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The gate of Deacon's House Cafe in Brodie's Close, a figure of Deacon Brodie at the door.
Edinburgh

Deacon's House Cafe

A cafe in Brodie's Close off the Lawnmarket, named for the close's most famous resident, with breakfasts, soups and home baking.

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Welcome

Halfway down Brodie's Close, off the Lawnmarket near the top of the Royal Mile, an iron gate hung with greenery opens into Deacon's House Cafe, and a painted figure in a tricorn hat stands at the door.

He is William Brodie, the close's most famous resident: a respected cabinetmaker and town councillor by day who led a secret second life by night, a story said to have helped inspire Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde.

Inside, the rooms are panelled in dark wood, with bentwood chairs, old prints and plates on the shelves, and in good weather there are tables out in the close under strings of lights. The food is made in the cafe: breakfasts until noon, the Full Deacon among them, then soups, toasties and home baking through the day.

The cafe opens every day from nine until four. There is no need to book, just come along.

Round the cornerDeacon Brodie's TavernA Royal Mile pub named after Deacon William Brodie, cabinetmaker and councillor by day and burglar by night, hanged in 1788.1 min by roadSee itDeacon Brodie's Tavern
Before you go

Open every day from nine until four.

No booking needed, just come along.

Where
3 Brodie's Close, 304 Lawnmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2PS.
Telephone
0131 226 1894.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
9am–4pm
Tuesday
9am–4pm
Wednesday
9am–4pm
Thursday
9am–4pm
Friday
9am–4pm
Saturday
9am–4pm
Sunday
9am–4pm
Where it is

Down Brodie's Close, off the Lawnmarket at the top of the Royal Mile.

Close byThe Lawnmarket.
  1. Gladstone’s LandGladstone’s LandA merchant's tall tenement of 1617 on the Lawnmarket, with painted ceilings.Under a mile1 min by road
  2. Riddle’s CourtRiddle’s CourtA merchant's mansion of 1590 round a hidden courtyard, where David Hume lived.Under a mile1 min by road
  3. Golden bird sculpture above a hanging sign for Gladstone's Land, offering tours, ice creams, coffees and cakesGolden Hawk Sculpture at Gladstone's LandUnder a mile1 min by road
  4. Writers' MuseumWriters' MuseumA free museum of Burns, Scott and Stevenson in a townhouse of 1622.Under a mile1 min by road
  5. Lady Stair's Close and the Writers' Museum, a tall old house with a turret.Makars’ CourtA courtyard whose flagstones are cut with the words of Scotland's writers.Under a mile1 min by road
Directions
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Stone colonnade with arched ceiling and windows along a covered walkwayRestaurantsSignet LibraryA step away
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