On a cobbled lane just off the Shore, Custom Lane is one of Leith’s most creative corners. Set inside a restored customs building, it’s a collaborative hub for designers, makers and cultural projects, with studios upstairs and a public ground floor housing a café, gallery, shop and event space. Exhibitions, talks and workshops run throughout the year, while the resident community spans jewellers, architects, photographers and artists. It’s part workspace, part cultural venue, and a genuine engine of Edinburgh’s design scene.

At Haze, the mood shifts from morning espresso to early-evening wine bar without missing a beat. Run by the team behind Timberyard and Montrose, this relaxed all-day spot inside Brown's of Leith pairs specialty coffee with a tight menu of snacky, European-leaning plates, such as charcuterie, cheeses and excellent tinned fish. Natural wines, industrial warehouse light and a sociable central bar give it that easy, continental café energy. Come for a quick flat white; linger for orange wine and nduja toast (and if you're lucky, ice-cream sandwiches).

Down on the Shore, Brown's of Leith is less a single venue and more a lively little ecosystem. Set inside a revived engineering warehouse, it brings together indie food favourites – Civerinos pizza, Shrimpwreck’s seafood-heavy Shuck Bar and the wine-leaning Haze counter – around big communal tables and lofty industrial windows. It’s dog-friendly, open all day and buzzy: coffee in the morning, oysters and natural wine by evening, with artists’ studios and creative spaces filling the floors above.

A macaroon (but make it savory), partridge ravioli topped with golden trompette mushrooms and salt baked golden beetroot perfectly paired with black truffle and burrata. The combinations may be unusual, though trust Martin Wishart to make it work.