Toast restaurant to open in Leith

The new casual dining all-day cafe and restaurant, which is being launched with business partner Aytac Gul, will have 64 covers, 20 of them outside on the banks of the Water of Leith. It will be the duo’s fourth hospitality venue in Leith, having opened Printworks coffee house and Avocado in the area and previously having owned wine bar Anfora.

Toast, which is housed in a former art gallery will serve “simple yet imaginative” food. Head chef Lizzie Arber has created an all-day menu of classic breakfast dishes, salads, soups and sourdough sandwiches for lunch and sharing platters and tapas-style plates in the evening.

The restaurant will serve a predominantly biodynamic, organic and natural wine list with sommelier Seli Shama on hand to create a bespoke tasting menu to suit individual tastes. The venue also plans to open a tasting room for bespoke events.

“Toast’s philosophy is to welcome everyone at all times,” says Hanif. “One table may be enjoying flat whites and cake, while the next are drinking craft beers, and another is sharing a charcuterie plate with a bottle of wine.”