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Coffee shops
in Edinburgh.

It’s 01:41 in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh

Roasted in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh takes its coffee seriously, and many of its best cups are roasted in the city. There are speciality roasters with their own cafés in Stockbridge, Marchmont and Leith, basement coffee bars under George Street, and a laptop-free shop in Tollcross. Some bake their own pastries, and a few serve their coffee at the table. Every neighbourhood has a favourite, so ask a local. Take a bag of beans home.

Printworks Coffee→
Gordon Street Coffee→
Chapter One→
Milk at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop→
Edinburgh Larder→
Twelve Triangles→
Union of Genius→
Castello Coffee→
Angelina Coffee Snug→
Machina Coffee→
101 Bakery→
Steampunk Coffee→
From our Edinburgh guide48 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
Coffee shop of the dayJust now

Gordon Street Coffee.

A coffee roastery and shop on Market Street by Waverley, the Edinburgh home of Gordon St Coffee, which began on Gordon Street in Glasgow in 2014.

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CoffeeJust 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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AfterwardsJust nowEdinburghCity Art Centre0 yardsEdinburghThe Fruitmarket Gallery0 yardsEdinburghCockburn Street0 yards

Round the corner from Mimi's Bakehouse.

Three good places a short walk away: City Art Centre, The Fruitmarket Gallery and Cockburn Street.

See Mimi's Bakehouse
StayJust nowEdinburghWest End Muse800 yardsEdinburghMoment George IV Bridge1.1 milesEdinburghOld Town Chambers1.2 miles

Stay near Chapter One.

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

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CoffeeJust now

Milk at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop.

A licensed café between the two buildings of Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop in Newhaven, on the cycle path, with tables inside and out.

See the place
From our collectionsA collectionJust nowEdinburghBeatnikEdinburghGordon Street CoffeeEdinburghArtisan RoastEdinburghAlby'sEdinburghPrintworks CoffeeEdinburgh101 BakeryEdinburghMayvnEdinburghThe Elephant HouseEdinburghMimi's BakehouseEdinburghCastello Coffee

Edinburgh's Best Coffee Shops

Edinburgh is full of good independent coffee shops, many of them tucked down a set of basement steps. From the roasteries to the bakeries, these are the ones we keep going back to.

See the whole collection
Somewhere to eatJust now

Alby's, Edinburgh.

A sandwich shop on the edge of Leith, serving big hot sandwiches on squares of focaccia in a mid-century room that was once the Snax Cafe.

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CoffeeJust now

Edinburgh Larder.

A cafe on Blackfriars Street off the Royal Mile since 2009, cooking seasonal local food, with the Scottish breakfast at its heart.

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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
CoffeeJust now

Twelve Triangles.

A scratch bakery of slow, cold-fermented sourdough and pastries, begun by Emily Cuddeford and Rachel Morgan, with bakeries across Edinburgh.

See the place
CoffeeJust now

Union of Genius.

A small soup cafe on Forrest Road since 2012, under new owners since 2024, with the day's soups, bread and sandwiches.

See the place

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