Dates and details checked in October 2026. Christmas programmes change, so check the official pages linked below before you plan around a specific time. I should be honest about something before you read any further. Last Christmas, we were working, and we were not really around to enjoy the city. I did not get to wander through the market with a mulled drink in my hand. So I am not going to pretend I have a favourite chestnut stall or a secret route through the lights. What

Updated October 2026. This guide replaces two earlier posts I wrote on Greek food in Edinburgh. They covered the same ground from slightly different angles, so I have combined them, corrected what had changed, and added a menu decoder. Greek food has a reputation problem in Britain that it does not deserve. For a lot of people it means a late night gyros, a tub of supermarket hummus, or one very good week on an island that they have been trying to recreate ever since. All of

There are dishes on a menu that you design, and there are dishes that arrive fully formed from somewhere older than the restaurant itself. Our Spinach and Leek Pitta belongs firmly in the second category. It did not come from a recipe book, a food trend, or a conversation about what might work well on a sharing plate menu. It came from Margarita's family, from decades of preparation in Greek kitchens, and from a tradition that predates Nectar by several generations. This is t

Some cocktails are inspired by flavours. Others are inspired by techniques. The Lemon Cheesecake cocktail at Nectar is built around something more personal than either of those things. It is built around a memory. A specific evening, a specific table, and a dessert that took two days to make properly and became a family tradition almost by accident. This is the story behind it. The Thanksgiving Table Growing up, Thanksgiving was always celebrated at our home. Once a year, clo

Edinburgh is one of those cities that almost does the work for you when it comes to romance. The cobblestones, the candlelit closes, the way the castle catches the last of the light on a clear evening. Even a quiet Tuesday can feel like a special occasion if you end up in the right place. I have spent the last eight months running Nectar on Broughton Street, and before that several years eating and drinking my way through this city with genuine curiosity. I know what makes an

People often ask me where I like to go for drinks when I am not at Nectar. It is one of my favourite questions to answer, because Edinburgh has quietly become one of the most exciting cocktail cities in the UK, and the honest answer changes depending on what kind of night someone is after. I have been working in hospitality for years, first in Zurich, then in Edinburgh, and I have spent a lot of time in a lot of bars. I know what separates a good cocktail from a great one, an