Dalry and Haymarket make an excellent food neighbourhood: compact, informal and full of independent places worth seeking out. The area stretches from Haymarket station along Dalry Road, with everything from Southern Italian cooking and Japanese dishes to Scottish produce, sourdough pastries and easy-going breakfasts.
Getting There
From Ben Cruachan Guest House and Ben Cruachan Rooms & Studios: Walk to McDonald Road tram stop and take a westbound tram towards Edinburgh Airport. Get off at Haymarket, where Dalry Road begins beside the station. Most of these restaurants and cafes are then within a 5 to 15 minute walk.
From Caledonian Apartments: Dalry Road is just around the corner from Caledonian Crescent, placing most of these recommendations within a 5 to 15 minute walk. The Haymarket Terrace, Morrison Street and Grove Street options are a little farther east but remain easy to reach on foot.
Restaurants
Locanda de Gusti: A warm, family-run restaurant devoted to the cooking of southern Italy. Handmade pasta, seafood and excellent Scottish ingredients are handled with a distinctly Neapolitan sensibility.
Pizzeria 1926: A lively Dalry Road favourite for Neapolitan pizza, with soft, blistered dough and an appealing choice of classic toppings.
First Coast: Contemporary Scottish cooking with international influences, built around seasonal produce and a relaxed neighbourhood atmosphere.
Mia Italian Kitchen: A friendly Italian restaurant serving pasta, risotto, pizza and familiar classics in an easy-going setting.
Chizuru Tei: A compact Japanese restaurant offering sushi, sashimi, noodles, rice dishes and inventive fusion choices.
The Palmerston: A produce-led restaurant and bakery in a handsome former bank. Its menus change with the seasons, while the kitchen also turns out excellent bread and pastries.
Vietnam House: A family-run restaurant known for comforting pho, spring rolls, rice dishes and noodles.
Breakfast and Cafes
Chapter One Coffee Shop: A welcoming vegan cafe serving breakfasts, brunch dishes, sandwiches, cakes and carefully made coffee.
Coates Cafe: A traditional local cafe for cooked breakfasts, filled rolls, sandwiches, cakes and coffee.
Twelve Triangles: An independent bakery celebrated for naturally leavened bread, laminated pastries and imaginative seasonal bakes.
Troy Cafe Bistro: A relaxed choice for Scottish breakfasts, brunch, wraps, burgers, coffee and pastries.
Haymarket Cafe by L&G: A handy Haymarket stop for breakfast, brunch, cakes and coffee.
Image credits: Pastries on display by Chris Rycroft, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized from the original. Mia Italian Kitchen by Richard Sutcliffe, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped from the original.