7 Best Edinburgh Hostels with Shared Kitchens
7 top-rated hostels with shared kitchen in Edinburgh Handpicked for travelers who want the best.
Edinburgh is expensive for food in the Old Town — a Pret sandwich is £5.50, a Wetherspoon pub lunch is £9, a mid-tier restaurant dinner starts at £30. A hostel with a proper shared kitchen saves you £15-25 per day. The seven hostels below all have functional guest kitchens; the quality spread is wide. Haystack wins on hardware (dishwasher + coffee machine), Castle Rock on atmosphere (castle view from the hob), High Street on culture (Sunday shared-pot dinners since the 90s), Princes Street on location (closest to Tesco and Waverley), Royal Mile Backpackers on charm (beamed ceiling), and the CODE and Kick Ass kitchens on the basic-but-functional end. Pick based on whether you want equipment, atmosphere, or a pantry stocked by previous travelers.
Edinburgh's cheap-eating map is tight: Tesco Metro on South Bridge, Sainsbury's on Nicolson Street, Lidl on Dalry Road (15 min bus). Mosque Kitchen at Nicolson Square does a £5.50 hot curry lunch; Piemaker on South Bridge does a £3 Scotch pie. Hostel kitchens are a cultural extension of these — backpackers shop at Tesco, cook haggis and neeps at 7 pm, share the leftovers at 9. The Sunday shared-pot tradition at High Street Hostel has been running since before most hostel guests were born. Castle Rock's kitchen window looks up at the castle, and the 6 am porridge before climbing Arthur's Seat is a hostel-breakfast rite of passage.
🍳Why Edinburgh is Perfect for Shared Kitchen
Cooking at hostel prices saves £15-25 per day in Edinburgh. A Tesco basket (pasta, pesto, onion, garlic, one bottle of red) is £8 and feeds two; eating out in Old Town doubles that. Hostels with proper kitchens (Haystack, Castle Rock, Princes Street, High Street) stock basics in the guest-pantry shelf — oil, salt, spices, pasta — so you rarely need to buy duplicates of what someone else already left.
Edinburgh hostel kitchens are social spaces as much as cooking ones. High Street Hostel's Sunday shared-pot dinner (turn up, pay £5, eat whatever the volunteer chef made) is a 30-year tradition; Castle Rock's free haggis Monday is a Scottish hospitality ritual. Royal Mile Backpackers runs a weekly pasta night because the 38-bed kitchen can't fit more than ten people at once. Haystack is the quiet kitchen — people come to cook and work, not socialize.
Traveler's take
“I cooked in all seven. Haystack has the best hardware — dishwasher, espresso machine, two fridges, eight stovetops. Castle Rock has the biggest (twenty seats, two ovens) but the bunks above the dining room creak. Royal Mile Backpackers has the most characterful (beamed ceiling, eight seats, one fridge) but you'll cook shoulder-to-shoulder. High Street Hostel's kitchen is the loudest and best for meeting people, with the Sunday shared-pot running since 1995. Princes Street's kitchen is the transit-smartest — Waverley 2 minutes away, Tesco 5. CODE - The Loft has a small but functional four-hob kitchen plus a loft lounge to eat in. Kick Ass Grassmarket has the most basic setup — three hobs, one oven, more for sandwiches than real cooking — which matches its social culture at the bar, not the kitchen.”
Our Top 7 Picks
Hostels in Edinburgh with shared kitchen, sorted by guest rating.
Castle Rock Hostel
Old Town (Johnston Terrace, below the Castle)
Excellent
1,611 reviews
220-bed backpacker classic run by MacBackpackers, wedged directly under Edinburgh Castle on Johnston Terrace. The kitchen window looks up at the castle wall. Free haggis tasting Mondays, nightly events, shared kitchen, Red Room lounge with a working fireplace. 18+ only.
From
€28//night
Why travelers love Castle Rock Hostel
“Reviewers consistently call Castle Rock the friendliest hostel in Edinburgh and the one with the most authentic Scottish atmosphere — fireplace, haggis night, and MacBackpackers hospitality all get named. Older building hardware (squeaky bunks, bathroom queues) is the common downside.”
Princes Street Hostel
New Town (West Register Street, off Princes Street)
Very Good
2,066 reviews
130-bed hostel on West Register Street, the first lane off Princes Street. Two minutes' walk to Waverley Station, five minutes to the Royal Mile. Georgian building with a proper shared kitchen, chill-out lounge, and the best transport-hub address in Edinburgh.
From
€32//night
Why travelers love Princes Street Hostel
“Reviewers consistently praise the location as the most practical in Edinburgh (Waverley, Airlink, Royal Mile all within 10 minutes), the shared kitchen as well-equipped, and the staff as transit-savvy. The five-flight stair climb and Princes Street tram noise on front-facing rooms are the common downsides.”
Royal Mile Backpackers
Old Town (Royal Mile, High Street)
Very Good
1,739 reviews
38-bed boutique backpacker on 105 High Street — the Royal Mile itself. Small, cosy, family-run hostel tucked above a tartan shop with a beamed-ceiling kitchen, a tiny lounge, and the most authentic Royal Mile address of any small hostel in the city.
From
€30//night
Why travelers love Royal Mile Backpackers
“Reviewers consistently highlight the Royal Mile location, the small-hostel intimacy, and the friendliness of the family-run staff. Older building (narrow stairs, no lift, street noise) and the lack of on-site bar are the most-cited downsides.”
Kick Ass Grassmarket
Old Town (Grassmarket, 2 West Port)
Very Good
10,469 reviews
220-bed 18+ party hostel on the Grassmarket corner, at the foot of the steps up to Edinburgh Castle. In-house bar, free breakfast, nightly events, the loudest pub crawl meetup in the city. The hostel that built its reputation on Grassmarket nightlife.
From
€29//night
Why travelers love Kick Ass Grassmarket
“Reviewers consistently highlight the location on the Grassmarket, the active social programme, and the easy friend-making at the in-house bar. The noise level (especially on weekends) and the morning bathroom queue are the commonly-flagged downsides, but most bookers knew what they were signing up for.”
CODE - The Loft, Edinburgh
New Town (Rose Street North Lane)
Very Good
1,203 reviews
CODE's original New Town pod property — 150 pods across a converted Rose Street townhouse, off the Rose Street pub lane. Sister to The Court but quieter, with a loft-level lounge and a proper shared kitchen (which The Court doesn't have). Breakfast included.
From
€38//night
Why travelers love CODE - The Loft, Edinburgh
“Reviewers praise the location off Rose Street, the pod privacy, the top-floor lounge, and the included breakfast. Stair climb (no lift), occasional weekend noise from the pub lane, and shower pressure on the loft floor are the typical flags.”
High Street Hostel
Old Town (Blackfriars Street, off the Royal Mile)
Very Good
2,321 reviews
Edinburgh's oldest backpacker hostel, open since 1984 on 8 Blackfriars Street — a half-lane off the Royal Mile. 150-bed 18+ Old Town classic with a shared kitchen, a cobbled back courtyard, and the lowest Old Town dorm rate in the city.
From
€26//night
Why travelers love High Street Hostel
“Reviewers consistently call High Street Hostel authentic, atmospheric, and cheap — in that order. Older building hardware, smaller lockers, and the stair climb (five floors, no lift) are the common downsides, but almost no one complains about the atmosphere.”
Haystack Hostel
New Town (West Register Street, off Princes Street)
Very Good
1,223 reviews
80-bed hostel on West Register Street, sister property to Haggis Hostels and the Princes Street Hostel neighbour. Smaller, quieter, with a well-equipped kitchen and the same 2-minute walk to Waverley. The calm-counterpart to Edinburgh's party hostels.
From
€30//night
Why travelers love Haystack Hostel
“Reviewers consistently highlight the kitchen quality, the quiet atmosphere, the Waverley-proximity, and the cleanliness. The lack of on-site social programme, the 11 pm reception close, and the stair climb are the typical flags.”
💡Tips for Choosing a Hostel with Shared Kitchen in Edinburgh
- 1Check the guest-pantry shelf before shopping — every kitchen on this list accumulates oil, pasta, rice, tea and spices from previous travelers. Tesco Metro on South Bridge is the closest supermarket to Old Town.
- 2Castle Rock, High Street and Princes Street have the big kitchens (20+ seats) — Haystack, Royal Mile Backpackers and CODE - The Loft have the small ones (6-10 seats). Book small for quiet cooking, big for meeting people.
- 3Mosque Kitchen at Nicolson Square does a £5.50 curry lunch — every Old Town hostel points guests there. Cash only, huge portions, takeaway option saves your hostel kitchen from curry smell.
- 4No hostel on this list allows cooking in dorms. Kitchens close at 23:00 — plan dinner accordingly.
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