Hidden Scotland
Sign in
St Stephen's church and its tall tower at the end of St Stephen Street under a blue sky.
Edinburgh

St Stephen Street

A curving Georgian street in Stockbridge of small independent shops and basement bars, closed at one end by Playfair's St Stephen's Church.

Welcome

At the east end of St Stephen Street, a great square church tower rises above the Georgian terraces.

It belongs to St Stephen's, built in 1827 and 1828 to the design of William Henry Playfair, and squeezed onto a steep site where the ground falls away. Its main floor stands a whole storey up, reached by a tall, narrow flight of steps, and it is a theatre and venue now.

From there the street curves away west in a gentle arc of Georgian houses, and the houses stand over basements that are shops and bars in their own right, and the ground floors hold a run of small independent shops: a bookshop, lifestyle and gift shops, vintage clothes and the antique dealers the street was once known for.

It is a street to wander slowly, on the way to the cafes and the Sunday market of Stockbridge.

Round the cornerMossA farm-to-table restaurant on St Stephen Street, linked to its own organic farm in Angus, where everything on the menu comes from Scotland.1 min by roadSee itGlass jars of dried herbs and flowers lined up on a wooden shelf
Before you go

The street is open at all hours; the shops keep their own times, and many are closed on Sundays or Mondays.

Where
Between Stockbridge and the New Town, running west from St Stephen's Church.
Where it is

In Stockbridge, on the northern edge of the New Town.

Close byThe rest of Stockbridge.
  1. Stockbridge MarketStockbridge MarketThe Sunday market in Saunders Street, since 2011.Under a mile2 min by road
  2. Golden Hare BooksGolden Hare BooksAn independent bookshop on St Stephen Street.Under a mile2 min by road
  3. StockbridgeStockbridgeThe village on the Water of Leith at the edge of the New Town.Under a mile2 min by road
  4. St Bernard's WellSt Bernard's WellA little Greek temple of 1789 over a spring on the Water of Leith.Under a mile3 min by road
  5. Dean VillageDean VillageA milling village of the 1100s on the Water of Leith.1 mile5 min by road
Directions
Glass jars of dried herbs and flowers lined up on a wooden shelfRestaurantsMossA step away
Bicycles parked on a pavement outside Peperino café on a tenement-lined streetWalksStockbridge’s High StreetA step away
Lannan Pantry, EdinburghShoppingLannan PantryA step away
Barista in a striped jumper pours coffee beneath a chalked menu boardCafeFortitude Coffee0.2 miles
Houseplants crowd wooden shelves and hanging baskets in a plant shopShoppingGrow Urban0.2 miles
Bruschetta topped with cherry tomatoes, pesto and basil on black platesRestaurantsNovapizza Vegan Kitchen0.2 miles
Wellington Coffee shopfront beside stone steps leading down to a basement doorwayRestaurantsWellington Coffee0.3 miles
Neon sign reading "I like mine with a kiss" above café tablesCafeThe Pantry0.3 miles
Cowan & Sons café-bar frontage in Stockbridge, two men ordering takeawayRestaurantsCowan & Sons0.3 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near the street, and when each is next free.

West End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from St Stephen Street
Check datesA man walks past Bucken Booths entrance flanked by black lamp postsOld Town Chambers
  • To stay
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from St Stephen Street
Check datesA round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.Moment George IV Bridge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from St Stephen Street
Check datesA turreted sandstone building with conical spires catches the evening light above rooftops, a large pine tree standing beside it.The Scott Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Edinburgh
  • 2 miles from St Stephen Street
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in EdinburghAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

Every photograph commissioned, every word written by somebody who went. Printed twice a year, made in Scotland.

Get Issue 13Read it here
Find out more

For further reading, before you go.