41 of Edinburgh's Best Independent Shops

One of the most exciting things about Edinburgh is the plethora of independent shops that line the winding, cobbled streets, offering all kinds of curated, handmade goods that beat any of the souvenir tat you might pick up on the tourist trail. Here, we walk you through some of the best design, art, books, record, and food shops to pick up a gift (for yourself as much as anyone else).

Design, Homewares & Gifts

Agitate
20 Castle Ter
Recently relocated photography gallery and shop, with a well-curated selection of film, prints and photography books.
agitate.gallery

An Independent Zebra

88-92 Raeburn Pl
A hub of independent designer-makers of homewares, prints, furniture and gifts from across the UK. 

anindependentzebra.com



Black Moon Botanica
50 Candlemaker Row
Witchy shop stocking tarot cards, handmade candles, gemstones and other esoteric goods.
blackmoonbotanica.co.uk

Curiouser & Curiouser

93 Broughton St; 106 Bruntsfield Pl
Art, framing and gift shop with two locations in the city.
curiouserandcuriouser.com

Flamingosaurus Rex

22 Bruntsfield Pl
A dynamic, multifunctional gallery, shop and art space.

flamingosaurusrex.com



Handsel

336 Leith Walk
An independent one-stop-shop for art, homewares, jewellery, cards and zero-waste products.

handsel.uk

Logan Malloch 

13 Leith Walk
Art, books, ceramics, greeting cards, plants, stationery and gifts mostly sourced in Leith, Edinburgh and wider Scotland.

loganmalloch.com

Red Door Gallery

42 Victoria St
Long-standing hub for local artists’ prints, artworks, crafts and jewellery in prime sight-seeing location.
edinburghart.com

Food & Drink

The Beer Cave
43 Dalry Rd
Well stocked local favourite with a focus on European craft beer.
IG: @thebeercavescotland

The Beerhive 

24 Rodney St
A carefully-chosen selection of beers, wines and spirits with a local emphasis. 

thebeerhive.co.uk

Cork and Cask
136 Marchmont Rd
Thoughtfully sourced wine, beer and whisky. 

corkandcask.co.uk

Cornelius 

18 Easter Rd; 128 Leith Walk
An Easter Road institution that’s also branched out to Leith Walk, Cornelius stock the very best wine, beer and spirits. 

corneliusbeers.com

George Mewes
3 Dean Park St
For all your cheese-related needs. 

georgemewescheese.co.uk



Great Grog

2 Dalkeith Rd
Specialist in local and international craft beers and wines. 

greatgrog.co.uk

I.J. Mellis
30 Victoria St; 6 Bakers Pl; 330 Morningside Rd
The OG of Edinburgh cheesemongers, Mellis focus on small scale farmhouse producers alongside a range of wines and artisanal foodstuffs. mellischeese.net

Lupe Pintos
24 Leven St
Specialist deli supplying Scotland with hard to find Mexican, American and Spanish ingredients, for all your hot sauce, bean and taco needs.
lupepintos.com

Salt Horse 

57 Blackfriars St
Centrally-located craft beer shop and bar with a secret tiny beer garden out back.
salthorse.beer

Winekraft
6 Brandon Ter, 20 William St
Organic, biodynamic and natural wine shop, also stocks the crisps and olives you’ll remember from lockdown Instagram and Palmerston bread.

winekraft.co

Plants

Broughton Street Flowers
87 Broughton St
Serving all your flower and plant needs, from fresh cuts to workshops. 


broughtonstreetflowers.com

Green Meadows
137 Buccleuch St
A modern take on a tropical plant shop with social and environmental sustainability at its core.
greenplantshops.co.uk

Grow Urban

8B St Vincent St
A leafy haven for all your plant gifts inc. hand painted pots, cards by local artists and terrariums for your low maintenance plant gifting.
growurban.uk

Moss & Fern
84 South Clerk St
Plants and gifts, including dried floral arrangements, art, prints and homewares.
mossandfern.shop

Rose and Ammi Flowers
2 Gillespie Cres
Bespoke arrangements and beautiful pots.
roseandammiflowers.com

Books

Argonaut Books
15-17 Leith Walk
Leith’s community bookshop, with a diverse stock and programme of in-person events. 
argonautbooks.co.uk

Armchair Books
72-74 West Port
Family-run second hand bookshop with the city’s finest About page, ‘staffed by Edinburgh’s finest book people who brave the shop’s untraceable noises and unique microclimate.’
armchairbooks.co.uk

Ginger and Pickles
51 St Stephen St
A thoughtfully selected range of kids books, with beautiful titles ranging from baby to young adult (plus a small stationery selection).
gingerandpicklesbookshop.com

Golden Hare Books
68 St Stephen St
A cosy space filled with a finely chosen selection of writing, art books, and children’s titles.
goldenharebooks.com

Lighthouse Bookshop
43-45 W Nicolson St
Edinburgh's radical queer bookshop, with an incredible array of fiction and non-fiction alike.
lighthousebookshop.com

The Portobello Bookshop
46 Portobello High St
A gorgeously designed, gorgeously curated seaside bookshop, complete with fiction, art books, and a stunning magazine collection.
theportobellobookshop.com

Rare Birds Books
13 Raeburn Pl
Much-loved independent book shop championing women authors.
rarebirdsbooks.com

Tills Bookshop
1 Hope Park Cres
A secondhand bookshop overlooking the Meadows specialising in rare and antiquarian books.
tillsbookshop.co.uk

Topping & Company Edinburgh
2 Blenheim Pl
A veritable labyrinth of book rooms complete with book ladders and window seats, where you may be offered a complimentary tea.
toppingbooks.co.uk

Typewronger Books
4a Haddington Pl
Edinburgh’s smallest bookshop and Scotland's only typewriter repair shop! Selling books, independent publications, zines and associated merch.
typewronger.com

Record Shops

Assai Records
1 Grindlay St
Staff-favourite specialists in vinyl, turntables and music merch.
assai.co.uk

Avalanche Records
Waverley Mall
Indie record shop located just off Waverley Station, with an assortment of vinyls, CDs and T-shirts.
avalancherecords.co.uk

Good Vibes Neighbourhood Store & Studios
151-153 Constitution St
A carefully curated record shop with various creative studios upstairs.
good-vibes.space

Slow Progress Records & Coffee
53 Blackfriars St
Lots of indie vinyl and a wee coffee shop located in the Edinburgh Old Town.
slowprogress.co.uk

Thorne Records
125 Bruntsfield Pl
Well organised indie with a strong devotion to local artists and customers alike.
thornerecords.com

Umbrella Vinyl
20 Valleyfield St
Specialists in second-hand world music, collectibles and rare wax.
umbrellavinyl.com

Underground Solu’shn
9 Cockburn St
Central Edinburgh mainstay for dance music, decks and DJ equipment.
undergroundsolushn.com

VoxBox Music
21 St Stephen St
Indie record store focusing on secondhand vinyls, with books and music memorabilia.
voxboxmusic.co.uk

This article is taken from the 2025 edition of The Skinny Guide to Edinburgh – a 116-page selection of some of our favourite things to do and places to go across the city. Pick up a copy at venues across Edinburgh this summer, or read it online via Issuu.