Wandered into Checkpoint for a lovely and reasonably priced lunch while strolling around the University of Edinburgh. The space and overall style of the spot is really modern and neat, something that immediately drew us in as we were looking for a meal. The menu serves breakfast till 5 PM and has a variety of dishes that hit anything you could want -- pasta, sandwiches, yogurt bowls, eggs, and full English breakfasts (with a vegetarian variety). The drink menu was pretty extensive too. I opted for the shakshuka which came in a large portion but only had 2 eggs. It wasn't a traditional one, eggs were cooked almost all the way through and there was a ton of feta (crisped nicely on top) and overall the consistency was much thicker and stew-like. In the end, I enjoyed the dish, but I don't think I'd reorder it. With the prices, extensive menu, and sweet service, I'd gladly come back. read more

Checkpoint - Shakshuka - Bars Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Overall Checkpoint has a lot going for it, but I think there are a few details that could be improved. The ambiance is really nice, with a lot of room and the novelty shipping container you can dine in. The menu also has a lot of great options. I ended up getting the salmon benedict, which I liked, but the poached egg was overcooked. The salmon was good though! The cappuccino I got was decent. Either they were understaffed, our table was hard to see hidden behind the shipping container, or both, but table service was very slow. It took us ages to get our bill and then even longer to get the card machine. The staff was quite nice, though. I think this would be a good place to come for a weekend brunch, perhaps, when it's a little more crowded and has more staff ready. read more

Checkpoint - Bars Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Initially I loved Checkpoint - a massive, spacious coffee shop which was perfect for getting some work done. But the food really let them down, I'm sad to say. We started off just with coffees while we worked. They have table service but I ended up going up to the counter to order as it was a little hard to get their attention sometimes. The mocha was really good and I was impressed. Where we were sitting there was power plugs and they have decent wifi so it was awesome for getting work done. We ordered food and this is where it wasn't so great - the menu sounds so good but the execution wasn't quite right. I had eggs benedict with salmon and it came with a potato-scone type thing which tasted a bit strange. The weirdest thing though was the sauce which had tumeric through it. I appreciate the inventiveness but it just didn't work. We both left a bit bummed as the place had been so good til then. I would definitely go back but maybe order something a bit more basic and hope that worked better. read more

Checkpoint - Eggs Benedict with salmon - Bars Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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I came here for a work meeting, and it was great that Checkpoint was close to the University but also had a lot of seating available and was a little funky. It was really conveniently located but felt like it was miles away from things because like others said the pace slowed down when inside. My colleague said that he felt this place was too cool for him, but although it has a cool vibe it didn't seem pretentious. It's a quirky place with lovely big windows in the back and some seating essentially in a shipping container with a window cut out of it. They had table service which was slightly confusing since they didn't come round too often, but you could always go up to the coffee bar to ask for things and it was certainly fastest to pay there rather than at the table. Checkpoint had a great but somewhat small mocha and my colleague's lemon tea with honey looked fantastic as well. This place not only does the coffee shop thing but I've heard it has good brunch and it also sells alcohol so you could come in for a glass of wine or a beer later in the day. #underdog read more

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On paper Checkpoint seems like the kind of place I should love. It's really going for the hipster thing; there's a shipping container inside the restaurant that you dine inside. I usually love a good gimmick like that. There is quite a lot to like. I really enjoyed a nice cocktail there before dinner. I didn't have any but the coffee looked like it was of decent quality. The space has a pretty chilled out kind of vibe. The dining room is big and spacious (and dimly lit at the back). For a Friday night though it lacked a bit of a buzz but I suspect come festival time it will feel a bit more alive. The menu is pretty appetising and there were some good dishes but overall they sounded slightly nicer on paper than they did in reality. I couldn't really fault the steak with chimichurri which was suitably tangy. The chickpea fritter salad was really just falafel, which was fine. I wasn't a fan of the lime/avocado cheesecake desert - it was *really* limey and straying a bit to close to guacamole territory. The bread and dip to start was essentially some toast served in a overly large baking tray. I mean the dips were pretty nice but the presentation was trying a little too hard and didn't quite pull it off. I feel like this is 3.5 star territory. If I came for brunch or lunch and got a coffee I think I'd probably enjoy it more. For dinner on a Friday I think the food just didn't excite me as much as I'd hoped and some elements need refinement. I wouldn't say not to a cocktail though. read more

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Their service is a bit casual, it is true. However, I find that I don't mind this. Some menu items are a bargain while others are pretty much what you'd expect for, say, a casual-upscale dining experience of a casual bistro at about £10. I don't think it's a bad thing, but I think in this area they may find that students will tend to the more casual/hearty/cheap fare. Again, not necessarily a bad thing. The HUGE thing for me is that this place is open until midnight. Having a place to go and drink coffee OR beer with friends after work that isn't a pub is MAJOR in Edinburgh. It basically doesn't exist in this kind of atmosphere. Even better, if you are a student who needs a change of scenery from the library and a break from your flat and you want a stimulating place full of strangers casually chit chatting in the background while you drink your lattes until midnight, HELLO CHECKPOINT. I love this concept and I really hope it does well for them. This area has long needed a good late-night wifi and work-friendly coffee spot. Large tables too, and food for when you are peckish and the beer you need when your work session is over. It's the perfect "other living room" that your flat isn't. read more

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It's rare that you get better service during the Fringe but this was the case. Efficient, quick without feeling rushed and friendly. They are currently serving food until at least 10pm. The food was good and the sweet potato fries are some of my favourite. I'm hopeful that the improvement lasts for more than just August as it's a great space for a casual dinner and catch up. read more

This is a really cute place with a nice ambiance, nice seating, and good prices. However, the food is only so so and the service is not great. I have been 3 times already and each time, they have been understaffed and took ages to take our order, get the bill, get the card machine, etc. Granted, the servers are quite nice but they take a very long time to do things, even if they see that you are ready for the bill or ready to put in your order. Would recommend for a long lunch but not if you are in the mood for a quick bite or are an impatient person at all. read more

N. Californian Review: Hella good breakfast. Hella roomy, Hella friendly staff, Hella ambiance. They serve drinks early. Also scored cool points for having hella good WiFi, no hustle and hassle signing in like some other places. Lots of college patrons come through here, so be sure to bring that masters thesis you're working on? No masters thesis? No problem! Just read the Wikipedia on duverger's law or heteroskedasticity, and do Khan academy classes for SQL or R. Fake it til you make it! read more

Found in the Forest Cafe's old location, checkpoint has transformed the space from a hippy haven to a hip and on trend cafe and eatery. The raw concrete and minimalist interior looks exactly like a place that will serve you up a tasty flat white and some delicious snack featuring avocado. I was not disappointed. If is huge, so their is no need to feel guilty lingering over a coffee while you write your Yelp reviews. However it would also be great for pairs or groups. The various levels mean there are plenty on corners to tuck yourselves away in. The smoked haddock and mussel chowder was comfort food at its best - all taste and creaminess. Accompanied with a side of Sweet potato fries and a really very acceptable flat white I was one happy customer. Now to conquer the rest of the menu! read more

Had breakfast and coffee here this morning, and it was lovely! Nice and spacious, lots of tables, pretty sparse but modern vibe. My friend and I had a paper writing session after finishing our breakfast and were probably there a total of 3 and a half hours (oh how time flies when exams are near). During this time I had the eggs florentine (comes with cherry tomatoes which are super tasty) and 2 americanos. The bill was only 10 pounds, which seemed like a deal to me. Nice strong coffee too. The lunch menu looked interesting so I'm sure I'll be back! read more

Checkpoint - Eggs florentine - Bars Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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Imagine this--savoury, delicately pulled pork; topped with perfectly seasoned chili slaw, wrapped in a warm, grilled french baguette all accompanied by a side of homemade sweet potato fries. Yeah, please excuse me while I salivate alone. I was running low on fuel and needed something delicious to satiate this hunger of mine, when I walked into Checkpoint. As soon as I walked in, before I could even take note of the beautifully industrial decor they donned, I was greeted by the friendliest barista I've met in Edinburgh (but I've only been here a few weeks, so I can't give him too much credit). He immediately told me there would be a wait, but I was reeled in by their set-up that I said I wouldn't mind as long as I had a brownie to wait. Yes, ladies and gentleman, I had a dessert appetizer and as an adult, I have no shame. The brownie was absolutely delicious. Rich, dark, and moist. We all know the word moist isn't have the best connotation, but in this case, it's a word that perfectly describes this pastry. Now, I did warn you I was hungry, so my review on this little brownie might be a little over the top. But who doesn't need a little dramatization once in a while!? And that's why you will continue reading... and salivating. I ordered one of their Po' Boy's, the cayenne barbeque pulled pork, their take on a classic Louisiana sandwich (£7). It was absolutely delicious. The bread was amazing--perfectly baked and grilled to perfection, with just the right amount of crisp to buttery soft. Now on to the main event: the pulled pork. Pulled pork is difficult to master, or as a taster, I feel like it is. I've never tried to cook it, but 8/10 times, my pork is dry or overcooked and unless it's doused in sauce is it even the slightest bit edible. Checkpoint's pulled pork, however, was cooked beautifully. The pork could be easily pulled apart with a fork and was absolutely amazing. My tastebuds were having a party and the pulled pork played the perfect host. A must try if you're ever in for a visit! To top it off, their staff are incredibly friendly, welcoming, and accommodating as well. While I was waiting, they kept reassuring me that they would find space for me, to which I said I was happy to wait because I was queuing with a brownie in hand. I think I deserve brownie points for having control on my hanger (pun-intended)! I will definitely be back, perhaps for a nice Sunday brunch, and you should too! We'll share a table. read more

Checkpoint - Barbecue Pulled Pork Po'Boy - Bars Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Delicious food, incredible service, cheap prices, great coffee. This is a perfect brunch spot. I had avacado toast and the steak salad and loved it! Excellent flat white too read more

Highly recommend visiting here and having their amazing breakfasts. I spent time with my family on a Sunday for breakfast and the food was delicious, fresh and the service was really good. read more

Delicious food on cheap prices. The service is also great. Perfect place to eat during the class break. read more

3.5 stars Food: tried the avocado florentine and fish fingers po'boy. Both were bland and the fish fingers were a bit hard. Service: friendly but not so efficient. Overall an ok place to study or read with some tea and food aside. read more

I went on a Friday night to find that it was very quiet, although it was nice. There are plenty of tables and it feels intimate but funky. The service is casual, but the staff is friendly and very helpful with discussing food options. I had the freekah salad, which also has squash. I think I got the bigger one and it was massive, far too much for me so I suggest sharing. It was a nice salad and we also ordered chips and the garlic and cavolo nero, which was amazing! My friend ordered cauliflower and broccoli cheese, which was also massive and tasted very nice. It is affordable and a nice atmosphere for dinner. I didn't have coffee or desert, but they do offer breakfast so I am keen to go back and try it! read more

Ate here a couple of times in quick succession and it passes muster in terms of food and service. Decor's rather spartan and the toilets were more fun when papered with the pages of comics but it's not a bad option for this area of town. read more

The waitress forgot to put our order in so we were waiting for our food for 35 minutes and only did we go up to the waitress and ask about our food did she realize that she had forgotten to put our order in. We had to leave in 10 minutes so she told us she could give us a discount and pack our food up for takeaway. And by discount she meant 10% which was very disappointing after a mistake made on her end and we missed out on being able to sit down and enjoy our meal together. read more

Maybe our timing was bad, but this was the location for our worst meal in Edinburgh. Salad was over-dressed and incredibly flavorless. Soup was watery and hastily put together, as though a can of chickpeas were dumped into a light broth. Buddha Bowl was swimming in soy sauce and made my dining companion sick. While the setting is hip and interesting, the place is crowded and noisy, and service was indifferent, so we are sorry we went with so many great options in nearby Grassmarket. read more

Nice-looking place, and the service was friendly and attentive, but I don't really know why it took half an hour to serve lunch to seven people, especially since when we arrived, we were only one of a very few tables occupied. It wasn't like we were ordering stuff off the menu. A burger shouldn't take much longer than 15 minutes to cook, and only one of us had one; somebody else had deep-fried prawns, but again, they don't take that long; most of the rest of us were having salads, which can be assembled pretty quickly. The main reason for my low grade is that the food I ate wasn't good. A bowl of olives, for which we were charged £3, consisted of a bowl with some undressed olives straight of a catering tub: no marinade, no herbs, no flavouring, nada. I expected that my 'hot smoked salmon ramen' would be on the fresh-tasting end of things, but it crossed the line that separates 'fresh-tasting' from 'watery-tasting'. It contained raw peas. I like raw peas when they're fresh off the vine, but these weren't. The stock tasted like the water which the ramen noodles had been cooked in, flavoured by whatever juices the raw vegetables and tasteless salmon had seen fit to exude during the journey from kitchen to plate, which weren't much. I was pretty hungry by the time I got to eat, but I couldn't finish this. Having said that, most of the rest of our party seemed to be happy with what they had, so maybe I'm just very fussy. But I don't think so, and for all that the staff were very quick to supply us with Diet Cokes, I will not be coming back. read more

Fresh food, edgy atmosphere and excellent friendly staff! Always recommend to people traveling to Edinburgh staying city centre.