I.J Mellis Cheesemonger
Iain Mellis chose this basement in 1993 because it was damp, small and cave-like, which made it right for maturing cheese.1
Why go
Mellis had spent close to fifteen years in the British cheese industry before he opened here, and his argument for farmhouse over factory is that the milk comes from a single herd rather than several.4 His son Rory, now a director, says the family's dairy-science background is what lets them take cheeses further and hold them in the maturing rooms in Leith before they reach a counter.1 Speciality Food Magazine named the business among the seven best cheesemongers in Scotland in June 2026, by which point it ran six stores and had opened a first site outside Scotland in London.1 The Victoria Street shop is the original.
Order this / avoid
- Order: a board cut to order at the counter, vacuum sealed if you are getting on a train. The shop offers the sealing as standard.2
- Avoid: turning up here for the cheese and wine bar. That room, The Cheese Lounge, sits at the back of the Morningside store.1
Good to know
- Address: 30A Victoria Street, on the curve below George IV Bridge.
- Hygiene, this shop: Food Hygiene Information Scheme Pass, inspected 3 December 2024, FHRSID 123588. Twenty months old.3
- Hygiene, other branches: the Stockbridge shop at 6 Baker's Place holds Improvement Required from 11 June 2026, and a premises at 78 Albion Road holds Improvement Required from February 2020. Those ratings belong to those addresses and do not transfer to this one. Morningside holds a Pass from November 2021.
- Searching the hygiene register: it files the operator as Iain Mellis Cheesemonger, so the I.J and IJ spellings return nothing.
Verdict
should-visit — Iain Mellis went looking for a damp, cave-like basement to mature cheese in and opened the first shop on Victoria Street in 1993, and that decision is why the counter here is worth crossing town for. His son Rory, now a director, says the family's dairy-science background lets them take cheeses further and hold them in the maturing rooms in Leith before they reach a shop, and the argument for farmhouse over factory is the plain one that the milk comes from a single herd. Speciality Food put the business among the seven best cheesemongers in Scotland in June 2026, by which point it ran six stores and had opened its first outside Scotland. The shop cuts to order and vacuum seals for travel, which makes it the right stop before a train. One warning that belongs in the same breath: two other Mellis-named premises in this city currently hold Improvement Required from the register, including the Stockbridge shop inspected in June 2026, while this one holds a Pass. Buy your cheese here.