A working dock turned into the best eating in Edinburgh, with more Michelin stars per hundred metres than the Old Town.
The Shore is the old harbour front of Leith, on the Water of Leith where it meets the Firth of Forth, and it is a genuine dockside rather than a reconstruction of one. Ships tied up here from the fourteenth century; Mary Queen of Scots landed at Leith in 1561 on her return from France; George IV arrived in 1822 for the visit Walter Scott stage-managed into a tartan pageant.
Leith was an independent burgh until 1920, when it was merged into Edinburgh against the wishes of its own residents, who voted five to one against. Some Leithers still make the point.
Eating
This is the best concentration of restaurants in Edinburgh. Restaurant Martin Wishart opened here in 1999 and held a Michelin star for over twenty years, effectively creating the district’s reputation. The Kitchin, Tom Kitchin’s restaurant in a converted whisky bond, has held one since 2007. Heron has one more recently.
Below that tier, the quays and the streets behind hold a long run of good places — seafood especially, given the location — plus Fishers, which has been in the old signal tower since 1991, and a set of proper pubs: the King’s Wark, the Malt and Hops, Teuchters Landing.
The Water of Leith
The walkway follows the river 12 miles from Balerno through Dean Village and Stockbridge to here, and the final stretch into Leith is a pleasant hour on foot from the Botanics.
The rest of Leith
Ocean Terminal at the end holds the Royal Yacht Britannia, decommissioned in 1997 and now a museum, which is much better than a ship full of royal furniture sounds — the crew’s quarters and the engine room are the interesting parts, and the audio guide is unusually good.
The Port of Leith Distillery, a nine-storey vertical whisky distillery opened in 2023, has a tasting bar at the top with a view over the Forth.
Leith Walk, the long road up to the city centre, is where the district’s ordinary life is: Polish and Italian delis, Chinese supermarkets, secondhand shops, and the pubs Trainspotting was set among. Irvine Welsh grew up in Leith and the book did the district’s image no favours for twenty years; it has recovered.
Practicalities
The tram now runs from the airport through the city centre to Newhaven, with stops at The Shore and Ocean Terminal. This has made Leith a straightforward twenty-minute trip from Princes Street rather than a decision.
Book the starred restaurants well ahead. The pubs do not need booking.
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.
Edinburgh Farmers' Market
Saturday mornings under the castle rock, with venison, shellfish and cheese from people who produced them.