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The painted 'No Half Measures' sign on the pale green wall inside Half-Cut Coffee, above a rack of prints and cards.
Edinburgh

Half-Cut Coffee

A bright green coffee shop on Candlemaker Row, opened in 2026 in the old Half-Cut barbershop, a few steps from Greyfriars Bobby.

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Welcome

You can't miss Half-Cut Coffee: it's the bright green shopfront on Candlemaker Row, the curving street that climbs from the Grassmarket up to Greyfriars Bobby.

It opened in 2026 in the old Half-Cut barbershop and kept the name, and inside it's all pale green walls and a hand-painted sign that reads No Half Measures. It's a small, friendly spot for a carefully made coffee, whether you're grabbing a quick cup between the sights or staying a while, with iced coffees, matcha and something sweet from the counter. Now and then there's a DJ on a Saturday afternoon, the Half-Cut Sessions, which makes a lovely end to a day in the Old Town. It's a few steps from Greyfriars Kirk and the National Museum, so it fits easily into a morning's wandering. It opens at 8am every day, until 4pm from Monday to Thursday and 6pm from Friday to Sunday.

Round the cornerWhirlybirdAn all-day café, bar and restaurant over two floors on Victoria Street, in a building more than 250 years old and in the Michelin Guide.1 min by roadSee itWhirlybird's dining room on Victoria Street, with wooden tables and chairs, a stone wall, fringed lamps and a tall window onto the street.
Before you go

Open every day from 8am, until 4pm from Monday to Thursday and 6pm from Friday to Sunday.

Where
23 Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh EH1 2QG, between the Grassmarket and Greyfriars Bobby.
Open
Monday to Thursday 8am to 4pm; Friday, Saturday and Sunday 8am to 6pm.
Half-Cut Sessions
DJ sets on some Saturday afternoons.
Phone
0131 259 8530

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
8am–4pm
Tuesday
8am–4pm
Wednesday
8am–4pm
Thursday
8am–4pm
Friday
8am–6pm
Saturday
8am–6pm
Sunday
8am–6pm

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Where it is

At 23 Candlemaker Row, in the Old Town, between the Grassmarket and Greyfriars Bobby.

Close byCandlemaker Row and Greyfriars.
  1. The cream-painted shopfront of Transreal Fiction on Candlemaker Row, with its name above the door and two windows, beneath a stone tenement.Transreal FictionA small shop for new science fiction and fantasy books at 46 Candlemaker Row in Edinburgh's Old Town, open Wednesday to Saturday since 2011 at this address.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. Greyfriars KirkGreyfriars KirkThe first church built in Edinburgh after the Reformation, opened on Christmas Day 1620, where the National Covenant was signed in 1638.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. Magdalen ChapelMagdalen ChapelA small chapel of the 1540s on the Cowgate, guildhall of the hammermen, holding the only stained glass in Scotland that survives whole from before the Reformation.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. The marble shopfront of Thomas J Walls on Forrest Road, its old opticians' lettering above wide windows and a bronze door.Thomas J WallsA coffee shop for brunch and light lunches in an old opticians on Forrest Road, behind its Art Deco shopfront.Under a mile 3 min by road
  5. Greyfriars BobbyGreyfriars BobbyThe bronze terrier on a granite fountain at Candlemaker Row, set up in 1873 for the dog said to have watched his master's grave for fourteen years.Under a mile 4 min by road
  6. Candlelit tables and wooden chairs beneath an oval plasterwork ceiling in a restaurantThe OutsiderA relaxed restaurant on George IV Bridge, cooking fresh seasonal food, with windows at the back that look straight out to the castle.Under a mile 4 min by road
  7. The long pale stone front of the National Library of Scotland on George IV Bridge.National Library of ScotlandScotland's national library on George IV Bridge, free to enter, with exhibitions from its collections, a cafe and a shop.Under a mile 4 min by road
Directions
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Restaurant dining room with laid tables, wrought-iron balustrade and stocked bar behindRestaurantsHowies Victoria StreetA step away
Red-fronted shop "The Enchanted Galaxy" on Victoria Street, EdinburghShoppingThe Enchanted GalaxyA step away
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Green corner shopfront reading "I.J. Mellis Cheesemonger" with cream awning and wooden bench outsideShoppingI.J. MellisA step away
Whirlybird's dining room on Victoria Street, with wooden tables and chairs, a stone wall, fringed lamps and a tall window onto the street.RestaurantsWhirlybirdA step away
The green front of Maggie Dickson's on the Grassmarket, gold lettering over the door.AttractionsMaggie Dickson’sA step away
Bicycle parked outside The Red Door Gallery, edinburghart.com, on cobbled streetShoppingThe Red Door GalleryA step away

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near Half-Cut, and when each is next free.

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