Spurtleshire Grubcrawl Our most recent Grubcrawl had been an epic adventure through the city centre with stops at El Cartel, Dough and Bar a Vin. We’d eaten a lot of food and it was quite superb.Salad at the Walnut This time we ventured to the area of Spurtleshire, broadly covering the top of Leith and …

The Ox Russell’s Verdict I’d visited The Ox some years back for a writer’s group. Back then, it was a somewhat grimy drinkery offering the usual pallid pints and sugary cocktails with substandard food. Now, thankfully, it’s under a new banner, and much improved for it. The Ox’s dining area feels clean but comfortable, with …

Life Story It’s very hard to predict when you’re going to have moments of great revelation unless your name is Saul and you’re ambling towards Damascus. I had my coffee conversion in the Hula Juice Bar in October 2011.Exterior The espresso that owner Susan Doherty made me that day was so different to all of …

Eden’s Kitchen Where the Bakehouse used to trade, Eden’s Kitchen has recently taken over. Their large pizza oven caught my eye when I passed the other day, so I was glad to find an occasion to pay it a visit.Exterior The space has been extensively reworked to give it more of a restaurant feel. There …

Smoke Stack Exterior Having started reviewing in 2011, there’s a fair chunk of our back catalogue that’s looking a little dusty and out of date, so I’m keen to update some more places this year. I started this trend with a visit to the Smoke Stack on Broughton Street. I visited with friend Kathryn back …