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Giant pink 'ESF' letters stand in a paved plaza beside a sign reading 'Entrance, ESF & Omni'.
Edinburgh

Edinburgh Street Food

A covered street food hall at the Omni Centre on Leith Street, with eleven independent kitchens and three bars under one roof, open every day.

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Welcome

Beside the Omni Centre, giant pink letters spell ESF in a paved plaza, under a sign pointing the way in.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

Outside, colourful benches and planters sit beneath a canopy hung with trailing ferns.

Inside, the food hall is loud and bright. Disco balls hang from a pink-lit ceiling among trailing plants, and a neon sign above the crowded picnic tables urges you to choose your future. Round the edges the kitchens each have their own hatch and their own neon, from Detroit-style pizza by the slice to loaded fries, and the tables fill with buckets of fried chicken, nachos, flatbreads and burgers in branded boxes. Come hungry with a group, split up to order, and meet back at the bench with a drink from the bar.

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Before you go

Open every day from noon; the kitchens serve until nine, or ten on Fridays and Saturdays, and the bars stay open after.

Live music, quizzes, sport on the big screen and bingo through the year. Groups can book.

Where
The ground floor of the Omni Centre, from inside the centre or from Calton Square, on Leith Street.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
noon–10pm
Tuesday
noon–10pm
Wednesday
noon–10pm
Thursday
noon–10pm
Friday
noon–10pm
Saturday
noon–10pm
Sunday
noon–10pm

Eaten here? Tell others what to order and when to go, and the best go on this page with your name.

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Did you know

Giant pink letters spelling 'ESF' stand in a plaza beside a sign reading 'Entrance, ESF & Omni'.
Did you know

An idea from Scandinavia.

It began with Andrew Marshall, a Scottish businessman who lived in Scandinavia and wanted to bring the life of its street food halls home to Edinburgh.

Fried chicken from 'Chix' and drinks sit alongside a sandwich on an outdoor table.
Did you know

Permanent, and a first.

Not a pop-up, it was the first permanent seven-day street food market in Edinburgh.

Trays branded 'Fabrica' hold fried snacks, nachos and salad on an outdoor table beside a drink.
Did you know

A dead end brought to life.

The back of the Omni Centre used to be a dead end that few people walked to. The food hall turned it into a place people seek out.

Fried chicken, salad and nachos in branded containers cover a wooden outdoor table.
Did you know

Order from anywhere.

Scan the code on the table and you can order from any of the kitchens at once, and have it brought to you.

Branded food containers of fried chicken, nachos and salad sit on an outdoor picnic table.
Did you know

Local only.

It works only with local traders, artists and breweries.

A bucket of 'Chix' branded fried chicken sits beside a loaded flatbread and drinks on a table.
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Where it is

At the Omni Centre on Leith Street, at the foot of Calton Hill.

Close byThe places nearest Edinburgh Street Food, at the top of Leith Walk.
  1. Bronze giraffe sculptures stand beside a glass-fronted building on the pavementThe Dreaming SpiresTwo scrap-metal giraffes in front of the Omni Centre.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. Sliding ladder against floor-to-ceiling bookshelves beside a window overlooking a church spireTopping & CompanyA large independent bookshop, opened in 2019.Under a mile 2 min by road
  3. Edinburgh PlayhouseEdinburgh PlayhouseA picture palace of 1929, modelled on New York's Roxy.Under a mile 2 min by road
  4. Calton HillCalton HillA volcanic hill crowned with monuments, and one of the great views of Edinburgh.Under a mile 3 min by road
  5. Rows of stone columns on Calton Hill under a grey skyCity ObservatoryPlayfair's observatory of 1818 on Calton Hill.Under a mile 3 min by road
  6. Nelson MonumentNelson MonumentA monument of the 1810s to Nelson's victory at Trafalgar.Under a mile 3 min by road
Directions
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Paper sculpture of a fox beneath a tree, crafted from an open bookAttractionsEdinburgh Book Sculptures0.2 miles

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