Breakfast in Marchmont
Discover Our Breakfast Favorites
GETTING BREAKFAST
Getting Breakfast Outside the House
The Pavillion Café on the Meadows
If you would just like the short version, here it is:
We do not do breakfast but there is a whole series of alternatives for breakfast in close proximity to the house:
a) just pick up some pastries for the Scotmid supermarket, which opens at 7 on weekdays and 8 at the weekend. (The supermarket can be seen on the right when leaving the house or just after the Rabbit Hole).
b) Or go for the Detour as a safe bet for coffee and pastries. It is the highest rated cafe near the house.
c) If the weather is nice, give the Pavillion a try (does not have a specific breakfast menu) and only opens at 10. Or go to Victor Hugo’s which opens at 8.30 (and 9 on Sunday). Both have outside seating and view of the Meadows. Reviews for Victor Hugo strike me as being a little on the low side. The problem would seem to be with the service. (see below).
d) Or … get a traditional British breakfast at Snax or order in a full Scottish breakfast from the same place.
The blue dot is 3 Sciennes Road
The Rabbit Hole and Pomelo are both restaurants. So they are open at lunchtime and in the evening. The Rabbit Hole is excellent but you will have to book.
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First Choice (for second choice, see here)
a) The Detour (4.6 on Tripadvisor) (1 min walk) 8.30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
39 Argyle Place
Quality coffee with pastries in a pleasant atmosphere.
b) Scotmid Supermarket (2 mins walk) 7 a.m. to 11 pm
34 Warrender Park Road (can be seen from the gate of the house)
Good selection of Viennese and French pastries available in the morning. Probably the cheapest way of organising your breakfast.
Not so much for breakfast, even if it is Scotland, but as the evening sets in, this is also a source of alcohol until 10 p.m. (alcohol cannot be sold in shops after 10 p.m. in Scotland)
c) Victor Hugo Deli (3.3 on Tripadvisor) (5 min walk)
26/29 Melville Terrace, Edinburgh …. 08.00 to 18.00 every day
Formerly a Delicatessan, the family business has slowly mutated into a café with a French bistro feel. One of the best offerings in the neighbourhood although a bit more expensive than other nearby cafés and reviews are mixed. The great advantage is the outdoor seating overlooking the Meadows on sunny days.
d) The Pavillion Café (4.5 on Tripadvisor)
Jawbone Walk (on the Meadows) (5 mins Walk)
Open 10 to 5 (11.00 to 5 Sundays) (so it would have to be a late breakfast)
Does mostly wraps:
Gets good reviews. Alternative café with laid back feeling. Home painted, mismatched furniture, small shops selling crystals, pendants and second hand clothing alongside it. Like Vicor Hugo’s the great advantage is outside seating in the summer.
e) Snax Cafe (4.1 on Tripadvisor) (12 mins walk) (08 to 15.00)
118 Buccleuch St (walk down to the Meadows and follow round to the right)
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186525-d2639012-Reviews-Snax_Cafe-Edinburgh_Scotland.html
Reasonably priced “greasy spoon” café that does three sizes of a “full Scottish breakfast”! Prices for a full breakfast range from £6 to £9.
Why not just order it in? Possible to get your breakfast delivered to 3 Sciennes Road (pronounced “Sheens Road”) by Deliveroo
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Second Choice (because further away or opens late)
The Birchwood (4.4 on Tripadvisor)
146, Marchmont Road 9 am to 3 pm
(5-7 mins walk)
Café with a good brunch menu although a little more pricey than other offerings. Possible to sit outside but only a small table and two chairs. The Birchwood is only on the second choice list because it is longer to get to the the cafés above and it does not have seating that looks onto the Meadows. But if you are ready to walk 5 to 7 minutes and you do not mind sitting in or paying quite high prices, probably a better offer than Victor Hugo’s.
The Abbey (4.6 on Tripadvisor) (12 min walk) 9.30 to 22.00
65 S Clerk St, Edinburgh EH8 9PP
9.30 to 22.00 (last orders for food are at 9.30)
abbeybar.co.uk
Cheep and cheerful pub that does food, including breakfast. It is on the way to the centre if you go down Clerk Street.
Argyle Place Café (3.8 Tripadvisor) (1 min walk) 8.30 to 15.30/ 16.00
(closed on Mondays and Tuesdays)
Not on Google Maps but just slightly down the hill from the Argyle Pub and before the Detour, the latter having better reviews.
New café with a minimalist, post-industrial feel … Not sure that they have fully managed to get their service ethic right. No menu to upload, mixed reviews on Tripadvisor but some are glowing.
Machina (3 Tripadvisor) (3 mins)
38 Marchmont Road
(0pen 8 to 4)
Sugar Daddy’s (4.8 Tripadvisor) (1 min walk) 10.00 to 15.00
8 Roseneath Street Every day:
(Not easy to find on Google maps … but turn right when leaving the house and it is just after the Argyle pub)
https://www.happycow.net/reviews/sugar-daddys-bakery-edinburgh-141576
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186525-d8499516-Reviews-Sugar_Daddy_s_Bakery-Edinburgh_Scotland.html
Basically a takeaway bakery: the opening hours mean that it is perhaps not really suitable for breakfast. But it is a gluten free bakery with a wide range of baked products on offer. Excellent reviews on Tripavisor. Perhaps buy in the stuff the night before …
Cuthbert’s Deli (4.4 on Google) (4 mins walk) (Formerly Redbox Café)
2 Spottiswoode Street
https://restaurantguru.com/Red-Box-Marchmont-Edinburgh/menu
On the way to the Birchwood … At least when it was still the Redbox Cafe, reasonable prices but gOT mixed reviews. The Cuthbert’s website gives the Redbox cafés menu. You can judge …
h) Toast (4.5/5 on Google)
37a Warrender Park Rd, Edinburgh EH9 1HJ
(3 mins walk) 8.00 to 18.00 (weekdays) 8.00 to 22.00 (weekends)
https://restaurantguru.com/Toast-Edinburgh
Café with a good supply of Viennese pastries, cakes and the like. Not on the cheap end of the spectrum and be careful not to confuse with the Leith café of the same name.
Give it a Try?
i) Leaf and Bean Deli Café (3.9 Tripadvisor, 3.0 on Google) 10 am -3pm
(4 mins walk)
1a Marchmont Crescent, Edinburgh
Advertises hot food (breakfasts and lunches) as well as pastries and cakes Strong freshly ground coffee as well as tea. Baby/ high chairs are available. Lots of space in a rather pleasant, minimalist décor. But does not get consistently good reviews mainly on account of poor service ethos …