Postcard from Edinburgh
A week of eating at the Fringe
Hello Happy Friday
Today I had hoped to post a big happy list of all the brilliant shows and all the excellent meals we had enjoyed at our annual visit to the Edinburgh Fringe, but alas, things didn't quite go exactly to plan. I found out recently that this newsletter is read in all 50 of the US states and 170 different countries around the world, which absolutely blows my mind. Because of this, I dont want to assume you know what the fringe is, so let me very briefly explain. The Edinburgh Fringe is the world's largest performing arts festival, which has been running for over 70 years. As the name implies, it was originally a fringe event, an offshoot of the Edinburgh International Festival. Today it is a month-long celebration of performance; from circus to theatre, it is probably best known as a comedy festival, and that is the primary reason for our annual visit.
Firstly, I managed to lose a big chunk of my trip to some 24-hour flu-like bug that had me taking refuge in my hotel bed for a day and a half, and secondly, we just didn't see a lot of great shows this year. Lots of okay shows, a few mixed-bill shows with one or two really good performances, but it just wasn't a standout year. Last year's trip, I remember coming home having seen 3 or 4 shows that I couldn’t stop raving about (Diana The Untold and Untrue Story, Myra Dubois, and Coffee Girl were a few of my favourite 2023 shows), but this year was, if not a bust, a less than stellar year. My one recommendation would be to see Gearoid Farrelly’s show Gearoid Rage. It was the single standup show I laughed at throughout, joke after joke after joke. An absolutely excellent show that is on the whole of the month.
I genuinely love the fringe. The city has such great energy, and you’re able to randomly see a show at almost any hour of the day. Yes, it can get expensive, and yes, not every show you see is going to be stellar, but that's all part and parcel of the experience. The good thing about seeing a bad show is that you can go and talk about it over an excellent dinner, or if it was truly bad, rip it apart over drinks. But the Fringe has much more to offer than comedy and theatre, Edinburgh has an excellent food scene that excites me just as much as the Fringe itself.
Due to my unforeseen illness, our plans for dining went a little out of the window. Even when I was feeling back to normal, we wanted to be cautious and take things easy, so my list of places to check out this year is a little shorter than expected.
I obviously had to revisit this incredible bakery, even if that meant a 45-minute queue to get the goods. After securing a whole plethora of pastries, we hiked down to Bristo Sq to devour them. The blustry morning wind almost cost us a pastry or two as we held onto our glutinous goodies like our lives depended on them. As always, Darcie and her team make truly excellent baked goods. One of the standouts this year was here take on flan; a cup, made from croissant dough, was filled with either strawberries or peach and topped with a layer of vanilla flan, just absolute heaven.
We tend to stay on the eastern side of the city, close to Leith, and whilst it seems slightly less popular with tourists, it is home to many excellent restaurants. Ante is quite possibly my favourite spot in the city, and luckily our hotel was just a couple minutes walk from their fabulous coffee and brunch dishes. This tiny spot is in the basement of, and run by the same team as, Spry Wine Bar, and it's incredibly easy to miss. So easy, in fact, that the first time we stayed in this area, on the same street as the coffee shop, we walked past this spot every single day without spotting it. The coffee spot is part restaurant, part bakery, and, of course, part coffee shop. Unusually, all three elements are excellent. They make my all-time favourite cardamom iced coffee, and all of the savoury dishes we tried were stellar. They make a dish that is a take on bruschetta that on paper seems underwhelming, but the flavour was ridiculously good. Instead of ciabatta, they used a house-made barley porridge loaf that added so much to this classic dish. Before the summer is out, I hope to have made a loaf of bread that reminds me of theirs so I can replicate the dish as often as I can. If this was near my house in London, I would be a regular. Excellent.
A very fast casual Indian spot, this is a fringe favourite as it sits right in the middle of multiple large venues. Expect really good Indian food, quick service, and budget-friendly prices. They also do a good lunch deal if you want to avoid the inevitable queue that comes with dinner.
This spot was at the top of my to-visit list this year. The smallest of all restaurants we visited this year, this was like dining in the front room of a beautiful Edinburgh home. The restaurant describes itself as a modern Chinese restaurant, and it's definitely a playful, and absolutely delicious, take on Chinese cuisine. Famed for two particular dishes, hand-torn noodles and a chicken sandwich made with a pineapple bun, we were able to try the former on this trip, and I will absolutely be back to try the latter.
The noodles are super chewy and served with a rich, tangy roasted pork and plenty of coriander. This is the food I love - a big bowl of flavour and texture. I loved this place so much and cannot wait for my next visit to the city so that I can try everything else on the menu.
When the fringe is on, we inevitably end up eating street food. Trying to fit in a meal in between shows sometimes means a quick bite is the best option. Thankfully, the area around Bristo Sq and George Square is lined with street food vendors during the month of August. A new spot to me this year was Pablo Eggs-Go-Bao, a breakfast sandwich spot where a classic breakfast butty is served up in a steamed bao bun. Whilst this might seem like a small operation they actually have two physical locations in Edinburgh as well as multiple locations in the North East of England. As the fringe can get a little boozy and headaches can be plentiful, I can't think of a better hangover breakfast.
As we were staying close to Leith, it felt like a must to walk down to Hobz Bakery, one of the most often recommended bakeries when I asked for recommendations over on Instagram. Clearly, Edinburgh is a city that loves its pastries because this place was also absolutely rammed, and for good reason, everything we tried was excellent. Their cinnamon roll was not your bang average bun; it was elevated with lemon and honey, and it was one of the best cinnamon buns I have had in ages. My favourite though was the gooseberry bun. Sharp and almost sour gooseberries sat atop a pillowy brioche bun hiding a layer of custard and finished with an oaty crumb, a really nice and unique pastry and well worth a nice walk from the centre of the city.
I can never read about Edinburgh without remembering my one and only trip there when I was about 12. I was taken by my parents who failed to realise that my whinging was not the result of pre- teenage mood swings but the massive verruca I had on the sole of one foot. You have convinced me that I really should give it another try, perhaps during next year’s fringe. How soon should I book I wonder?
Very beautiful things