West is the best

Visitors to Edinburgh can, understandably, be so entranced by the sights of the city centre, the Old Town and the New Town, that they may never explore further. The same goes for Edinburgh’s residents: it can be all too easy to stick with your favourite shops, bars and restaurants in these locations.   

And there’s nothing wrong with enjoying the hustle and bustle of the busier and most popular parts of town. But if you’d prefer a quiet stroll around one of Edinburgh’s chic villages instead, the west end could be right up your street.

A good place to start is at the west end of Princes Street. For more than 60 years, Frasers dominated this corner, but now it’s home to Johnnie Walker. So, instead of perfume, handbags and suits, this venue now features a rooftop bar, and offers drams, tastings and tours. 

Close by, on Queensferry Street, there’s a new source of ice-cream in the area, thanks to Basement Gelato, which opened its doors in May 2024.  Just a few of the many flavours to choose from include Belgian chocolate, cinnamon bun and cherries and cream.

Reflecting on why he chose the west end to set up his business, owner, Austin Noble says: “Finding somewhere with a strong sense of community was so important to me. I loved the fact that the west end has a mix of independent businesses that thrive on having a loyal and local customer base.”   

Caroline Claydon, owner of boutique hotel, Eleven Stafford St, also enthuses about this part of town: “The west end is special, as it’s the first impression people have of Edinburgh city centre, when they come from the airport or from Haymarket station.  You get a fantastic view of the castle.”  

Caroline saw numerous reasons to choose this area as a base for the hotel: “This location offers everything you need in Edinburgh – great bars, restaurants and shops – and it’s short walk to the Grassmarket, Princes Street and George Street, as well as to the castle.”

Stafford Street is also home to family business, Fairfield Hearing, which specialises in hearing healthcare, tailored to each client’s individual needs. As well as providing a comprehensive range of support for hearing loss at the clinic, it also offers ‘at-home’ hearing tests. In addition, it helps people suffering from dizziness and loss of balance and mobility, through in-depth balance consultations, in collaboration with the Edinburgh Balance Clinic. Sponsored Shops, restaurants and bars 

One of the west end’s prettiest thoroughfares, cobbled William Street, is home to shops such as Rogue Flowers, which offers candles, glassware and wreaths, as well as a variety of bouquets such as the ‘New Town’, and the intriguingly-named ‘Rogue Romance’ and ‘Moody’. Contemporary-jewellery boutique, Lily Luna is located here too, selling wedding tiaras, in addition to a wide range of rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces.

Diners are well-catered for in the west end: The Palmerston restaurant on Palmerston Place was named one of the UK’s top 100 restaurants in the National Restaurant Awards this year, as well as in 2024. It offers morning coffee and pastries, as well as lunch and dinner.

The menu is seasonal and changes daily, with a sample menu listing starters such as smoked mackerel pâté, soda bread, pickled rhubarb and dill; mains including baked Shetland lamb shoulder, braised broad beans, Italian cicoria and anchovies; and the dessert menu features treats such as buttermilk pannacotta with blood oranges.    

One of the area’s best-known bars is Indigo Yard, which opened its doors, in Charlottte Lane, back in 1996. It has an extensive cocktail list including traditional favourites, such as martinis, as well as a raspberry and elderflower Collins, which combines Ben Lomond raspberry and elderflower gin; elderflower; pressed lemon; raspberry; and soda.

Non-alcoholic drinks on offer include the spiced-ginger ‘Margaritno’, which mixes Feragaia (an alcohol-free spirit made in Fife), along with lime, ginger, peppercorn and chamomile. Indigo Yard serves food too, in the form of breakfast, day and evening menus.  

Living here

To continue your walk, you might like to round off your west-end sojourn with a trip to one of the city’s most picturesque areas – the Dean Village. This historic part of town, where the Water of Leith runs through what was originally an area dedicated to milling, is just a short stroll away.  

It would be no surprise if your trip to the west end gets you hankering to move here. And there are a few properties on the market that might catch your eye, such as a three-bedroom, two-bathroom flat on Walker Street, at offers over £390,000. If nothing but the Dean Village will do, though, a four-bedroom/three bathroom house on Bell’s Brae is for sale,  at offers over £1,425,000. 

Summing up the west end of the city, Austin says: “It’s a beautiful area, a stone’s throw away from the hustle and bustle. Personally, what I love though, is that it feels like a small village amongst a major city.

“We have been made to feel extremely welcome. Here’s to many more years in the west end.”