There was a time when a night out in Leith came with a certain sense of jeopardy. As a student, I usually arrived after midnight, heading to an annual afterparty following a psytrance night called Indigitous. My friends and I would make dark jokes about the likelihood of getting bottled, until our Austrian friend Fabi proved the joke had some basis in reality.
A couple of decades later, the bigger danger is probably over-ordering. Leith has undergone one of Britain’s more dramatic urban reinventions, evolving from rough-edged port district to a neighbourhood packed with natural-wine bars, destination restaurants, excellent bakeries and pubs worth crossing the city for. Its rise has been written about endlessly, but returning recently with my family made the scale of the change clear. This is no longer simply one of Edinburgh’s most interesting places to eat and drink, it’s one of the best – and, crucially, it's kept its character.
Eat
The Little Chartroom
Few restaurants have done more to crystallise Leith’s reputation as a dining destination than The Little Chartroom. When chef Roberta Hall-McCarron and her husband Shaun opened it in 2018, Leith was still relatively untapped territory for ambitious independent restaurants, with lower rents and a reputation that lagged behind the quality of what was beginning to happen there. The Little Chartroom helped change that.
Artful cooking at The Little Chartroom
AwAyeMedia
The restaurant's bar counter
AwAyeMedia
Its precise, modern Scottish cooking and unusually warm neighbourhood feel quickly drew national attention, demonstrating that serious food in Edinburgh no longer needed a city-centre postcode. Hall-McCarron and Shaun themselves doubled down on the area, opening Eleanore and Ardfern. Now on Bonnington Road, The Little Chartroom remains emblematic of modern Leith: polished without being pompous, rooted in Scottish produce and ambitious enough to draw diners.
14 Bonnington Road, Edinburgh EH6 5JD; thelittlechartroom.com
Montrose
Perched within a stone’s throw of Leith in a 19th-century inn, Montrose is the more relaxed younger sibling of Michelin-starred Timberyard, opened by the Radford family in early 2024. Spread across two floors, it combines the atmosphere of a neighbourhood wine bar with the ingredient-led cooking that made its sister restaurant one of Edinburgh’s most celebrated eateries.
Montrose combines wines from small producers and artful bistro food
The restaurant's cosy interiors
The kitchen works closely with farmers, foragers and small-scale producers, changing the menu weekly based on what’s best, while the cellar leans heavily on natural and biodynamic bottles from small European growers. Menus are deliberately fluid, but dishes such as devilled eggs crowned with trout roe, panisse with salsa verde and anchovies, and crisp-topped pork belly with coco beans and kale have garnered attention. In a part of Edinburgh increasingly defined by serious restaurants without much of the ceremony traditionally associated with them, Montrose stands out as something supremely unique.
1-7 Montrose Terrace, Edinburgh EH7 5DJ; montroserestaurant.co
The Ship on the Shore
20 years ago, my late father-in-law and I made monthly trips to Leith for what we thought were the best fish and chips in Scotland at The Ship on the Shore. These days, it still holds up. The Hoegaarden-battered haddock remains the obvious order, but the wider menu makes a strong case for lingering: Cullen skink, Shetland mussels, Loch Creran oysters and seafood platters, best accompanied by a frosty pint or a bottle of sparkling.
24-26 Shore, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6QN; theshipontheshore.co.uk
Pala
We have it on good authority that Italians journey from all over the country for a slab at Pala. Here, they keep things simple and delicious: crisp Roman-style pizza al taglio, sold by the slice from a tiny hole in the wall just off Leith Walk, on Jane Street.
Toppings run from buffalo mozzarella margherita to salame piccante with friarielli and ricotta. Better still, excellent Newbarns Brewery is just a few doors down, making the pair an obvious double act.
7 Jane Street, Edinburgh EH6 5HE; palapizza.co.uk
Drink
Haze
Part of the new Brown’s of Leith development on The Shore, the all-day bar occupies a handsome former engineering works, moving seamlessly from speciality coffee in the morning to low-intervention wines and pét-nat later on.
Richard Gaston
Food follows the European wine-bar model: excellent tinned fish, cheese, charcuterie and punchier plates such as 'nduja piled onto toast with pickles. Industrial, informal and effortlessly cool, it feels tailor-made for modern Leith and is the perfect place to while away a weekend day with a bottle or two.
Brown's of Leith, 4-6 Shore, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6QS; @haze.shore
Teuchters Landing
Teuchters Landing is the sort of pub that makes it dangerously easy to lose an afternoon. Housed in the former waiting room for the old Leith-to-Aberdeen steamboat ferry, it’s creaky, cluttered, and a little wonky. On a rare bright Edinburgh day, head straight for the conservatory, order a pint and watch the light bounce off the water outside. When the weather is doing something more characteristically Scottish, retreat indoors, find a seat near the fire and start working through the whisky list. There are well over 100 bottles to choose from, running from familiar Highland names to far more obscure drams, which means what begins as a quick drink can very easily become an extended comparative tasting session. Slàinte!
1c Dock Place, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6LU; teuchtersbar.co.uk
Nauticus
If, on the other hand, you want to get serious about cocktails, head to Nauticus. The maritime theme could easily feel gimmicky, but here it works: dark wood, brass, nautical ephemera and a sliding library ladder reaching the bottles stacked high behind the bar. The whisky selection goes Mariana Trench deep, while the Porridge Colada, made with whisky, oat milk, pineapple and coconut, has become a signature, earning a place among the UK’s best cocktails.
142 Duke Street, Edinburgh EH6 8HR; nauticusbar.co.uk
Newbarns Brewery & Taproom
Newbarns is making some of the best beer in the country by doing something simple: taking familiar styles and making them exceptionally well. Founded by brewers with experience at The Kernel and Siren, it specialises in crisp lagers, pale ales, milds and other eminently drinkable beers rather than chasing novelty for its own sake. The taproom sits right inside the working brewery, with tanks looming beyond the bar and a sunny little courtyard out front.
13 Jane Street, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 5HE; newbarnsbrewery.com
Do
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
When you need a break from eating and drinking your way around Leith, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is an ideal reset. Just west of the neighbourhood, its 70-plus acres unfold through towering trees, glasshouses, rock gardens and immaculate lawns, with some terrific views back towards the city. It’s peaceful without feeling precious, and makes a particularly good place to walk off lunch before heading back towards The Shore.
The Water of Leith flowing past Dean Village
Lee Finvrede / Pexels
Walk the Water of Leith
One of the best ways to get a feel for Leith is on foot. I enjoyed heading out along the Water of Leith Walkway, a green corridor that slips quickly away from the city, following the river past old industrial buildings, wooded banks and towards Stockbridge and the Royal Botanic Garden. The full route stretches for around 13 miles, eventually linking with the Union Canal, but it’s just as good for an easy out-and-back run before breakfast. Along the way, bridges, weirs and woodland make it feel far removed from the city streets.
