Hula Juice Bar & Gallery

Grassmarket EH1 2JU »Map«

Open every day Espresso Coffee: Artisan Roast Also: Meals, beans, some coffee kit

Coolness: Healthy, tasty food in an iconic location of the Old Town

---

Hula Juice Bar & Gallery (4♥) is one of the few places that does great coffee in Edinburgh's Old Town. The location on the Grassmarket is also special given the building and surrounds date from the 1600s and before.

Hula Juice Bar & Gallery offers a great choice of healthy food, smoothies and juices for breakfasts and lunches. Options include soups, wraps, bagels, salads and cakes. They are also very happy to provide a take-away service for all items on their menu.

The staff are friendly and do their jobs well. You can sit outside when the sun is shining but there's plenty of space inside as well, a stone's throw from Edinburgh Castle.

The coffee is very good and expertly prepared. rich, robust and soft luscious milk - using long time partner Edinburgh's Artisan Roast beans. Good food and coffee combined with this beautifully historic old part of town, what more can you ask!

More: hulajuicebar.co.uk

>

Edinburgh Larder Cafe

15 Blackfriars St EH1 1NB »Map«

Open: Every day Espresso Coffee: Williams and Johnson Also: Scottish produce, meals, alcohol

Coolness: Scottish foodie heaven in the picturesque Old Town

---

Edinburgh Larder (3♥) is in the Old Town and is a haven for lovers of some of the best produce Scotland has to offer. They proudly state their ingredients and foods are "local, organic or both".

This isn't a food blog but we have to say the meals here are lovely. They have a wide range including small and large breakfasts, locally produced cheeses, meats and smoked fish, soups, sandwiches, quiches, tarts, cakes and a wide array of deli choices. Their menu is friendly to meat-lovers and vegans alike and provides choices for gluten intolerant folk. They also have wines and beers - happy days.

And...yes, there's more, they also have lovely local goodies like honey, flavoured oils and teas sourced from Eteaket among many other tasty treats to take home.

So, the coffee? Good. They make a good coffee with William and Johnson beans, in keeping with their ethic of using local providers.

This is a haven in the tourist-heavy and amazingly picturesque Old Town and well worth a visit.

More: edinburghlarder.co.uk

Brew Lab

6-8 South College St EH8 9AA »Map«

Open every day Espresso, Pour-over, Chemex, Siphon, Cold brew (bottled and nitro on draught) Coffee: Has Bean & guests Also: Meals, cakes Free wifi

Coolness: Large choice of brew methods and training lab

---

Brew Lab Artisan Coffee Bar (5♥) is a big, stone and light industrial-vibed coffee house in the middle of the Edinburgh University area, on the South of the Old Town.

They're at the forefront of coffee seriousness: choices of brew methods, each with their own appropriate bean and grind types. You can also enjoy locally sourced top notch tea, hot chocolate, cakes and light meals such as salads, baguettes and soups. They're as committed to great food as they are great coffee.

It's guaranteed that Brew Lab will continuously change (as in week to week) the coffees they serve - and the food - so expect to experience something different each time. Think of how chefs change their menu all the time based on their whim and what's fresh or seasonal.

The main brew methods available when we've been are:

• Espresso - Brew Lab has a very fancy Seattle-built espresso machine (you can read all about it on their website) and they use their own 'Brew Lab' beans created by 'Has Bean'. We found this to be different to anything we'd tasted before. Light, with a bit of smokiness up front moving rapidly to a sour acidity. 
• Kalita wave - A pour over style that uses a fine paper filter. This one has a flat bottom that contributes to an even distribution of the coffee and therefore balanced brew
• Cold brew - Brew Lab make their own cold brew by soaking coffee overnight in water and triple filtering it. They offer it ready-bottled or on draught, infused with nitrous oxide so it feels and looks a bit like Guinness but speeds you up instead of slowing you down.
• Siphon - (on Sundays) A vacuum brew method invented in the 1830s that looks a bit like a science experiment. Water is heated in a lower glass vessel and coffee grounds are placed in a top vessel with a filter in between. The two vessels are also connected by a separate tube that siphons the water up into the top vessel before it passes through the coffee grounds and filter and back into the lower vessel again, all driven by a gentle vacuum caused by heating water. The result is a light, soft, tea-like brew.

As we said, this is a place that seriously loves their coffee in all its shapes and forms. Locals can look forward to going with them on a coffee joy ride. For those who are looking to get more serious, Brew Lab also have a training lab so you can polish your barista skills.

More: brewlabcoffee.co.uk

Zebra Coffee Co

16 Bank St EH1 2LN »Map«

Open every day Espresso Coffee: Artisan Roast Also: Panini and cakes Dog-friendly

Coolness: Situated on historic Bank Street in the Old Town

---

Zebra Coffee Co (3♥) is on Bank Street which joins the famous Mound to the even more famous Royal Mile, right in the heart of Edinburgh's Old Town.

It's a relaxed narrow-fronted shop with tables and chairs in the front section and sofas in the room to the rear.

They offer a variety of fresh panini, scones, cakes and Artisan Roast coffee - to have in or take-away.

This is a nice cozy little spot when you need some time out from the madding crowds of the Royal Mile.

More: facebook.com/ZebraCoffeeCoEdinburgh

Southern Cross Cafe

63A Cockburn St EH1 1BS »Map«

Open every day Espresso Coffee: Artisan Roast Also: Full meals, alcohol Free wifi

Coolness: Very friendly, wide selection of food in a vibrant neighbourhood

---

Southern Cross Cafe  (3♥) is on the corner of Fleshmarket Close and Cockburn Street (pronounced 'Co-burn' which non-UK folk may not know! ).

Central to Edinburgh's Old Town is the Royal Mile that runs down the spine of the rock formation and connects the Edinburgh Castle at the top and Holyrood Palace at the bottom. Continuing the analogy, the ribs that come off the spine are a mix of alleys (called mostly Closes and Wynds), streets and bridges. These bridges sometimes don't feel like bridges until you look around and realise you can see streets running under you. Because of this, it can feel like the Old Town exists on two levels. Cockburn is one of the streets that connects these two levels as it winds down the hill toward Waverley train station from the Royal Mile. It's also jam-packed with interesting shops, pubs and restaurants.

Southern Cross Cafe fits in perfectly with its vibrant and varied neighbours and has tables and chairs outside so you can watch the world go by.

They have an extensive menu including breakfast until 3.30pm, sandwiches, wraps, soups, salads, burgers, pasta, ciabattas and more. They're rightly proud of the wide selection of home-make cakes on display in their window. They are also licensed and sell Scottish beers, including Schiehallion on draught, along with wines and spirits.

They use Artisan Roast Janzsoon blend coffee and do a good job with it. Southern Cross extract a hefty flavoured double-shot and combine it with good milk texture leaving you a happy customer.

More: facebook.com/pages/Southern-Cross-Cafe/