Skye Class Tours: Best Edinburgh Food Tours
How well do you know Scottish dishes? On the Edinburgh Traditional Food Tour, discover Scottish cuisine at its best, at some of the best restaurants in Edinburgh. Through three and a half hours, visit at least five local spots and sample traditional Scottish dishes of superior quality, while learning the history of Edinburgh and its local food.
Our mission is to bring guests to local spots (not tourist traps or chain restaurants), present an excellent learning experience, perhaps change opinions about certain dishes, and ensure all guests leave the tour stuffed and satiated.
What to Expect on the Edinburgh Traditional Food Tour
Scottish cuisine is steeped in centuries of history. However, the availability of the best restaurants and dishes changes regularly. As such, we do not have a set route or menu on our tour. Instead, we aim to get into the very best venues for the highest-quality food each day, without sticking to a fixed route.
This allows us to work with guests’ desires to try certain dishes while maintaining the best relations with local hidden gems, without overloading the same location with too many tours. Furthermore, guides get to use their extensive expertise to find the best stop each day, taking into account unexpected closures and unavailability of establishments.
Possible Dishes on the Tour
Each tour primarily contains minimally a starter course, a main dish, samples of local products, at least one premium drink, and a dessert. However, we can’t guarantee the order of dishes due to the daily availability of restaurants.
Most likely, the starter course will be a Cullen skink, perhaps the most delicious soup in Scotland. Haggis, the national dish of Scotland, is almost always the main course. The premium drink can be a whisky, but we can change that for guests who have no desire for whisky. Dessert is most often a cranachan or sticky toffee pudding. And we’re unlikely to provide a scotch egg (not Scottish), or a deep-fried Mars bar, although we do take special requests.
If there’s a specific Scottish dish you wish to try, your guide will work to get a high-quality version of it onto your tour. We can’t guarantee this simply due to seasonal availability, but our focus is on the guests. We will work together to make the best tour possible.
Tour Route
The public tour route for the Edinburgh Traditional Food Tour starts in the heart of the Old Town on the Royal Mile. However, we also accept custom pickups on private tours. The tour will focus on restaurants and establishments in the Old Town of Edinburgh, but we might visit the New Town depending on the month and availability, as the Old Town can get overrun in the high season. We can also try to put together a custom route near your hotel on a private tour.
The tour lasts roughly three and a half hours, although there’s a good chance it can be longer. We don’t like to rush the guests, and it’s not unheard of for a restaurant to be a bit slow getting the food out. If you need to have a shorter tour, let us know and we’ll accommodate your wishes.
Expect to walk about 30-45 minutes in total between stops, with never more than about 20 minutes between any two stops. In inclement weather, we will strive to shorten the time outside so you can stay warm and dry. On the other hand, we’re happy to take you on a detour to see a particular landmark or attraction that is relatively close to the tour route.
The Fine Print
The Edinburgh Traditional Food Tour runs throughout the year, although we have limited availability during August due to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. As establishments are regularly changing their hours, prices, and quality (sadly), or closing permanently, we do not guarantee a fixed tour. Instead, we customize each tour to the day and the guests on the tour.
We are able to work with a range of allergies and intolerances, including vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free, etc. Note that we do not offer a vegan tour. We could give one, but it wouldn’t be a Scottish food tour. We will even take into account any items guests really dislike. However, we have a motto that if you don’t like something, you just haven’t tried it the right way. Please disclose any allergies, intolerances, and dislikes when booking. It’s far easier for us to plan a tour in advance than on the day of.
We always strive for 100% guest satisfaction. If you are unable to attend a tour for any reason, check out our cancellation and refund policy. And feel free to contact us with any further questions.