and-street-food, and has the pleasanter setting. Leith Market runs on Saturdays on Dock Place. Grassmarket Market is on Saturdays too and mixes food with crafts.
For daily food shopping rather than a market, Valvona & Crolla on Elm Row has been an Italian delicatessen since 1934 and is an Edinburgh institution in its own right, with a café at the back.
Practicalities
Saturdays only, roughly nine until two, all year including through winter. Cash is still useful though most stalls now take cards.
Castle Terrace is a five-minute walk from Lothian Road and about ten from Princes Street, on the side of the castle most visitors never see.
More Food & Drink
The Scotch Whisky Experience
A barrel ride through the making of whisky, and the largest collection of unopened Scotch in the world at the end of it.
The Shore, Leith
A working dock turned into the best eating in Edinburgh, with more Michelin stars per hundred metres than the Old Town.