The saying goes “as one door closes, another opens” and that couldn’t be truer for these Edinburgh restaurants and food businesses who took the plunge during lockdown and have never looked back. Here’s our rundown on some of the lockdown triumphs.
Sabzi
Sabzi on Ferry Road is the brainchild of Stevie Singh who convinced his parents to return to their roots in selling Punjabi and North Indian street food. We’re so glad he did. The once Coffee & Cream cafe is now a vibrant sit-in eatery with a short weekly changing menu. The consistent menu changes brings new flavours and fresh produce and keeps the regular customers intrigued.
Heron
Tomás Gormley modestly claims that he and his business partner Sam Yorke “just happened to be doing the right thing at the right time”. But it’s not every day that two twenty somethings launch an at home pop-up and evolve it into a farm to table fine dining restaurant just four months later. From Bad Seeds was born Heron, the must-visit, now Michelin starred Edinburgh restaurant on The Shore.
Butta burger
Butta burger’s branding is bold but since they’re serving up what have rapidly become Edinburgh’s best fried chicken burgers, we would have to agree that everything is better with Butta. Graham Atkinson and Simon Bays owned an events business when the pandemic hit. Since then, they have catapulted their decadent burger business, complete with truffle mayonnaise, from a rented dark kitchen to a prime position restaurant on Edinburgh’s George Street. There are few culinary delights better than their buttermilk fried chicken wings dunked in chicken gravy mayonnaise.
Baby faced baker
Rhiain Gordon’s one woman bakery business had far from a romantic start. She started a recipe blog during the pandemic and turned to wholesale baking when she struggled to pay her rent. Six months later her brownies, stuffed cookies and buns – flavoured with the likes of Pimms, berry cheesecake, and pistachio cardamon – became the talk of the town for every sweet tooth in the know. There are now two shops; the original on Leith Walk and the latest addition on Portobello High Street. You can also build your own box online. Those biscoff cruffins will change your life.
Æmilia
If you often crave traditional fresh pasta – the kind that’ll transport you to Emilia Romagna in one bite – then a visit to Æmilia’s Portobelllo shop is essential. In true Italian hospitality Giada Betti and Kip Preidys even serve espressos whilst customers admire the intricacies of fresh pasta making from their open plan kitchen. The couple started crafting their pasta on a 2 metre table in their home kitchen, hopping in the car to deliver it throughout East Lothian. Fast forward to today and business is booming. Even with 4:30am starts, their dishes of beef shin lasagna and Uovo in raviolo which bursts with a golden yolk, sell out most days.
