A Local’s Guide To Leith, Edinburgh’s Coolest Neighbourhood

When we first moved to Edinburgh, we were privileged to live in our favourite neighbourhood that we’d been visiting for years: Leith.

Leith is the sort of place that feels like its own complete entity despite being swallowed up by the city long ago to drop its port town roots. There’s a community here that you wouldn’t expect so close to the centre of a city, and there’s an unmatchable and unrelenting vibe that I haven’t really felt anywhere else.

It wasn’t always like this though. I’ve been visiting Leith since it had started becoming the cool kid on the block, but before that, it was a hive of drug dealers, slums, and generally wasn’t the sort of place you’d want to visit. Originally, Leith was the industrial part of town so it’s always been a big “working class” area – and indeed there are plenty of warehouses and factory buildings still standing – and the docks made it a popular place for plenty of illicit activities for all the ship workers and residents. After all, this is where Trainspotting is set. (Spoiler: Trainspotting is not about trains.)

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These days, Leith is one of the most desirable neighbourhoods in the city; it’s the ultimate story of regeneration and gentrification, and unfortunately with it have come the price tags to match.

What I love about it is it’s still rough around the edges; there’s still the notorious “banana flats” (where one of the characters in Trainspotting lived) and several others like them, but I’ve never felt unsafe. Not once. The darker history is still prevalent, but the people are fantastic, there are tons of brilliant small businesses to support, and most importantly, there’s a huge heart in the community here.

I’ve been contemplating writing a Leith guide for a while – how long do you have to live somewhere before you can be “qualified” to write a guide? (For some bloggers, three days seems to be enough for an “ultimate guide”! Which as we all know is nonsense.) Is 18 months enough?

And then of course, 2020 struck. We were barely able to check out actual restaurants for months, including a bunch that should definitely be on here as we see constant recommendations for them, and after we moved, tram works continued to keep us at bay. Suffice to say, there’s a lot I could still add to this post, and indeed, amending this now in 2026, there’s a lot that I still will.

Update: as of June 2023, you can get a tram from the airport or city centre through to Leith and along to Newhaven!

But, as with all great things, our time in Leith had to come to an end – we bought a house and moved across Edinburgh! That’s not to say our love affair ended, as we still visit friends here regularly.

It seemed like a good time to share our old neighbourhood with you, and as above this has been updated in February 2026.

The Shore

The Shore is where I consider the “hub” of Leith to be, and certainly it’s my favourite part of it. Packed with restaurants, bars, cafés and great takeaways across cobblestone streets on a waterfront, the Shore is probably the first place you should check out in Leith.

There isn’t much better than sitting along the water on a sunny day with fish & chips from Pierino’s – and if there is, it’s probably sitting in the beer garden of Teuchter’s Landing.

It’s also just a lovely place for a wander – pictured above is the Fingal, a luxury boat hotel (boatel?) you can stay on, or eat at their top notch restaurant. Of course, we aren’t posh enough for that sort of thing, but it’s on my list as it would be a unique stay! Plus they offer a fantastic afternoon tea.

Fun fact: the Fingal actually has links to Orkney! Built for the Northern Lighthouse Board, it spent most of its working life in Oban before moving to Stromness in Orkney for six years in the 1990’s. So I probably saw it while growing up!

On Saturdays, just round the corner, you can check out the Leith Market, which is similar to Stockbridge Market (which I took you to as part of my virtual tour in my walk along the Water Of Leith) although usually in my experience a bit smaller. We’ve been a few times though, and enjoy grabbing something for lunch.

Leith Walk

Leith Walk is the main road from the city centre to Leith. We lived just off Leith Walk, and although it might not be much to look at (I don’t even have any photos to be honest – the photo above has a little peek of it at the end), it’s packed full of fantastic restaurants and shops that I might not have discovered if we hadn’t lived here.

For a few years, Leith Walk was heavily under construction while they built the new tram network to connect Leith with the airport via the existing tram from the city centre. This is a highly (and I mean HIGHLY) contentious subject amongst Leithers, with the strain it put on local businesses while the entire road was essentially shut. Plenty of people are for it too, and as such it’s a regular debate on the Leith Facebook group!

Leith Walk is very much open for business and after the past few years with the double whammy of Covid and tram works, it needs your support more than ever.

It houses some of our favourite restaurants in Edinburgh, a mix of hipster pubs and traditional sports bars (after all, Hibernian’s football stadium is right around the corner), and a plethora of specialist and local shops. It’s well worth a wander – and it takes a little over half an hour, perhaps 45 minutes, to walk from Princes Street to the Shore, so it’s not too bad to get to from the city centre.

Some great shops to check out along the way are Argonauts Books (we also love Topping & Company at the other end of Leith Walk which isn’t technically Leith, but close enough; nearby Black Books-esque McNaughton’s is also worth a visit, and is the oldest second-hand book shop in Scotland!), Epoca for vintage clothing, Valvona & Crolla for Italian deli goods and to feel like you’ve stepped back in time, and The Cat’s Miaou or Terra Firma for gifts.

There are tons of great places to grab lunch in between browsing, such as Gaia (Italian, think paninis and pasta), Kukina (Turkish bakery, I highly recommend their gözleme) or Under The Arch café. If you want to keep it simple, you can’t go wrong with a Leith institution – a pie from Storries bakery!

For dinner or a more substantial lunch, check out my recommendations further down below.

Read more: How To Spend The Perfect Sunday In Edinburgh

Ocean Terminal

Ocean Terminal is just a shopping centre – and I’m going to throw it out there and say it isn’t a great one at that. It’s actually a popular stop with tourists because it’s where cruise ships come in to Edinburgh, and it’s also where you can visit the Royal Yacht Britannia which means it’s on the tourist bus route.

However, my favourite shop here is the Leith Collective, which is a collaborative effort with local artists and designers to show off local products. They’re also sustainable – they’ve just announced that they are becoming the UK’s first plastic-free shop!

It’s a great place to pick up a few unique homeware pieces or gifts.

Royal Yacht Britannia

The royal yacht is a funny one for me because it doesn’t feel like an Edinburgh tourist attraction. It’s a royal tourist attraction that happens to be in Edinburgh – if that makes sense.

But, I had the chance to visit recently so I’ve got to mention it because it’s a great attraction if it’s something you’re interested in. There is a brand new museum which is set up really well, and once you’re on the ship, there are several floors to explore. From the royal rooms to the crew areas, the outdoor decks and even some royal cars off the ship, there’s so much to see that I was actually surprised. You can even dress up in the crew bar and pretend to serve a pint on a royal ship. Great fun!

Orient Express-themed afternoon tea at Queen Charlotte Rooms

I recently took my Mum for afternoon tea in Leith. This one at Queen Charlotte Rooms seems quite off-beat as lots of people I’ve spoken to haven’t even heard of it! Yet it’s one of the best afternoon teas I’ve had, if just for the absolutely excellent theming.

The venue is set up like you’re on the Orient Express, with the room lined with screens set up like windows showing the journey! We joined shortly after it started, so we “travelled” through Italy and Switzerland during our time there.

The food is fantastic and the service is even better; nothing felt any bother at all. My mum is a bit funny with dairy and they offered to swap out some of the desserts, as well as substituting a couple of ingredients. It really feels like an escape, as it actually felt odd afterwards stepping outside.

The best thing: it’s only £25 per person! INCREDIBLY reasonable. Adding a mocktail or a prosecco was only an extra £6. The downside: you have to book far in advance. Visiting at a weekend in January, we booked a whopping six months in advance, which is crazy – but well worth it, in my opinion.

I wholeheartedly recommend this – it’s one of my favourite things we’ve done in Edinburgh! Book it here.

Lind & Lime gin distillery

Another attraction I’ve finally been to recently: the Lind & Lime gin distillery! I would just like to say that I’m not much of a gin drinker, but Lind & Lime is absolutely delicious. When a friend invited me along to a tour, I couldn’t turn it down.

The tour starts with a generous drink to accompany an entertaining talk from one of the staff. You then get to bottle and label your very own miniature, before being shown how to make one of their favoured cocktails. Tours cost £30 but as that includes two drinks, your own mini bottle, and some other samples on the way out, I think it’s pretty reasonable value.

What I really enjoyed was learning about the history and the strong heritage in Leith, right down to the bottle designs. Lind comes from the name of the man who discovered that citrus was a cure for scurvy, James Lind, who was born right here in Leith. It’s why rum is so often served with lime!

I still haven’t been to the Port of Leith distillery – the only vertical distillery in the UK! I have had the Port of Leith port, though, and it’s delicious. They have a bar which is meant to be great.

Quality Yard for street art

Edinburgh is leagues behind Glasgow when it comes to street art, but one place I’ve stumbled across while wandering the lanes behind the shore is Quality Yard. It’s become a haven for artists in Leith, and it’s one of those places that will change every time you visit.

Read more: Edinburgh’s 10 Best Walks & Where To Find Them

Where to eat & drink

So, um, as you may have gathered, Leith is a GREAT place for eating… a lot. I’m not a foodie so don’t expect all the high-end gourmet recommendations (though I do cover those at the end).

Here are just some of my favourites.

Vittoria On The Walk

Vittoria’s is a mainstay on Leith Walk, having opened in 1970 and is now run by the original owner’s grandson. Truly a family enterprise and therefore as local as you can get, Vittoria’s is genuinely probably the best place for Italian food in Edinburgh. We’ve been several times now, and we’ve also been to their newer location in the Old Town, which is a lot more modern so we prefer the traditional vibe of this one. Potentially my favourite restaurant in Edinburgh, to be honest!

The King’s Wark

If you fancy some really, really, really good pub food, look no further than The King’s Wark on the Shore. Every time we’ve been in there, the service has been top notch, the food fantastic, and compared to a lot of the high-end restaurants in the area, the prices are incredibly reasonable.

Pierino’s

I highly recommend, if you find yourself in Leith on a nice day, treating yourself to some good old fish & chips and sitting by the water. Our favourite in Leith is Pierino’s, which is handy as it’s about a two minute walk from the Shore.

La Casa

This Mediterranean restaurant quickly became one of our favourites when it opened a few years ago! The first time we went, we picked a set menu of meaty tapas with a couple of extra, and the second time I was torn between tapas and their main meals. We ended up going for mains to try them out, with a couple of tapas on the side.

EVERY, SINGLE, THING, we have tried from there has been AMAZING.

Teuchter’s Landing

Teuchter’s Landing is set right on a quiet piece of water just off the Shore. The pub itself is quaint and used to be the waiting room for the ferry to Aberdeen (I’m pretty sure I saw in the Maritime Museum in Aberdeen that there used to be a ferry from Leith all the way to Orkney, too! That would be so handy now).

This is probably my favourite place for drinks in Leith, thanks to its gorgeous beer garden. The grub is good but we generally just come here for drinks.

The Roseleaf

A popular place to pop into for drinks, the Roseleaf is quirky enough to stand out against the rest. For cocktails in teapots and a good brunch, this is the place to come.

Port O’Leith

A classic dive bar, the Port O’Leith looks rundown on the outside but attracts a stalwart crowd of Leithers. Apparently it’s not as good (read: debaucherous) as it used to be since it changed owners, but we think it’s still got a really cool vibe!

Origano

Unfortunately, due to 2020, we weren’t able to experience pizzeria Origano in full before we moved, and even before that, we didn’t get around to trying them because they were always fully booked when we tried (always a good sign). However, we did get a takeaway pizza and we can confirm: THEY ARE GOOD. They also, and I don’t say this lightly, make one of the best banoffee pies I’ve ever tasted. Which was unexpected, but hey, if you’re one of the best in your game at one thing, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be good at something else!

Anyway, we still need to get back there to try them out properly.

Pizza Geeks

Another pizza place we love, we often get their stuff at stalls during Fringe etc. It’s not often we go to their main premises, but it’s excellent if you’re in the area.

(On updating this list, I was sad to hear Orinoco’s has shut down. Also really shocked that Mimi’s Bakehouse is closing their original location, but you can still find their cakes elsewhere in the city.)

Read more: 15 Quirky & Unique Places To Eat & Drink In Edinburgh

The problem is, there are so many more places for us to try that I still don’t feel like I can give a “complete” guide here. We’ve never been to The Kitchin, lauded as one of the best restaurants in Scotland. The Shore, being by the water, has several highly-rated seafood restaurants (The Ship and Fishers are two) which we’ve never been to. And we need to check out Leith’s newest space which incorporates a food hall and art space, Brown’s. I’ll report back on that one soon!

It’s safe to say that we miss living in Leith. Luckily, we don’t need much of an excuse to come back, but we also still have friends here who we visit regularly.

So although we might have left Leith, we’ll never really leave. Leith is part of us now!

I’ll be regularly updating this post as there are constantly new things opening and I know nobody wants to read about things that have closed down!

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Want to read more about Edinburgh? I’ve got plenty of posts about where I live!

⭐ My Highlights Of Edinburgh
⭐ Edinburgh’s 10 Best Walks & Where To Find Them
⭐ 50 Photos To Make You Want To Visit Edinburgh
⭐ How To Spend The Perfect Sunday In Edinburgh
⭐ 15 Quirky & Unique Places To Eat & Drink In Edinburgh
⭐ A Guide To Edinburgh Fringe
⭐ Things To Do In South Queensferry – A Local’s Guide