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Cafés
in the Cairngorms.

It’s 20:06 in the Cairngorms.
Cairngorms

Tea and cake by Loch Morlich.

The cafés of the Cairngorms are made for people coming off the hill, the bike or the slopes. By Loch Morlich, a community-owned café in the Glenmore visitor centre does coffee, soup and cake, and at the foot of Cairngorm there are wood-burning fires and a terrace over the hills. Near Aviemore you'll find Cullen skink with a cheese scone at Rothiemurchus, cinnamon buns with speciality coffee, and a family café where dogs get a treat. Further out, Nethy Bridge and Laggan have village cafés full of home baking. Most are daytime places, so plan on breakfast or lunch rather than dinner.

Foxfire Coffee→
Route 7 Café→
Cairngorm Café→
Nethy House→
The Barn at Rothiemurchus→
From our guide18 hours ago

Allt Mor Café.

Run by the community since 2024, when the Aviemore and Glenmore Community Trust bought it, the Allt Mor Café sits in the Glenmore Visitor Centre near Loch Morlich. It is made for people on the move, before or after a walk, a ride or a day on the snow, with coffee, cake, breakfast rolls, homemade soup and lunches. Cyclists get a tool station and e-bike charging, and dogs are welcome inside. There is plenty of seating outside too, and the bus from Aviemore stops at the foot of the car park.

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From our guide14 hours ago

Laggan Stores Coffee Bothy.

Laggan sits on the upper Spey between the Monadhliath and the Grampians, and if it looks familiar, it played the village of Glenbogle in the BBC's Monarch of the Glen. The Coffee Bothy is its village café, in a stone building with a small shop and gallery alongside. There is breakfast and lunch, good coffee and a counter of homemade cakes, with vegan and gluten-free bakes among them. Sit inside or take your cup out when the sun is on the village. It is a handy stop for the Laggan Wolftrax bike trails.

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From our guide10 hours ago

Route 7 Café.

Finding Route 7 takes a little faith: it is upstairs in the Highland Home Centre on the Dalfaber estate at the edge of Aviemore. Up there is a relaxed, family-friendly café with a full kitchen, doing breakfasts, lunches and burgers, hearty dishes alongside lighter ones, and plenty for vegans. The menu changes often. Dogs get a proper welcome, with water bowls and a treat, led by the owners' own French bulldogs. The kitchen closes mid-afternoon, so this is one for breakfast or lunch. It has won awards for its vegetarian food.

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Somewhere to eat9 hours ago

Nethy House, Cairngorms.

A café with rooms in a granite house in Nethy Bridge, with home baking, Glen Lyon coffee and a welcome for dogs and bikes.

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Did you know7 hours ago

When the pandemic closed Kj's Mountain Café in Aviemore, she started again as a baker in her home town of Grantown-on-Spey, fourteen miles away.

Kj had run the café since 2004 when it was forced to close in March 2020, and that June she made the hard decision not to reopen. Instead she kept cooking, and KJ's Bothy Bakery was born on an industrial estate on the edge of Grantown, working with local suppliers. The bakery's own website admits that as you pass the rubbish dump and a storage yard, you might think you are in the wrong place. Inside, everything is made on site, from sourdough to cinnamon buns, with good Kiwi-style coffee to go with them, and the bakes now go out by post across the UK.

See KJ's Bothy Bakery · Cairngorms
From our guide3 hours ago

Foxfire Coffee.

Foxfire is a speciality coffee bar at Granish, just outside Aviemore, and it is well worth the short detour. Skilled baristas take real care over every flat white and long black, and the short food menu runs to sourdough toasties, bakes and cinnamon buns made in house. The room is calm and thoughtfully finished, with a wood-burning stove and views towards the northern Cairngorms. There is free parking, which makes it an easy first stop on the way into the hills. It is a morning place, closing in the early afternoon.

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From our guide1 hour ago

KJ's Bothy Bakery.

Drive past the dump and a storage yard on the edge of Grantown and you will wonder if you are lost. Keep going. KJ's Bothy Bakery is a busy kitchen and small shop where everything is baked on site, with good Kiwi-style coffee to go with it. KJ ran the Mountain Café in Aviemore from 2004 until 2020, then started again in her home town. The racks fill with sourdough, sandwiches stacked high, cookies and cinnamon buns, and the bakes travel by post across the UK too.

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From our guideJust now

The Barn at Rothiemurchus.

The Barn is the timber café at the Rothiemurchus Centre, across from the Farm Shop, and a cosy spot after a morning on the estate. A wood-burning stove keeps it warm, and the menu is hearty: breakfast rolls and pastries, then soup or Cullen skink with a homemade cheese scone, one-pot specials, sandwiches and traybakes. The coffee comes from the Perth Bean Shop, and there are always vegetarian choices. Dogs have their own part of the café. At the back, a room looks out over the River Druie. Parking is free, with bike racks outside.

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From our guideJust now

Cairngorm Café.

At the top of the road above Glenmore, by the base of the mountain railway, the Cairngorm Café is where everyone warms up. Wood-burning fires make it cosy on a raw day, and big windows and a terrace look out over the hills. There is hot food, cake and coffee, and a hot chocolate piled high with cream is the favourite after a walk or a day's skiing. With the play park and the Mountain Shop next door, it suits families well. The mountain can close in bad weather, so check before you set off.

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