How Edinburgh’s newest hidden gem Hot Toddy offers a calming oasis amid the bustle of the Royal Mile

Hot Toddy’s menu offers an alluring blend of traditional Scottish cuisine with Mediterranean flavours, served up in a plant-filled space designed to provide a moment of calm in Scotland’s most popular tourist destination. Find out how they’re working with TheFork to entice tourists and locals alike.

Edinburgh’s Royal Mile welcomes millions of tourists every year — and that’s just during the annual Fringe Festival.

But those visiting the tourist hotspot don’t need to go far if they’re looking for a peaceful respite from the crowds. Just a stone’s throw away from the Royal Mile sits Hot Toddy, an independent restaurant serving up fresh, seasonal food using local produce.

“It’s Scottish food with a bit of a modern Mediterranean infusion,” Alice Swainson, Marketing Manager explains. While you’ll find classics like haggis, neeps and tatties on the menu, you’ll also find dishes like veggie croquetas and spiced couscous ratatouille. 

The home-away-from-home feel of the menu is reflected in Hot Toddy’s plush and green interior design. “It’s very relaxing,” Alice says. “It feels fresh and cosy at the same time, which relates to our food as well.”

“A lot of people have described it as a little hidden gem because it’s this beautiful, plant-filled restaurant that’s calming and away from the hustle and bustle of the Royal Mile.”

To allow more diners to discover this hidden gem, Hot Toddy signed up to TheFork back in October, having previously managed bookings manually. “TheFork works very well for us because it's got a huge European market,” Alice explains. “I can see that it's growing exponentially.”

By tapping into TheFork’s large customer base, Hot Toddy can easily drive bookings from trip-planning tourists and Edinburgh’s local foodie community alike.

“A lot of people think Edinburgh has become more of a tourist city than a local city,” Alice tells us. “So we're trying to make it a place where we've got great dishes for our locals, and it's fantastic for tourists as well — we want to bring them together.”

Hot Toddy’s love of local extends beyond its menu and customer base, Alice tells us:

“I'd like to find a way to give back to the community, such as by supporting homeless people in Edinburgh. That's one thing we're going to look into.” 

“We’d also like to organise more workshops downstairs in our whisky lounge, just for the locals. As for the restaurant, the ultimate goal is to use 100% local produce.”

Whether they’re offering 50% off as part of TheFork Festival or a great deal on a pre-set boozy brunch menu, Hot Toddy has proven to be a hit with diners, consistently ranking in the Top 100 Community Choice Chart in the UK.

Having only recently been onboarded with TheFork, Hot Toddy has ambitions to take the partnership further in 2025, such as by feeding TheFork’s data into their CRM. For now, Alice is thrilled with how the restaurant management platform is helping the restaurant increase bookings and drive awareness.

“We’re a brand new restaurant,” she explains. “We’re just completing the website, so when it comes to online presence, there’s no doubt TheFork has been absolutely fantastic for us.”

“The customer service has been perfect, it’s bringing a lot of customers in, and the booking system is really easy to understand — it’s brilliant.” 

To learn how you can get set up with TheFork’s restaurant management platform TheFork Manager, chat with our team today.