The New Leaf Co-op

Wonderful shop. The staff is so helpful and will even order a specialty item for you, if they don’t already stock it. I really appreciate that almost all products here are vegan (except for obvious things like eggs), so you don’t have to spend time scanning every label. Some of their brands are also worker-​owned collectives, like the pasta company, and the veggies tend to be from local farms. Other favorites include the smoked tofu from Engine Shed, the za’atar, and of course their selection of chocolates!
It’s pricier than I am accustomed to, but I am very glad to support a worker-​owned store. Thank you, New Leaf Co-​op!

Great wee shop. Very cheap for herbs, spices, oats and nuts. Friendly staff who always help if you need advice or like me, can’t find what you are looking for. Great selection of things. Highly recommend!

Nice for dried fruit and granola. Also great location being next to other vegan/​vegetarian friendly groceries.

You can’t beat organic produce for the wellbeing healthy option where that great summer taste of fresh tomatoes, beans, spuds or leafy greens keeps your alert and eco-​friendliness on a high.
If your like your blends of veggies, fruit and associated organics and you can’t go past a shop like this without sticking your head in and nosing around, that’s exactly what you can do till early evening most days, glad I did!
A mere toddler at 8 months is The New Leaf Coop located in Marchmont, is a different take on nearby similarities. What you find here is a very open and honest bunch of guys, who will answer queries provide solutions and provide goods that are sourced locally (East Lothian) as well as further afield; all labelled to tell you so.
I popped on to get duck eggs but they don’t stock them yet, however mostly all things here are what you’d find in Real Foods, with prices much the same they also have baskets of discounts on over-​ripe foods also?
I could tell you every single thing they do have but that would spoil discovering it for the first time yourself, so pop in if your in the neighbourhood and brighten up your day with help from them for any meal.

After yoga last Saturday I needed to get a few groceries. Marchmont is a really exciting place to shop, as it is brimming with independent grocery stores, there’s an Asian shop, a co op and this wonderful health food shop.
The new leaf used to be really tiny, but they’ve just opened a back room which is now full of healthy goodies: Irish seaweed, miso paste, dried beans, lentils, oats, chia seeds and various other yummy things. For the loose goods there is a 10% student discount.
I just came in here to buy some vegetarian thai green curry paste (the Asian shop next door had it but it contained anchovies), but I also grabbed a box of clippers nettle tea. I was tempted by their good selection of tofu, veggie burgers, fresh bread, apricot slices and organic vegetables, though I was telling myself to hold back! Though they offer some very exciting and healthy looking products, this is quite pricey (being an independent health food shop this is to be expected). If I were to include this in my weekly shop, I would probably spend about a tenner here, then go to the vegetable shop up the road for fruit and veg-​I bought a mango there for only 39p!

Very nice small organic food store, that also stocks some non-​food ecological products. The owners are very friendly, they know their products. The amount of fresh products on offer is limited and, of course, depends on the season.

If you’re on a health kick and are looking for a snack or some organic produce them The New Leaf is the place to go. This little independent shop has a great range of organically sourced produce, herbal teas and natural cosmetics and soaps too.
The staff are always friendly whenever I have popped in and the shop is brightly lit and well organised with little plant pots on the window ledges outside making it an inviting place to visit.

This place is on my walk to and from uni. At both these times I’m hungry. At both these times my mouth waters when I walk by the New Leaf. You see, ripe fruit’s kinda hard to find in Edinburgh. I’m from Brazil. Fruit in Brazil looks like it does in photos. Big, bright and juicy. It is not the same in Scotland. Not by far. But the New Leaf sells only organic produce. And it seems that this reflects on having ripe fruit. Really delicious ripe fruit.
The New Leaf doesn’t only sell food, though. They also sell a range of eco-​friendly detergents and cleaning supplies such as Ecoleaf. You can buy yourself some Ecoleaf washing up liquid and then go back when you’ve gone through it and get it re-​filled for cheaper. You might even feel like you’re being a good person. The possibilities are infinite.
But on their food front: they get fresh bread delivered most days. They get delectable baked goods delivered from the Engine Shed on Wednesdays and Fridays, too. I got kind of addicted to this parmesan-​herb-​bread-​twirl thing once upon a time, so I know when the deliveries happen.
They also sell sun-​dried tomatoes that aren’t marinated and are much cheaper than buying the marinated ones. Here’s a secret: marinating your own sun-​dried tomatoes is dead easy. And you’ll also save yourself a lotta moolah.
So yeah, if you’re veggie, or feel like you kind of care about the environment, stop by the New Leaf. They’re always really helpful in there. Downside, of course, is that it’s really pricey. But it’s just as pricey as any other shop that sells organic produce.

If you have specific dietary requirements then this place is worth four stars, but if you don’t then it’s probably only worth three in my view. Virtually all the food is very expensive and a lot of it isn’t even specialist stuff. For example, why would you buy a packet of porridge oats from here when you can buy them from somewhere else two minutes away for half the price? However, this is missing the point as all their fruit and vegetables are organic, fresh and ripe. Further, if you’re lactose, wheat, gluten or anything else intolerant then it sells great, healthy alternatives to many foods for you to enjoy.
If you’ve got specific dietary needs then this is the place. Unfortunately, it comes at a price.

The shop screams «healthy» you can hear it from across the street.
It’s packed full with (you guessed it) stuff that’s good for us, as well as tons of foodstuff for the more pickier eaters — either by choice or by genetics.
It’s located in Marchmont, which has a mix of students and locals. I would describe this shop more like an upmarket organic grocery store.
This all comes with a price, but the muesli bars really keep you going for the better part of the afternoon. The staff are super friendly and chatty too.

I don’t think I appreciated how lucky I am being able to accept gluten into my body. It’s in everything, (air is 78% gluten), so cooking for my friend Richard has always been a pain in the arse.
If its food that tatses like anything except from wet cardboard, he can’t have it. So it’s really nice to know that a place like this exists.
They do a fine selection of all the foods that we should be eating, but aren’t. I picked up a few muesli bars to try, but I won’t be switching from mars bars anytime soon. The staff were extremely knowledgeable about various dietary requirements (some that I never knew existed) and we’re able to give me some cooking ideas.
That brings me to the saddest part, because the food cost’s almost double than in the supermarket, I won’t be able to afford it anytime soon.

This is a tiny little shop that sits amongst all the vegetable shops that line Argyle Place. And although small, for the health conscious in the area this is a real little haven. They stock pretty much everything you need to be healthy, as well as the odd flapjack or carob chocolate treat. But it really is THE place to go if you have any special dietary requirements — such as gluten-​free or vegan. Whilst you’re there you can pick up some of their lovely organic bread, because it is to die for.