The Circle Cafe

Price guide: Budget

1 Brandon Terrace, Edinburgh, EH3 5AE

Price guide: Budget

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By Alison Craig, your Edinburgh expert

I write for BBC radio, The Scotsman, .... Read more
#16 of 40
expert-rated restaurants in Edinburgh
Expert overall rating:4.5 out of 5
Food and drink:
4.7
4.7
Ambience:
4.8
4.8
Service:
4.7
4.7
Location:
4.1
4.1
Value for money:
4.8
4.8
Recommended for:
Backpackers / Students, Couples, Families with teenagers, Foodies, Singles, Art, Chilling out, Design and architecture, People watching, Trendiness

Expert review of The Circle Cafe

Last updated 6 November 2010

A warm and inviting, stone walled emporium of delicious home-made food.

Once upon a time this site was a bakery, but now it's where the Circle Cafe lives. Cooking and serving food from the heart, the charming and delightful guys that own and run the Circle make you want to move in. It only has a few tables, so booking is advised at peak times, but if you are meandering around Edinburgh it is a top place to enjoy coffee, cake or something savoury and substantial.

A blackboard with changing daily specials supplements the menu, which changes with the seasons and includes breakfast as well as lunch (this could be the best breakfast in Edinburgh by the way). Plans to open in the evening are afoot - I will keep you posted. 

Food and drink: 

Breakfast is just fabulous here. If you are in the mood for the full cooked, go for The Full Circle -  Stornaway black pudding, haggis, eggs, portobello mushroom, toast, roast tomato, home-made Lorne sausage, streaky bacon and eggs of your choice. Quite probably the best breakfast in Edinburgh.

Recommended dishes: 

Breakfast!  Eggs benedict with spinach, smoked salmon or bacon. 2 toasted muffins, two prfectly poached eggs, fresh spinach and hollandaise. Best I have had. And I have had a lot!

Smoked haddock in a creamed leek and new potato stew topped with herb, garlic, hazlenut and cheddar crumble.

Ambience: 

Stripped back to the original stone walls, the Circle is long and narrow so if you have a huge crowd this won't work for you. Groups of two and four are the easiest to seat. Slate floor, clever wee nooks hewn from the stone with a wood bench or two jammed in. They make the best of the space but it is limited. Atmosphere is buzzy and happy.

Service: 

With a big, genuine smile.

Location: 

If you walk down to the very end of Broughton Street or Dundas Street, they both converge on this corner. It's on the way back from The Botanics or on the way down from all the galleries.

Price advice: 

£3.95 for a substantial bowl of home-made soup served with ripped bread; £6.95 for huge  open sandwiches; £8.95 for a home-made burger with all the bells and whistles. 

And that  fabulous full circle breakfast - £7.95 - eggs benedict £7.95

Average breakfst £6

Average lunch main course £8

Tables to book: 

Any one you can get.

More information on The Circle Cafe:

Price guide:
Budget
Type:
Café, Coffee shop
Food:
Burgers, Modern, Scottish, Snacks, Vegetarian
Address:
1 Brandon Terrace, Edinburgh, EH3 5AE
Telephone:
0131 624 4666
Website:
http://www.thecirclecafe.com
Serves:
Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, Afternoon Tea
Opening times:
Mon-Sat 8.30am-4.30pm; Sun 9am-4.30pm; breakfast til 11.30am and lunch til 3.30pm
Accepts Credit Cards:
Yes
Reservations:
Suggested
Free tags / Keywords:
Homemade, homebakes, best breakfast

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