Old Town food tour

Take a food odyssey around the Old Town of Edinburgh, breathe in the history while discovering Harry Potter’s origins and Greyfriar’s Bobby.

Theme
Food & Drink
Location
Old Town, Edinburgh
Duration
4 hours
Designer
Barry Pickard

Experience

Start the tour by having a coffee in the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter. Then, after selecting a decadent Italian ice cream, walk past the monument to Greyfriar’s Bobby, and into the atmospheric Greyfriar’s Graveyard. Under the watchful gaze of Edinburgh Castle, visit the Grassmarket Market and feel the exciting buzz of the Old Town. Walk up through the famous Victoria Street to have a luxurious Afternoon Tea. Finish your tour by walking down the Royal Mile, checking out the indulgent food stores as you go

Route

The Elephant House

The Elephant House is a great coffee shop made famous as the place of inspiration to writers such as J.K. Rowling, who sat writing much of her early novels in the back room overlooking Edinburgh Castle.

Vittoria on the Bridge

Luxurious ice cream, with flavours that often include Praline, Coconut, Coffee & Cream, and Amaretti Amaretto. Sorbets, like Raspberry and Lemon are also available.

Greyfriars Bobby Statue

A bronze life-size statue of Greyfriars Bobby, a Skye Terrier who became known for supposedly spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner John Gray until the dog itself died on 14 January 1872.

Greyfriars Kirkyard

Greyfriars graveyard was established during the late 16th century and boasts a number of famous and creepy headstones.

Grassmarket Market

Edinburgh traders selling the best local produce. Stalls often include Au Gourmand Boulangerie, Caithness Smokehouse, Campsie View Kitchen, Casa Roble Paella, Knights Kitchen and Osso Sausage Rolls.

I.J. Mellis Cheesemongers

I.J. Mellis offer a traditional, old fashioned sense of service and style whilst using modern technology to maintain and enhance the unique characteristics of artisan cheese. Other specialist foods are also supplied.

Cucina at Radisson Collection Hotel, Royal Mile

Cucina offers a unique and innovative Afternoon Tea which can include one of their delicious cocktails, or stay later to enjoy contemporary Italian cuisine.

Fudge Kitchen - Edinburgh

The Fudge Kitchen has been hand-crafting their original special recipe fudge for over 35 years, using traditional methods and a lot of love.

Cranachan & Crowdie

At Cranachan & Crowdie you’ll find all those quintessential Scottish food and drink souvenirs from thistle-shaped shortbread down to a humble slab of tablet.

Practicalities

  • To fully enjoy the indulgent Afternoon Tea, start your tour just after noon time and try to not eat too much on your way

About

This route was designed by Barry Pickard in collaboration with Uptaste.

Barry Pickard

Specialising in European and North American destinations, as well as a number of other countries around the world, I have designed self-guided tours for city based visits; multi-stop road trips; family, group and couples vacations; as well as themed excursions. Experienced in designing walking tours, driving tours and robotaxi experiences. A history graduate, with a great eye for detail, my passion for travel and research has found its apogee in designing fun, interesting and thoughtful trips

https://www.tailormadeitineraries.com/

Uptaste

What is Uptaste? We’re something like a travel agency business (although we don’t sell flights or hotels). Instead, we specialise in finding the right place to eat, wherever and whenever you are, using location intelligence combined with expert and community curation. Uptaste destinations will rarely be restaurants; they’ll be shops, they’ll be street traders, they’ll be local markets, or some other easy-to-miss but hard-to-forget place.

https://www.uptaste.com