Five Hidden Gems In Edinburgh That Won’t Cost You The Earth

*I was gifted £100 spending money by hotels.com to find some,
hidden gems in Edinburgh, but all views and opinions are my own

I’ve been to Edinburgh four times now and every time I head there I fall more in love. It has the same big city vibes as London but it’s smaller/ easier to get around and much friendlier in my opinion. There are so many hotels in Edinburgh city centre that you’re spoilt for choice in terms of accommodation. As we’ve been before we’ve done a lot of the more touristy sites now like the castle, Holyrood House, Royal Britannia Yacht, Edinburgh Zoo etc. And every time we head there we look for different things to see and do. Although now it just seems to be a huge long list of places I want to eat at. That’s where this post comes in, I’ve highlighted a few of the hidden gems in Edinburgh that we went to on our recent trip.

Edinburgh Gin Distillery

Now, this is probably the most well known of the hidden gems in Edinburgh as gin has got hugely popular. But I still don’t think enough people know about the gin distillery tour which is a steal at just £10 pe person. And that includes a gin and tonic at the end. The tour lasts for one hour and you’re run through the history of gin and how gin has come out. You get to smell the botanicals that go into Edinburgh Gin and then you head into the small distillery. Now they’re much bigger the distillery you can visit in Edinburgh only makes the Navy Strength and newer/ flavoured gins. And a bigger site outside the city make the traditional Edinburgh Gin.

But you get to go right up to the stills and find out how the gin becomes the drink we all know and love. Then it ends with a sit down with a gin and tonic. I think it’s one of those hidden gems in Edinburgh that not enough people experience. You can do other longer tours where you spend more time tasting etc but at £10 this is a bargain!

Hidden gems in Edinburgh to eat: Bubba Q

Now location wise this isn’t very hidden as it’s on the Royal Mile which runs from Edinburgh Castle at one end to Holyrood House on the other. But you can’t see the restaurant from the street and we only ended up there after somewhere else we had planned to eat at was closed. Bubba Q is an authentic barbeque restaurant created by Scottish friends Eddie and Bubba. Through their travels across America, they discovered true BBQ food. And after weeks and months of research, they made their own signature BBQ dry rub which is used in the restaurant.

They do all kinds of BBQ meats including loads of burgers and hot dogs. The burgers where what we tried as I fancied something a little different and went for The Highlander. The patty was a beef and haggis one with a Sausage Square, cheese and fried onions. I’d never had haggis before and thought this was the safest way to try it. And to be honest I couldn’t taste anything other than a burger. We paid about £17 each for a burger, 2 drinks and fries which is really good value considering how good the food was. I would have loved to try a milkshake so it’s on my wish list for next time.

Civerinos

I am a huge pizza fan, but as Luke doesn’t like cheese pizza isn’t usually one of his fav choices. So I love finding places where I can get a slice of pizza to takeout. Best of both worlds. And that’s where Civerino’s comes in. The pretty pink fronted restaurant is down one of the side streets off the Royal Mile and you can eat in off their extensive menu, or grab a single slice to go. I opted for a cheap £4 slice of Margarita pizza, but I ended up with half a pizza. Safe to say this was the best value meal of the whole trip.

The pizza itself was very very good. The cheese was gooey and stringy, the base had a slight char to it with gave a good crunch and it wasn’t too greasy so it didn’t fall apart in your fingers. I’ve tried a lot of pizza and this was very very good!

Hidden gems in Edinburgh to drink at: Panda & Sons

Now Panda & Sons is not somewhere you’d just stumble across from the street. On the street level it looks like a barbers shop and there’s no hint that it’s anything else. When you head inside and down the stairs you’re met with a bookcase that transports you into a speakeasy-style bar. I’m a huge fan of places like this but only found it after looking for places online. I’d have just walked past it otherwise.

I will admit the menu is a little odd. There are lots of unusual cocktails with ingredients I didn’t know so we took a few punts. We had two rounds each and I will admit neither of my drinks was what I’d usually have gone for but that was the fun in it. My first one was a Switched Negroni which was very smoky, then I had one called Ya Dancer. I can’t find this one online but all I remember was it had olive puree in it. Very unusual. The whole atmosphere was really nice, and not too cramped and dark like some speakeasies I’ve been to have been.

The practical hidden gems in Edinburgh: Stasher

Now my final hidden gem is a bit of a practical based one and it came out of a need. We were staying in an apartment which meant when we checked out we had nowhere to store our luggage for 4-5 hours before we headed to the airport. This is where Stasher came in. Through Stasher you can choose a location and pay to store your bags. Generally, the locations are other hotels, for example, we used a Hub by Premier Inn.

You just book your luggage in beforehand and pay (although you can cancel the day before if anything changes). Then when you turn up the hotel they’ll check your booking and store your luggage so you can carry on with your bag. This saved us so much and meant we could enjoy our final day without having to lug around suitcases. The service is available all across the world and is just £6 for a bag for up to 24 hours.

Have you been to Edinburgh? Do you have any hidden gems?

Pin It