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Cafés
in the Scottish Borders.

It’s 21:32 in the Borders.
Scottish Borders

Coffee by the sand and the square.

The Borders' cafés are friendly and full of good baking. Grab a coffee and a milkshake at a small white café on the sand at Coldingham Bay, or fresh crab in a stone cottage on the harbour at St Abbs. In Selkirk, a roastery pours its own coffee, while Lauder has an art gallery café and a deli with cheeses and wine. Down a quiet valley, a weekend café welcomes walkers and cyclists. Stop often.

The Spotty Dog→
Three Hills Coffee→
The Flat Cat Gallery→
Café of the day17 hours ago

The Spotty Dog.

A delicatessen on the High Street in Lauder, with cheeses, wines, herbs and spices, hampers, and coffee and bacon rolls to take away.

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From the magazine14 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 10Issue 10Spring / Summer 2025

The Mainstreet Trading Company, a bookshop in a former Victorian grocery in St Boswells, in the Scottish Borders, was named Britain's Best Small Shop in 2018.

The building began life as a Victorian grocery store and later became an auction house, before Rosamund and Bill de la Hey turned it into a bookshop in 2008. Ten years on came the national title, which, as the magazine says, tells you all you need to know about its local charm, independent spirit and dedication to quality. Inside there are tables piled with new books, a café serving coffee and food, and a children's room watched over by a painted green dragon. In a barn behind, the couple have added a deli and homeware shop.

See The Mainstreet Trading Company · Scottish Borders
Afterwards10 hours agoScottish BordersBerwickshire Coastal Path5.7 milesScottish BordersSiccar Point6.4 milesScottish BordersMarchmont House8.4 miles

Round the corner from The Woodlands Café.

The three good places closest to it: Berwickshire Coastal Path, Siccar Point and Marchmont House.

See The Woodlands Café
Cafés6 hours ago

Three Hills Coffee.

A speciality coffee roastery and cafe on the High Street in Selkirk, roasting its own beans and teaching barista courses.

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From the magazine3 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 12Issue 12Spring / Summer 2026

Jack Blackwell worked at Noma in Copenhagen before opening Dōr, his shop in Kelso, in a former florist's that had been cold and damp for over 20 years.

Dōr is a small, thoughtful shop on the high street in Kelso, in the Scottish Borders, with coffee at its heart. Jack started out helping in the cafés his mum ran, then worked in bars and restaurants, among them Timberyard in Edinburgh. When Covid paused his hospitality career, he moved back north in search of a slower pace, a new home and a new community, and found all three in Kelso. 'From those early days, it really felt like time to do something rather than dream about it'. Doing most of the work himself, he uncovered the original fireplaces, floor and window boxes, kept the traditional shop front and made the inside fresh and flexible.

See Dōr · Scottish Borders
CafésJust now

The Flat Cat Gallery.

An art gallery, shop and cafe on the Market Place in Lauder, with fresh home baking, good coffee and pizza among the paintings.

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