For readers of the Guide, it may seem like our inspectors spend every waking hour in search of the finest restaurants in the country, ensconced in the warmth of thoughtful service, devouring dishes served from bustling kitchens and sipping drinks from the most discerning sommeliers and devilishly creative bartenders. While this would be a deeply pleasant fiction, like everyone, dining out is the exception rather than the rule – most significant meals are eaten around the kitchen table, or, in prospect of a particularly enthralling episode of The Traitors, in front of the TV.
Thankfully, while the quality of professional cooking in this country has boomed, the public availability of fantastic produce has also blossomed. You will likely have read comment on chefs who dip into the metaphorical larder of their location – those pantry doors, more than ever, are now open to anyone who wants to do the same at home. To that end, we’ve selected ten of Edinburgh’s finest food retailers, offering the most delicious ingredients to create great food, at home, for any occasion.
Valvona and Crolla
What Edinburgh lacks in the number of real delicatessen counters, the quality of V&C more than makes up for. Opened in 1934, the deli is Scotland’s oldest, with a focus on Italian produce and royal warrants from two reigning monarchs. Visiting the shop alone is a spectacular experience, with towering shelves and hanging meats that feel pulled from the salumerie of Rome or Bologna. Behind the glass of several fully-laden cabinets, highlights include a peerless range of largely continental cheeses and cooked meats, including exceptional cut-to-order mortadella, when available. Small-producer olive oils from the likes of Tuscany’s Poggio Lamentano are worth poking around for, and there’s also a brilliant wine selection in the back, featuring vintage stock from Barolo, Tuscany and beyond.
WHERE 19 Elm Row, Edinburgh EH7 4AA
Also check out: Broughton Market, 181 Delicatessen, Craigie’s Farm
Lupe Pintos
Packed to the rafters with everything you could need for a full-blown Mexican feast, Lupe’s cosy shop has a staggering range of imported ingredients. Aside from a huge range of hot sauces that span the full spectrum of spice and flavour, you’ll find a plethora of dried chillies and seasonings, fresh tacos and tortillas, Mexican cheese and a carefully chosen selection of tequilas and mezcals. Their fresh, homemade salsa and guacamole are excellent, and their annual Chili Cookoff, held across a dozen or so local bars, is a legendary food-crawl experience.
WHERE 24 Leven Street, Edinburgh EH3 9LJ
Also check out: Nobody. Lupe’s are the only name in town. 
Saunderson’s
Just up from Lupe’s, Saunderson’s first opened in 1958, and is staffed by three generations of the same family, including current owner, John. Given that history, the knowledge and guidance offered on their produce is unsurprisingly exceptional. Whole beasts are sourced from across the Scottish Borders, meaning every cut you can think of is available. Beef (aged for at least 21 days) and lamb come via Harrison & Herrington in Melrose, with each batch’s farm origin displayed in the shop, while outdoor-bred pork is from Stobbs Farm near Hawick. Phone in advance if you’re after a big roasting joint, a niche cut, or just some sage advice on picking the right thing for whatever you’re planning to cook.
WHERE 40 Leven Street, Edinburgh EH3 9LJ
Also check out: George Bower, The Free Company
IJ Mellis
With three stores across Edinburgh, Mellis has been fulfilling the capital’s cheese cravings for over 30 years, though their in-store range has broadened to become definitively deli-esque. Across each of their three shops in the city, a surfeit of international and domestic cheeses sit very literally at the front and centre, many of which are aged in Mellis’ own affinage (maturation) rooms on Leith’s Albion Road. If that tickles you, the annual Fête du Mellis lets you take a look, and a taste, for yourself. Beyond the curds and whey, hams and a litany of cured meats line the rafters, and you’ll find everything you need to complete a cheeseboard among their racks of crackers, breads and pickles. Oh, and don’t forget to grab a bag of pasta from the magnificent Setaro of Napoli.
WHERE Multiple locations across Edinburgh
Also check out: George Mewes
David Lowrie
In no way a slight to the numerous excellent fishmongers in Edinburgh itself (several of which are listed below), Fife’s David Lowrie earns a mention as a trade supplier that was thrust into the world of consumer sales in lockdown, and hasn’t looked back. While they’ve long since resumed business as a national, trade supplier of stunning Scottish seafood from their base in St Monans, a positive legacy of covid is that you can order for delivery to your door in Edinburgh, twice a week. Whet your appetite with a glance at their Instagram (langoustines, lobster, dayboat squid and native shrimp are recent stars) before popping off a fish box order via their site. Don’t worry if you’re after something unusual – if it lives in the sea around Scotland and it’s in season, they’ll probably be able to get it on your plate in time for the weekend.
WHERE Order online here.
Also check out: Welsh’s, Armstrong’s, Eddy’s Fish Market 
The Palmerston
Best and rightly known for its cooking, The Palmerston is also the ideal place to pick up an excellent loaf of bread. If you’ve dined in the restaurant, you’ll have experienced doorstops of their house sourdough and butter as the ultimate, authentic Scottish joy - getting something that you normally pay for, for free. Each morning (bar Monday) you can pick up home-sized replicas of their huge service loaves, as well as a seeded version, crunchy-beaked baguettes, and an excellent sandwich loaf. There are usually some pillowy slabs of focaccia too. Weekend mornings tend to feature the broadest bread selection, alongside rafts of freshly baked sweet and savoury pastries, but regardless of the day it all tends to sell out well before lunch service. Don’t dither.
WHERE 1 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh EH12 5AF
Also check out: Company Bakery, La Barantine
Fruttivendolo
While Scotland unquestionably produces some of the finest berries in the world, alongside a raft of excellent vegetables, our stereotypical dearth of sunshine and lacklustre summer temperatures make for some distinct gaps in the roster. Enter Fruttivendolo, the Dalry-based greengrocer whose selection of Italian, farm-sourced fruit and veg are a truly delicious foil to the world of bland, refrigerated supermarket produce. Stock is highly seasonal, but regularly includes continental highlights like citrus and soft fruit, peppers, aubergines, artichokes and even hard-to-find friarelli, if you time your visit right. There’s also a comprehensive selection of imported dry goods, meats, cheeses and homemade cannoli to round out your basket, and your stomach.
WHERE 110A Dalry Road, Edinburgh EH11 2DW, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Also check out: Global Fruits
Æmilia
Best described as the Scottish answer to Bologna’s Paolo Atti & Figli, Æmilia is another successful lockdown baby, born to Kip Preidys and Giada Betti. Originally running from their kitchen, the current shop in Portobello has given them a stage on which to build a formidable collection of Ferrari models, a cult following for their dog Rocky, and of course, create delicious pasta. In addition to the pin-sharp cappellacci, agnolotti and tortellini that they fold by hand each morning, there’s usually pappardelle, tagliatelle and potato gnocchi, and lasagne available by the tray, or slice. They’ll also sell you the flour and tools you need to create your own pasta production line at home, and even give you the dough recipe used in the shop. Scope out their Instagram to see them in action, and to avoid a fruitless trip, be sure to pre-order on their website before heading down to Portobello.
WHERE 186 Portobello High Street, Edinburgh, EH15 1EX
Also check out: The Artisan Pasta Maker
Real Foods
Not to be confused with the Amazon-owned juggernaut of a similar name, Real Foods has been supplying natural, organic, vegan and vegetarian goods for over half a century. For home cooks, its near endless selection of dry goods – pulses, nuts, grains, cereals and seeds – make it ideal for stocking the pantry, and bakers are equally catered for, with a huge range of flours. They’re also one of the only places to source fresh yeast in town. While the shelves are filled with goods from around the world, anyone looking specifically for Scottish supplies will find milk from Mossgiel, sea salt from Skye, and breads from Company and Au Gourmand, as well as a raft of other local producers.
WHERE 37 Broughton Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3JU
Also check out: The Refillery, New Leaf Co-op
Amall Supermarket
Anyone who’s recently wandered around the city’s southside will have seen the spectacular growth in both number and variety of Chinese restaurants, with regional focus that’s a far cry from the anglicised Cantonese dishes that first introduced British palates to the East. Similarly, there’s a now raft of specialist Asian supermarkets around town. Amall isn’t the biggest of them, and hasn’t been around the longest, but for a small shop in Tollcross it has a remarkable knack for stocking exactly what you need. Though Chinese condiments, dry goods, noodles and other native ingredients represent the bulk of their stock, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan are all healthily represented on the shelves. Despite its size, the store also crams in a decent selection of vegetables like taro, Shimeji mushooms and winter melon that you’ll struggle to find elsewhere, as well as sweet and savoury baked goods from Sweet Me, a Chinese bakery on Brougham Street. Be sure to sign up to their loyalty scheme, which offers discounts and the occasional free treat.
WHERE 125 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9JN
Also check out: Matthew’s Foods, PCY Oriental, Thai@Haymarket
