A Wine Lover's Guide to Edinburgh

While wine may not be the first thing you think about when visiting Edinburgh, that doesn't mean there isn’t plenty of amazing places to satisfy the wine lover in you. Edinburgh is home to some of the best wine bars and restaurants we have ever been to, and that’s saying something! We can’t think of many better ways to spend an afternoon, cozying up in one of these spots with a glass of wine, a bite to eat, and a friend or two.

We have teamed up with This is Edinburgh to share with you our wine lover's guide to Edinburgh.Follow the link below to find out where our favorite locations for wine connoisseurs and casual wine drinkers to visit in Scotland’s capital city.

Continue reading A Wine Lover's Guide to Edinburgh on Edinburgh.org

Here is our list of favorite locations for wine connoisseurs and casual wine drinkers to visit in Scotland’s capital city.

xxx Ivy & Eve

Smith & Gertrude

Located in Stockbridge, this hip wine bar is a cheese, charcuterie, and wine lover's wonderland. We love their wine flight option, which changes weekly. We can see why it’s their best seller. They also offer a huge selection of wines by the glass and by bottle. There is plenty of room for large and small groups, or grab a seat at their communal center table and make some new friends! If you stop by on a Sunday, bring in your own vinyl and play DJ while drinking great wine.

26 Hamilton Place, Edinburgh EH3 5AU (0131 629 6280)

Vino

With three locations within Edinburgh, the Stockbridge location is our favorite bottle shop. One half of the store lined with neat shelves of hand selected wines and the other a large selection of beer, liquor, and snacks. Vino features Scotland's first Enomatic wine tasting machine, giving customers the opportunity to try up to 8 wines before purchasing.

26 North West Circus Place, Edinburgh EH3 6TP (0131 225 6998)

Ecco Vino

Despite being located just off the Royal Mile, this restaurant is surprisingly quiet and non-touristy. With a great wine list and affordable meals this is a great place to grab a quick bite to eat or spend a few leisurely hours sipping wine and enjoying the company. We recommend trying their Mackerel Ravioli and the Skipper's catch of the day!

19 Cockburn Street, Edinburgh EH1 1BP (0131 225 1441)

Veeno

Conveniently located on Rose Street, in the heart of Edinburgh's New Town (with another in Quartermile), this wine bar is an awesome place to take a break from the bustling streets beyond. They do everything from flights to a killer weekday lunch deal: sandwich/salad and a wine/beer/prosecco/soda for the price of the main. Need we say more? One of the most interesting things about their menu is that all the wines come from their family estate vineyards in Sicily, and offer authentic Italian spuntini (Italian style tapas) from ingredients sourced solely from Italy.

76 Rose Street, Edinburgh EH2 2NN (0131 225 3239)

The Fat Pony - closed

The Fat Pony is the latest venture of David Ramsden, who is no rookie to the Edinburgh hospitality business. David is the mastermind behind The Dogs, a longtime favorite restaurant of ours in Edinburgh. The Fat Pony wine bar is situated in the Haymarket area of the city and is a must for any wine enthusiast. The menu consists of a large ever-changing wine list available by the glass and bottle, several amazing hand-crafted cocktails (the bloody mary is to die for), and delicious small bites. Not to mention their knowledgeable and hilarious staff! 

Goya 23 - closed

Situated in Edinburgh’s area of Stockbridge, Goya 23 specializes in Spanish wines and also has several interesting sherry flights on their menu. There is a large selection of wines you can purchase for in-house consumption or to take back home. The service is exceptional, with the staff helping guide you through the wine selection process based on your own unique wine preferences. They also feature a nice tapas menu to nibble on while you enjoy your wine. If you’re in a hurry, stop in and purchase their to-go wines, charcuterie, and tapas!

Henri - closed

Located in this location now is Whiskers Wine Café . We have visited Whiskers a number of times and it is equally as delicious! Whiskers focuses on fresh local dishes and has a fabulous wine selection.

Killer Day Trips from Manchester, England

Last summer on our England adventure we spent a week stationed in Manchester City (see our Manchester trip here). With Manchester as our home base we had a lot of great options for day trips once we were satisfied we had explored Manchester enough. First up was York, which we featured on the blog a few months ago (read article here).

Liverpool

The second place on our day trip list was Liverpool. Neither of us had ever gone, and seeing as it's the birthplace of the Beatles, we knew we couldn't miss it. The train from Manchester to Liverpool was super simple and under an hour long. The only thing we planned was an afternoon tea at Panoramic 34. 

This was a perfect way to start our day in Liverpool as we got to enjoy one the best afternoon teas we have encountered all while enjoying the Liverpool cityscape! Each table in the lounge had binoculars so you could get a closer look at the sights from the 34th floor! Simply spectacular!

After stuffing ourselves with the delightful sandwiches and cakes, we took a stroll along the Liverpool waterfront. The Port of Liverpool is where many people from all over the UK and Ireland boarded ships to migrate to America. Recently we even found out that our 4th great-grandmother migrated to America and left from Liverpool's port to head to the New World back in 1854. Really cool right!?

Liverpool has a lot of great museums, the Tate Modern museum being one, but since we were limited on time, and the fact that Ivy is not the biggest fan of museums, we didn't make it. (Funny, since museums are one of Eve's most favorite things - so much so that she works in one!). Instead we visited the Museum of Liverpool and later the Beatles Museum. Eve plans to come back another time for some serious museum hopping.

Then we wandered over to The Beatles Story- Liverpool. We like the Beatles, but to be honest we are not diehard fans. Don't get us wrong, we love "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and all that, we just grew up listening mostly to country music. The museum is one of the few in the UK that charges admission (£15.95) so make sure you really want to go.

Tip: Be sure to take the audio tour guide because without it the whole museum is pretty pointless, we repeat POINTLESS. The gallery guide didn't suggest them and the museum itself is a fun visual experience, but without the audio you miss most of the history behind the band. Definitely take the headphones.

Chester

The third day trip on our list was Chester. Chester is a very old Roman city rich in history. The only thing we had planned here for the day was a ghost tour that evening (Ivy loves ghost tours) so we spent most of the day leisurely exploring this little city. 

 Since it was a beautiful warm day we spent most of it wandering the streets and walking the Roman walls surrounding the city. 

Cheshire Cat along the wall

In the afternoon, we spent some time in the Chester Cathedral. Founded as a Benedictine abby in 1092. This cathedral is a wonderful place to soak up some history, architectural beauty, and faith. There was a military service that day as well so the whole cathedral ground was full of people!

Cool stained glass windows inside the cathedral

Colorful doors

After walking the some of the Roman wall and visiting the Cathedral, we stopped at Dinky Donuts for some sweet treats! Literally a hole-in-the-wall shop built right below the clock tower, they serve up some of the most delicious creamy ice creams we have ever tasted made by Cheshire Farm Ice Cream. Eve got the boozy Rum 'n' Raisin, Ivy got the classic Strawberries and Cream while P-man, Eve's BF, got donuts. YUM! 

Later, we grabbed coffees to recharge at Jaunty Goat Coffee. We would recommend coming back for breakfast or lunch or even a bakery item because their menu and bakery case was drool worthy!

After coffee we wandered the lovely antique shops Chester has to offer. We love visiting antique shops in Europe because they have so many more old objects to peruse and purchase. Once we had our fair share of shopping, and P-man was ready for a break, we wandered into a wine bar called Taste at Corks Out. With a few dozen wines on tap it was the perfect place to take a break before heading to the ghost tour that evening. We even saw a local wine from our hometown Monterey County, Hahn!

After sipping on some tasty rosé, we headed to Town Hall, where we met our guide for The Original Ghost Tour of Chester. The tour took us around Chester's most haunted buildings and other locations of hauntings. Since Chester was an old Roman fort, the sinister stories and tales of hauntings date back to the 1st century A.D.! Chester claims to be one of the most haunted cities in England and we don't doubt that claim after going on this tour!

Overall we loved visiting both Liverpool and Chester. They are manageable day trips from Manchester and are a great way to get a sense of local history in a short time. We do plan to visit both cities again to explore more!

xxx Ivy & Eve