I went to Edinburgh Larder Bistro for my birthday last year. That was my first time, but not the last. Edinburgh Larder is one of my favourite restaurants at the moment, so I was rather pleased to be asked to go there to review it. As usual, I had a…
To get to the first Zizzi to open in Edinburgh in seven years, you have two choices. If you’re working up an appetite you can walk up from Cockburn Street or indeed if you want to keep fit. The easiest option is from the Royal Mile, look out for the…
I grew up in the south of England. There were many markets close to where I lived. These markets sold all sorts of things not just food. Later, I lived in the Potteries for a while and Newcastle-under-Lyme was a haven for finding great 1920s ceramics often for less than…
It’s easy to forget just how near Hopetoun House is to the centre of Edinburgh and yet so far. Driving along the shore of the Firth of Forth, past the footings of the new bridge, you can feel your spirits rise. Up through the gates and across expanses of lawns…
Dubrovnik is an extremely busy place, huge cruise ships arrive day in day out in the summer. In the walled city, tourists throng through the streets which are all pedestrianised. Visitors soon find that they need very strong legs to walk up and down the steep steps to where many…
A Room in Leith has moved! As of May 20th, 2013, its new premises are just across the road from their previous location so they still have a great canal-side outdoors seating area and nice views from inside the restaurant. A great new addition is the conservatory, which seats up…
20th to 23rd June, 2013 I love visiting an agricultural show, especially as I am a country girl at heart. It’s fascinating to dip into farming life for the day. The time worn phrase “There’s something for everyone.” is true at the Royal Highland Show – Edinburgh’s annual Scottish extravaganza.…
It was National Vegetarian Week a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t do anything special for it: I live with a vegetarian so I already eat a partially veggie diet and have a good understanding of the challenges of being a strict vegetarian. Edinburgh’s pretty good for vegetarians – although…
A few weeks back I was invited to the Sheraton Global Toast, an around-the-globe event where Sheraton Hotels invited guests to try wines and meet people. Edinburgh’s Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa sits back from Festival Square, off Lothian Road, convenient for the West End and Princes Street. It’s a…
When I grew up, French food was the epitome of all things elegant and fancy. The country had the patent on style, sartorial and culinary. Italian was earthy, Chinese exotic but only French managed to be elegant. In the town I spent my first ten years there were only three…
