Of course when in Edinburgh, we had to take a food tour (it is one of our favorite things to do!). A few options exist in Edinburgh in terms of food tours; we selected Secret Food tours based on Hogmanay availability. Our tour was part Edinburgh history, part food tour. This tour was a good way to try some Scottish classics that I would not be keen to try on my own (like Haggis!).

STOP ONE: THE EDINBURGH CLASSICS

We met our a guide, who is a Scottish native, outside St. Giles Cathedral at 11 AM. We did not go inside (we went the next day – highly recommend), but listed to about 15 minutes of Scottish, Edinburgh and Hogmanay history. This was quite interesting, especially given the ongoing Hogmanay celebrations. After meeting at St. Giles Cathedral, we walked down to Grassmarket for our first stop at the famous pub called Maggie Dickson’s.

And Maggie Dickson is not just another fun name. Rather, Maggie is a famous figure in Edinburgh history. Legend has it that she was hung, sent to be buried and then came back from the dead. The law deemed her survival (or rebirth…) God’s will and she was a free woman, living for four more decades. She is still a celebrity with the nickname “Half Hangit’ Maggie.”

We began our visit at Maggie Dickson’s with a drink of choice, which was a half pint of Guinness for me.

We next tried two large, and famously Scottish, dishes: Cullen Skink and Haggis. We started with Cullen Skink, which is absolutely nothing like the name sounds. Rather, its a seafood chowder made with fresh white fish, vegetables and potatoes. Every Scot that we met totally loved this dish and reminisced about having it during childhood. I found it to be tasty, pretty rich and reminiscent of my Mother’s Oyster stew. It paired well with the local bread. We tried this later in our trip and learned that various chefs prepare it different ways. This one was more of a soup, while another we had was solidly a chowder.

We next sampled the infamous Haggis, which is apparently beloved by locals, with “tatties and neeps.” Haggis is, as you may well know, Haggis is the national dish of Scotland and is basically a meat and oat mixture of minced offal (like liver, heart and lungs), oatmeal and spices. While this is the traditional version, nowadays there are other versions, including totally vegan ones (which I liked better). Our Haggis was served with tatties, or potatoes, and neeps, or turnips. This dish was a bit bitter for me but it was not bad. I tried more haggis later on the trip and my least favorite part of this dish was the turnips rather than the haggis (turnips are not for me!).

STOP TWO: DELICIOUS CRANACHAN 

Our second stop was back on the other side of St. Giles Cathedral at a seemingly more modern restaurant called Burgers and Beer. Here, we tried Cranachan, which we unknowingly ordered for dessert the previous evening.  Good thing we liked it!

Cranachan is a traditional Scottish dessert made with fresh cream, raspberries, Scottish oats, honey and, at times, whisky. According to our guide, Cranachan was originally a harvest time dessert celebrating the raspberry season, but its now enjoyed year round. Burgers & Beer seemed like a odd choice to me for “traditional” food, but the Cranachan was delicious.

STOP THREE: SCOTTISH WHISKY

We followed our Cranachan with a tasting of Scottish whiskies at Jeffrey St. Whisky & Tobacco. Jeffrey Street is not a bar, but a alcohol and cigar shop. The proprietors set up a tasting in their showroom of two whiskies and a Scottish liquor. For the whisky, which is spelled WITHOUT an “e” in Scotland (don’t mess this up!), we sampled two single malt whiskies: a 12-year aged Mannochmore and “rich and spicy” Glen Scotia. I generally hate whisky (regardless of whether its spelled with or without an “e”), so I only had the tiniest sip and gave the rest to Dan. He had a good tasting. What I did LOVE, however, is the Scottish liquor that we tried. Particularly, we sampled Highland Boundary’s Birch and Elderflower Wild Scottish liquor. This was much lighter, in taste and alcohol content, than the whisky and I could actually drink it without any mixer. It truly tasted like a wild flower liquor. I regret not bringing any back home.

STOP FOUR: SCONES, JAM & CLOTTED CREAM

Our tour ended with Scottish scones at Mimi’s Little Bakehouse. Mimi’s Little Bakehouse is a second-generation family business that originally opened in 2010. It now boats 5 locations, including this one inside the Edinburgh Art Center. We tried both the classic scone and a raisin scone at Mimi’s. Strawberry jam and clotted cream was offered to top the scones. Mimi’s scones were huge (I could only eat half of one) and very tasty, especially with the clotted cream and jam. Mimi’s also serves coffee, afternoon tea and a variety of other sweet treats. This location would make a good stop to get our of bad weather of if you just need a break from walking. It’s also quite Instagramable, complete with umbrellas hanging from the ceiling.

We ended the tour after our scones and went our separate ways from our tour mates. If you are interested in such a tour, I suggest going early in your trip so that you can return to your favorite place or order your favorites at another establishment.

STEAL OUR TRIP

Secret Food Tours Edinburgh: This is the food tour that we took for 90 pounds per person. We also did the upgraded drinks package with the discount code that pops up on the website.

Maggie Dicksons: 2 Grassmarket, Edinburgh. Open daily 11 – 1.

Burgers and Beer Grillhouse: 192A High St, Edinburgh. Open daily 11 – 10, until 11 Friday and Saturday.

Jeffrey St. Whisky & Tobacco: 12-14 Jeffrey St, Edinburgh. Open 11 – 6 Monday – Thursday, until 7 on Friday and Saturday. Open 12 – 4:30 on Sunday.

Mimi’s Little Bakehouse: 1 Market Street, Edinburgh. Open daily 9 – 4, until 5 on Friday and Saturday.