The best foodie shops in Edinburgh

A seductive avenue of more than 40 stalls, this market graces Castle Terrace, just off Lothian Road, once a week. Here you can find top-class German baking, artisan cheese, buffalo meat, excellent Scottish soft fruits, fresh fish, organic lamb and a great deal more; the producer stalls are leavened with street food outlets. Now in its 15^th year, this is one of Edinburgh’s biggest foodie successes of the 21^st century.

A small, cool cave of tile and brick, IJ Mellis radiates the faintly ammoniac aroma of ripening artisan cheeses from all over the UK, Ireland and Europe. For cheese fans, it's a wonderland and although there are now half a dozen branches of the business in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews, this was the first, launched in 1993. (For the other Edinburgh branches, see website.)

Real Foods has been operating in Edinburgh since 1975; its main Broughton Street store serves as the city’s premier wholefood supermarket. There is some fresh fruit and veg, there are chilled dairy items, toiletries, cosmetics and bottles of beer and wine, oils, vinegars and spreads – but the choice of dry goods (grains, pulses, herbs, spices, muesli and a great deal more) is simply astonishing. Anyone for some white quinoa from Essex?

With roots in the city going back to 1934, an award-winning Italian wine selection, a nifty caffè-bar, and arguably Scotland’s most celebrated delicatessen – all under one roof – Valvona & Crolla is the kind of venture that attracts superlatives. The fresh produce comes from Milan markets, the Italian cheese is gorgeous, the salumi equally so. Even if you go in for fresh bread, it’s hard not to emerge with a few treats.