Edinburgh on a budget - food

Last time we got accommodation sorted, this article will make sure that you won't go hungry, even if you are on a tight budget.

THE most important tip would be, don't go where there are a lot of tourists. With very few exceptions restaurants, pubs and coffee shops in the pretty and busy areas are pricey.  But usually you only have to go a few hundred meters and you'll find what you're looking for, just less expensive.

I should also mention that I know the area around the Old Town way better than the New Town. So if you have any suggestions for food in the New Town, let me know. In this article I will mainly feature places in the Old Town.

When you are out and about on the Royal Mile the cheapest way to get some grub in your belly is probably the supermarket, especially if you are two people or more. On South Bridge you'll find a Sainsbury's and a Tesco's, the latter one is usually cheaper. But if you just keep walking another five minutes up the road you'll find a Lidl which is the cheapest. All of these shops have a little bakery section, sandwiches, fruit, cakes and drinks. Just grab whatever looks good to you and sit down in a park like the Medows or Princess Street Gardens.
If you are in the New Town there is Sainbury's in the East End of Rose Street and a Co-op in Frederick Street, there is also a Marks and Spencers on Princess Street but it is more expensive than the other two.
And of course, if you are staying at a hostel or couchsurfing, you can buy ingredients for dinner there as well.

But what, if you there is just no way you can eat somewhere outside because it is cold, wet and simply miserable? Here are a few cheap options to sit in. Again, I know the Old Town better than the rest of town.

Just off the Royal Mile is Cockburn Street (they pronounce it Coburnstreet, haha) and at the very top is The Baked Potato Shop aka the hottest tattie in town. A small baked potato and 2-3 fillings are usually enough to fill your belly. I sometimes still make the mistake to take a regular one and end up with more than I can eat. Oh well, leftovers for another time. Unfortunately the Baked Potato Shop only has one small table so there isn't always space to sit in. But maybe the people already sitting there are nice enough to scoot over and share the table. Time to make new friends.

Just a few yards (or metres) down Cockburn street is a close going down to the train station, you'll find a Kurdish Doner Kebab place called YamYam's. And no matter, if you sit in or take away they are cheaper than the chip chops (or chippy as we call them here) on the Royal Mile (Clam Shell) or South Bridge (Pizza Paradise, although, they rock because they are open till 5am). And if you are around for a while and they start to recognize you, you might get a discount. I sometimes do ;-)

On South Bridge there is an Asian Noodle place called Yokoko. They are very well known for really bad service but somehow I find that entertaining and the cheap meals make up for it. It certainly isn't the best meal you will ever have in your life but £10 for a starter, a main and a drink is extremely cheap considering how close it is to all the attractions in town.

Just a 5 minute walk up the road from Yokoko is the Mosque Kitchen which is actually close the Mosque. There is the new and fancy looking one which apparently is a bit more expensive than the old one. To get to the old one you basically have to go into the new ones backyard. Again, I have never been there myself but I have been told that you get a huge plate full of good food for very little money.

Should you find yourself in Tollcross and you suddenly get hungry make your way to The Forest Cafe. It is right on the big cross road in the newish brick building. It is a lovely artsy volunteer run place which offers amazing food, interesting people and quite often free events.

Also in Tollcross is Killer Restaurant which is an Indian buffet restaurant with a small but very tasty selection of well known Indian dishes. Dinner is just £10 and you can eat as much as you like and lunch is available for only £6. The interior is rustic-hip and the staff are really nice. You can bring your own booze and the soft drinks are super affordable as well.  

On Monday nights you can go to a pub on the bottom of the Royal Mile called Kilderkin you can get pizza for only £1. The catch is that you have to buy a drink for at least £1.70 but still for only 2.70 you basically get an entire meal. The pizzas are not fancy or big, but you definitely get more value for your money that you'd might expect. And I like the pub itself. They always play great music and it's one of the few places actually in the Royal Mile that offer cheap food. Even it it's just once a week.

Hidden in a tiny street in the New Town just off North Bridge is a place called Snack Cafe. I have never been there myself but I have been told they have extremely cheap food and the quality is better than you might expect from a place that cheap. It is a well known secret here in Edinburgh.

I am sure over time I will come across more cheap and good food places and might write a second article about them. Until then, let me know, if you have any suggestions. I am happy to check them out!

Edinburgh on a budget - accommodation

Traveling can be expensive, especially if the place you are traveling to is a very touristy place. And Edinburgh is certainly one of those places. I am not sure how many people actually come over here every year but especially in summer you see more tourists than locals on some streets. Of course the local and not so local businesses have discovered that a lot of tourists still want to see and do things even, if they cost a wee bit more.

But what about people who want to see this amazing city but are not able or willing to spend a lot of money? Here is the first part of a little guide for people with a small budget:  

Accommodation


1. Don't come in August, don't come for New Years!
Edinburgh hosts a ton of festivals in August, the Fringe, the International Festival, the book Festival, the Comedy Festival and maybe a few more I don't remember and each of them last for several weeks. Hostels and hotels charge up to three times as much during the entire month of August, long distance transport and even some pubs charge more than they usually would.
New Years, or Hogmany as they call it here, sees one of the biggest street parties in the world and again, from accommodation to booze everything is just crazy expensive and there ten thousands of exremly drunk people on the streets. I always try to get out of the city actually.

2. Make sure there are no other events.
There is always something going on, not only in August. In July there is the Blues and Jazz Festival, in January-March we host a couple of Rugby matches and in June there is the Edinburgh Marathon. And whenever there is a big event like these you can bet, that the prices for accommodation will go up by a lot and it will be next to impossible to find a last minute bed. You can check on here what's going on.

3. Affordable accommodation.

 most important rule in hostels!

I think the best time to come to Edinburgh is between March and June. The chances that the weather is decent are quite good (pack a rain coat anyways!), you have a lot of daylight and it's not too busy yet, which means prices are low. No matter, if you are looking for a private room or just a bed in a hostel, Edinburgh has it all. There are at least 15 different hostels and a ton of cheap hotels and even more B&Bs and holiday apartments. It makes sense to compare prices on websites like http://www.hostelworld.com/ or http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ but it is often cheaper to book through the properties own website.

Beds in hostels are available from £10, and the cheapest hotels sometimes only charge £30 for a double room when it's off season. If you are traveling with more people it might be worth looking into renting an apartment, some are as cheap as £50 and can fit more than just 2 people (all these prices are  per night).
Of course there is also always the option to use https://www.couchsurfing.org/. If you haven't heard about it yet:
it's a huge network of people from all over the globe, it basically works like a car share website but for accommodation. You can rate each other, so it's quite easy to avoid the weirdos. And these people have often lived in the place you are going to and can tell and show you things, you might not experience other wise. And the best thing it's FREE!

No matter what type of accommodation you book, be aware that some areas will get really noisy especially at night. Pretty much everywhere in the Old Town as well as Rose and George Street are full of pubs and night clubs and at 3am when they close the party often continues on the streets. On The other hand accommodation in these areas can be cheaper because of that...