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Green-fronted shopfront reading "Big Hot Sandwiches" beside a weathered white tenement building
A collection · Places to eat

Edinburgh's Best Coffee Shops

Edinburgh is full of good independent coffee shops, many of them tucked down a set of basement steps. From the roasteries to the bakeries, these are the ones we keep going back to.

Curated and written by Hidden Scotland

Updated 22 September 2026. Across Edinburgh.

Edinburgh is full of good independent coffee shops. Many of them are small, several are tucked down a set of basement steps, and a good number roast their own beans or bake their own pastries. Finding your favourite is one of the small pleasures of a few days in the city.

We've gathered ours, from the Old Town and the New Town to Stockbridge, Leith and the Southside. These are the coffee shops worth walking past three chains to reach.

Where these are

More of Edinburgh

Castle, closes and a festival every August

Our guide to EdinburghPlaces to eat on EdinburghOn the map

Days out on Edinburgh

Ready-made days, stop by stop, with somewhere to eat
More infoA morningCoffee at Steampunk and the Coastal Communities MuseumNo car neededMore infoA walkA walk round Blackness Castle by the foreshoreBy carMore infoA walkA walk down the Royal Mile by its closesNo car neededMore infoA walkA walk through Princes Street Gardens, east to westNo car needed

Stay on Edinburgh

Places to stay we know, near these
A man walks past Bucken Booths entrance flanked by black lamp postsMore infoEdinburghOld Town ChambersPlace to stayA round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.More infoEdinburghMoment George IV BridgeSleeps 2A black kitchen counter with flowers on the worktop stands before a curved timber slatted screen opening onto a bedroom.More infoEdinburghCartshedSleeps 2More infoEdinburghWoodshedSleeps 2
The Best of Edinburgh

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