A weekend exploring Edinburgh’s food scene – Scotland

Edinburgh city is a great place for food lovers with a multitude of restaurants allowing to discover food from around the world. During that weekend we tasted the famous The Dome restaurant, the Japanese restaurant Koyama and the nether bow port small tearoom with a detour to the Christmas market and museums.

Edinburgh at night

I haven’t managed to publish a blog post last week as you can guess I was too busy eating and exploring Edinburgh. I have been several times to Edinburgh with Matt and even my mum but this time was a bit different as I went with my girl friends leaving my three boys (the adult, the baby and the furry) at home. Also the goal of that trip was an morning tea at the Dome and a visit to the Christmas market.

Read about our walk to Arthur seat here.

We arrived in Edinburgh by train around 3 pm and went directly to check in our accommodation on high street. We had booked for 6 pm in Koyama restaurant so we had a couple of hours to explore the shops on high street before going to the restaurant. My friends wanted to find some Christmas decorations and were happy to find a Christmas shop.

Christmas market lights

Koyama Japanese restaurant:

I love Japanese food and every time I go to a big city I try to go for Japanese food as we don’t have any around Whitehaven. That evening with one of my friends we decided to try several things. We started with some miso soup and chicken gyoza. Then we had ordered a mix of sashimi, rolls, maki, sushi for sharing between the two of us. The food was really fresh and tasty. A really nice restaurant if you like Japanese food.

Find Koyama restaurant website here.

The next day we decided to have breakfast outside before exploring the new town area of Edinburgh.

The Nether Bow Port Cafe Restaurant:

This little cafe is very popular for breakfast and has a nice menu. I opted for the eggs Florentine with an oat milk chai latte. The food again was very delicious and the atmosphere of the place very relaxing and friendly.

Find our discovery of Leith harbour area here.

Nether Bow Port Cafe Restaurant, Edinburgh
Nether Bow Port Cafe Restaurant

Then we walked down to New Town area where two of my friends went shopping and with my other friend we went to visit the National Galleries of Scotland Portrait. My friend and I had a great time watching the different portraits and the beauty of the building. Being English she knew more than me about some of the people/celebrity in display but I still enjoyed some of the paintings. After 1h30 wandering in the museum it was time to go to the Dome.

Find more information about the National Galleries of Scotland Portrait here.

Christmas tree in the museum

The Dome restaurant:

My friend had booked the table last February as apparently it is very busy during Christmas time. We had the table at 1pm and were going for the morning tea. I have to say that the building is absolutely beautiful and during Christmas it is stunning and worth a visit. However, I was very disappointed with the food and would definitely not recommend the morning tea. I would recommend to maybe go for cocktail (if you are happy to pay £14 for a cocktail). The morning tea contained a bacon sandwich, a sausage roll, a scone, an apple crumble and a small ginger bread. Unfortunately I found the food dry, bland and expensive for what they serve (£24/ person). Definitely not what I was expecting from a place that you have to book a year in advance.

Find all the information about the Dome restaurant here.

After the Dome we went to the Christmas Market. It was busy but it was still possible to see the stalls. Most of the Christmas Market was food stalls or Christmas decorations. To be honest it was not exceptional.

On Sunday, we walked the Royal mile up to the castle, did again a bit of shopping and went to visit the National Galleries of Scotland: National before heading to the train station to go back home. Overall it was a nice city weekend tasting food and discovering a bit more of the Scottish culture.

Find more about the National Galleries of Scotland: National here.

View of Edinburgh from the castle

Find all our adventures in Scotland on this page. To discover the Lake District it is here.

44 thoughts on “A weekend exploring Edinburgh’s food scene – Scotland

  1. A winter city break is just the ticket to lift the gloom. Haven’t been to Edinburgh for an absolute age, and probably need to go back. I know that TBH would be up for it!

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    1. Organising weekend away between holidays is nice. Great way of breaking the year and enjoying some adventures. Hopefully you can organise a trip soon to Edinburgh. The botanic garden is lovely if you haven’t been.

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  2. I thoroughly enjoyed your Edinburgh food adventure, Melodie. Descriptions were informative and honest with short overviews as well as good details. Photos were very descriptive. Wonderful that you and your friends took the time in this busy season to be together, and had the foresight to book your reservations in advance.

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  3. So nice to get away with the girls. And you made the most of your time with some lovely meals out. It’s a shame about the Morning Tea. I had never heard of it, only ever having had Afternoon Tea!

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    1. To be honest I also thought I was going to an afternoon tea. I guess I misunderstood my friend when they explained the plan to me 😂. I definitely enjoyed the other meal. I like sometimes going to city just to try different foods as we don’t have a lot of choice in Cumbria.

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      1. De ce que j’ai vu sur les réseaux sociaux, il y a l’air d’avoir moins, mais il y a tellement de monde à Londres à cette période de l’année que je ne serais pas contre aller voir ailleurs pour un week-end 😶‍🌫️

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  4. I suspect that we have very different tastes in food, Melodie. I’m fine with miso and gyozas, but I dislike sushi very much. I’d probably have been ok with the Dome food so long as it was hot and freshly cooked. The setting is certainly spectacular and I can forgive a little for that. Edinburgh is such a vibrant city, though one of the coldest places I know. Ideal for a couple of days away.

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  5. Going out for a meal at the Dome is always a truly magical experience, particularly during this festive period when the fabulous building is wrapped up with beautiful Christmas decorations – they for sure have the most amazing Christmas tree! I am glad you had a great time. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx

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