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Cafés
in Edinburgh.

It’s 01:42 in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh

Brunch, bakes and good coffee.

Edinburgh's cafés are a big part of its charm. There are scratch bakeries making sourdough and pastries, brunch spots down a few steps in the New Town, and a family-run Italian pastry shop off Leith Walk that has been baking for decades. In the Old Town you'll find tearooms on the Canongate and the café where a famous author once wrote. Neighbourhoods like Stockbridge and Leith have plenty of their own. Arrive early at weekends.

Considerit→
Printworks Coffee→
Gordon Street Coffee→
Chapter One→
Milk at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop→
Edinburgh Larder→
Twelve Triangles→
Union of Genius→
Castello Coffee→
Angelina Coffee Snug→
Toast→
Machina Coffee→
From our Edinburgh guide59 minutes ago

The silhouette on the sign of The Milkman, a little coffee shop on Cockburn Street in Edinburgh's Old Town, is the founder's great-grandfather.

Mark, who founded The Milkman, took the shop's logo from his own family. His great-grandfather drove the last horse-drawn milk float in Aberdeenshire, and it is his silhouette that greets you at the door. The shop itself is rustic and small, a few minutes' walk from Waverley Station, and it makes a lovely first stop on a day in the Old Town. The coffee comes from a rotating range of sustainable roasters, which has included Girls who Grind Coffee and Obadiah Collective. So a family story from the north-east hangs over the door of an Edinburgh coffee shop.

See The Milkman · Edinburgh
Café of the day17 minutes ago

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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From our guideJust now

Twelve Triangles.

There are now multiple branches of this local café-bakery around Edinburgh; the first of them opened only in 2015, so the brand’s ongoing popularity is telling. Bread, croissants, doughnuts, coffee… it’s all here.

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AfterwardsJust nowEdinburghTypewronger Books600 yardsEdinburghMcNaughtan's Bookshop & Gallery600 yardsEdinburghTopping & Company700 yards

Round the corner from Sicilian Pastry Shop.

Three good places a short walk away: Typewronger Books, McNaughtan's Bookshop & Gallery and Topping & Company.

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From the magazineJust nowThe printed copy of Issue 04Issue 04Spring / Summer 2022

Catherine Franks sold coffee from a vintage yellow VW van called Mavis before Steampunk Coffee found its home in an old warehouse in North Berwick, East Lothian.

Catherine, who comes from Washington DC and is a keen home baker, opened her first café in North Berwick when her children were young. After selling it she began roasting coffee in her garage, then ran pop-ups in a furniture store and a local museum. Next she took her coffee and cake on the road in Mavis, becoming a fixture at Stockbridge Market in Edinburgh and at festivals around the country. Steampunk settled in the warehouse in 2014. The name comes from a kind of science fiction powered by Victorian machinery, which suits her habit of fixing and reusing: the sinks are old copper brewer's funnels and the roaster is second-hand. Mavis retired in 2021.

See Steampunk Coffee · Edinburgh
From our guideJust now

Gordon Street Coffee.

Small-batch roastery that was founded in Glasgow then spread its wings. Try the Edinburgh Roast, with hazelnut, chocolate and stone fruit.

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StayJust nowEdinburghOld Town Chambers300 yardsEdinburghMoment George IV Bridge500 yardsEdinburghWest End Muse1.0 miles

Stay near Edinburgh Larder.

The three good places closest to it: Old Town Chambers, Moment George IV Bridge and West End Muse.

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CafésJust now

Considerit.

A plant-based maker of doughnuts, chocolate and ice cream on Sciennes, near the Meadows, with everything made by hand each day.

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From our guideJust now

Mary’s Milk Bar.

Mary Hillard is a gelato-maker and chocolatier trained in Italy, and this retro ice-cream parlour showcases her talents to mouthwatering effect.

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From our guideJust now

Cairngorm Coffee Roasters.

With two central outlets, this is where to come for a caffeine fix that puts quality first. As its name suggests, the business began life in the Cairngorms.

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CafésJust now

Printworks Coffee.

A corner coffee house on Constitution Street in Leith, behind a front of stained glass, with breakfasts, lunches and bakes from local makers.

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From our guideJust now

Lowdown Coffee.

A speciality coffee basement on George Street, with cakes, light savouries and some truly excellent coffees. Popular for good reason.

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