Kilimanjaro

This is a great cafe up “The Bridges”, Nicholson St to be precise.  I’ve been there many times as it is handy if you need a coffee after mooching round the charity shops and I would pop in there when I was invariably too early for my courses at Edinburgh Uni.

The highlight of this cafe is the soup; they always have about 5 varieties.  Some traditional like pea and ham and others a bit more exciting like red Thai curry.  The nice thing is they have it all day not just at lunch-time which is great if you want a small snack at tea-time.  Unless you are a big eater the small size is fine, you can nearly have a bath in the large serving!

They also have massive scones which are very tasty, fruit, apricot, cherry, cheese or plain, depending on the time of day and the mood of the baker.  They always have homemade jam; I had plum jam the last time which was gorgeous.  I have had a very nice chocolate brownie here but never a proper cake, apologies to those who wanted a cake review.

 

The tea is very good, four or five varieties, Roobios, English Breakfast etc and the coffees are fine.  The cappuccinos are a bit small for my liking, although they come with a very artistic pattern of chocolate on top.

It is easy to find as the exterior is painted red the same as the British Heart Foundation shop next door, together they make a large block of colour, impossible to miss, if you are passing on the road.

It has music playing, but it is not too obtrusive, so you can hear what your friends are saying. It tends to be a student clientele but it is a nice atmosphere.  The staff is really friendly and approachable, they will happily shut the door if you find it too windy etc. They don’t seem to mind if you sit nursing a coffee for hours either, not that I have done it myself. 

There is one couch but the majority of the furniture is old fashioned wooden tables and chairs with the occasional church pew on the side wall.

The toilets are clean, even though they are renovating one of the stalls; they manage to keep the dust out!  Unfortunately I haven’t had a male spy try the Gents, so cannot comment on them.

104 Nicholson St, EH8 9EJ, Tel 0131 662 0135

Opening Hours Mon – Fri 7.45am – 8.30pm, Sat/Sun 8.30am – 8pm