ExteriorI’d visited Checkpoint in August when it was still in its Festival pop-up phase. I’d been very impressed and knew they had ambitions of opening on a more permanent basis once they’d had time to reflect upon the lessons learned from their initial run. I popped by to check out their offering on a sunnily …

InteriorI often struggle with our scoring system. I’m glad we have one, but it’s a blunt instrument and sometimes offers little real indication of whether to go to a place or not. I mention this because many aspects of the Champany Inn defy rating, as I’m about to explain. Champany is really a suite of …

StallOn a wonderfully sunny day, I was delighted to head along to the launch of the Localmotive Market at Waverley Station. Vicky MacDonald, who also runs the Tram Stop Market, was the steady hand at the tiller, so I was confident that things would run smoothly. A mixed market with food and drink along with …

It was to great collective glee that Mimi’s opened a second shop, on the Canongate, a few months ago. This rejoicing was mainly among our city’s many cake connoisseurs, as Mimi’s shop on The Shore has long been favoured, including by our friend Cake Quest, as one of Edinburgh’s finest cake purveyors.Exterior Not being blessed …

MJ’s Verdict After an afternoon of working on The Istanbul Review, I ran off and met Blythe at The Pantry in Stockbridge. The place is lovely and welcoming and the tweed elements are right up my simplistic yet stylish alley (how did Blythe know?!). After having a look over the menu, I could have ordered …