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    Southern Cross Cafe

    4.3 (122 reviews)
    ModerateCoffee & Tea, British, Cafes
    Open 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

    Southern Cross Cafe Photos

    SOUTHERN CROSS CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

    Recommended Reviews - Southern Cross Cafe

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    Reviews With Photos

    Cappuccinos
    Clau R.

    This cafe is just steps away from the Milkman and the royal mile. It has lots of seating options: outdoor tables perfect for people watching, and 3 floors of indoor tables. The three of us chose a table outside, since the weather was nice. Service was attentive and friendly. As we were there, another party left but forgot one of their bags. An employee ran out after them and returned it. So nice of them! We ordered 2 cappuccinos and 1 latte. I wasn't able to finish my cappuccino because it was quite large and got cold a little quickly. Nevertheless, it was good while I was drinking it. We could see plenty of pastries in the window which looked like they could be tasty, but we didn't try any of them. Finally, there were several individual bathrooms that were clean downstairs and upstairs.

    Menu
    Christina H.

    Do not miss this cafe, it is so cozy and cute!! Inside it is two stories with a cute overlook for the second floor. All the freshly baked pastries in the window look so decadent! We got the yogurt and granola and a chai latte. The yogurt and granola was so good! It came topped with fresh fruit and plenty of honey. The yogurt itself was light and creamy. The chai latte was a bit light on the chai spice flavors but it was still good. A sweet milky treat with hits of chai. The service staff was friendly and the food came out quick! Loved the chill and cozy atmosphere.

    J L.

    Delicious food, friendly service and a cute little place on my favorite street... Had breakfast here three days in the week and was great every time!

    Vegetarian breakfast
    Ranjini S.

    The cafe is located in the heart of town close to the castle. They have a wide array of options, plus some very tempting pastries. I wound up getting the vegetarian breakfast which includes eggs, toast, baked beans, mushrooms, roasted tomato, potato scone and hash brown. Very filling to keep you going on a long day of sightseeing.

    Menu
    Rick P.

    Loved it! First time having a traditional Scottish breakfast and trying haggis. Yum!!

    Cappuccino
    Beth Ann P.

    Super cute Cafe!! We went for breakfast early enough so we could start our day of walking adventures. When we arrived we were promptly greeted and asked to go upstairs for seating. Once upstairs we were seated immediately. We ordered water and cappuccino's right away. We had to flag down our waitress to put in our food order. She was definitely very busy but remained polite. We received our cappuccino's after about 10-15 minutes and our food approximately 15 minutes after that. The food was hot, but bland. We never received our waters. The seating area was tight and they seated 5 people at a 4 person table next to us which made it even tighter. The guests at the table next to us were playing music videos obnoxiously loud and the staff never asked them to turn it down. Would go back in a pinch but after being here for a week we found other lovely establishments.

    Halloumi salad and Haggis Spring Rolls
    Bridget H.

    This is one of my favorite cafes I stopped at during my time in Edinburgh. They have indoor and outdoor seating. I sat outside since it was a beautiful day. They have beer and wine here as well. They have a nice lunch menu. I had the haggis spring rolls and the halloumi salad. Both were excellent and reasonably priced. The server was friendly, and it was fun talking with her. This is a great location by many great shops. I ran into several people I'd met during my time in Edinburgh while I sat and had lunch. They have many different homemade baked goods. I tried the carrot cake which was great! It was not at all too sweet and paired nicely with a flat white. I highly recommend coming here if you're in Edinburgh. Next time I am in town, I will be sure to go here!

    Sweet place to eat Eggs Benny!
    Cheryl B.

    Busy and vibrant with lots of tight comfy places to sit. Our waitress was sweet and we were seated and had our orders in befor you could say, Scottish Breakfast. Lovely and a great place for breakfast!

    Erin M.

    Fantastic breakfast spot. Came at 9 am and was seated right away. Ordered a blueberry stack with a flat white and both were delicious. Waitress was attentive and friendly. Ambiance was nice as well. Do yourself a favor and try this place!

    Hong T.

    Not sure if It's due to the rain but this place was packed. I ordered the flat white and chicken quesadilla. Both were mediocre. The chicken Qes was overwhelmed with chicken and a bit bland. It barely had any cheddar cheese in it. The chicken was a bit dry too. Service and vibe were great though. I came alone and was seated at the corner which is perfect for a solo traveler. Not a lot of places are attentive enough to seat solo travelers at the "right" comfortable table.

    Updated menu
    Kelly A.

    Delicious food and great service. There is seating outside, on the first floor and upstairs. Would highly recommend.

    Kirk B.

    From the street, it doesn't appear to be a very roomy place but there are two levels and loads of seating. The staff are very friendly, and make you feel welcome to stay as long as you'd like. I had the Eggs Royal (smoked Scottish salmon and poached eggs atop a split English muffin), which was fantastic. Their coffee is also incredibly good. I highly recommend this place if you're in the Royal Mile area, and I'll be back!

    Menu

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    6 months ago

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    9 months ago

    Had the full Scottish breakfast and was not disappointed. The food was delicious, served hot, and with excellent service.

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    8 months ago

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    2 years ago

    Wonderful and fun cafe with great food. Our server was friendly, efficient and on top of a quite busy cafe. Highly recommend.

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    8 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Nice atmosphere + good food! Large baked goods selection, new slices of cake every day.

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    11 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Absolutely delicious. Friendly and accommodating staff. Quick service. Fantastic location. A winner all around.

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    8 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Amazing food and really friendly service. Very homey ambiance would recommend the granola

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    Page 1 of 4

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    Mums - Shepherds Pie Vegan

    Mums

    4.1(252 reviews)
    0.3 miOld Town
    ££

    I was so excited to try this place after seeing good reviews but our experience was terrible. There…read morewere gnats everywhere that we were killing at our dusty booth. When our food arrived we finally asked to move spots but the back of the restaurant was just as bad. I can't believe other families weren't complaining. We also found a hair in our appetizer and the mains were subpar. My husband complained about his fries and burger and the manager was combative. They comped us for one whiskey and we left as quickly as possible. The shepherds pie was very salty and the side of veggies was very clearly from frozen.

    **RACIST & DISCRIMINATORY** The young blonde hair girl in…read moreher maybe late-20s hostess, bartender or server (not sure which) was super rude! We came in excited about this place, and the restaurant had open tables at about 6:50pm on a Friday ... we had just walked all day and were starving with a 2-year old and an elderly after walking all over town and sightseeing all day long. However, was told by this girl that they didn't have a seat for us. Although there was no wait, no one ahead of us and empty tables. I told her she could seat us in that booth, we didn't mind since our 2 year old wouldn't be eating. However, she cut me off and said that would not work. I thought that was weird but that should have been That it would take them about 30 minutes to get us a table. We walk around in the cold, come back to the restaurant ... there are plenty of open tables. My husband takes my 2-year old inside to wait so she is not in the freezing rainy cold (especially since she was sniffling). The hostess then says it's going to take longer and that we must wait outside the restaurant. We tell her it's cold, and we've been waiting. She then says ... "This isn't going to work, I'm not serving you. You guys can leave." She did not want to serve of us this entire time! She could have told us when we first walked in, but made us wait and walk around outside in the cold rain with a 2-year old and an 88-year old ... then decides she doesn't want to serve us. We walked in at 6:50pm, came back at 7:30pm, waited until 7:45pm when she told us she wouldn't serve us. By this time all the other restaurants were fully reserved or with 1-2 hour waits. We ended up not able to have dinner that night, and got snacks from the grocery store. DO NOT COME HERE UNLESS YOU WANT HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE! NEVER TREATED THIS BADLY BY A RESTAURANT!

    Photos
    Mums - Kind of cute interior.

    Kind of cute interior.

    Mums
    Mums

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    The Cellar Door

    The Cellar Door

    3.9(28 reviews)
    0.2 miOld Town
    £££

    Had 7 pm reservation. Showed up on time. Plenty of seats. They put us at the table by the door…read morewhere everyone would bump into us passing by us getting to their table. I said for the size of our group can we get the other tables towards the back. There were other tables available and all right behind us. The hostess said no absolutely not guests were to be assigned to their tables. There were people behind us but they were after us; plus they were of smaller size than ours, clearly our skin color is the main issue. They sat us down, and quite a few minutes pass, others trickle in and promptly everyone bumps into me. At which point I told the hostess this is not acceptable. They sat 2 people at a table for 4, in the back while this table of 4 is really too small for 4 people. One thing stood out to me, we were the only non whites. When the last group again bumped into me, I asked to be moved; she then said due to short of staff they cannot change the seating but seeing seriously everyone is bumping into me, she begrudgingly moved us to a corner table with no lights - and not surprisingly no service. I understand the importance of trying to make the white people feel comfortable about not being seen with non whites - the best way is tuck the non whites away - but this is 2022. I am from California and no, this is absolutely unacceptable. Like MLK junior or Rosa Parks, we protected, first by requesting to be moved away from the hallway, then by my two teens and I walking out of the restaurant and finding more tolerant non racist restaurant to eat, and we spent a lot of money on the other restaurant. You too can make a decision to either eat or not eat at this place. The choice is entirely up to you. And this will define who you are.

    Made a reservation via Fork. Evening started well drinks…read morewere excellent Order sparkling water never came to the table neither did a pitcher of tap water. We stared at empty water glasses all night. I order the carrot risotto d arrived so under cooked it had to be sent back It took more than 20 minutes to clear our table ams another 15 minutes to produces dessert menus All in all a very disappointing evening The bottom line-go somewhere else!

    Photos
    The Cellar Door
    The Cellar Door - Great restaurant

    Great restaurant

    The Cellar Door - Very nice and open

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    Very nice and open

    Scran - BISCOFF French toast!

    Scran

    4.3(29 reviews)
    0.0 miOld Town, Royal Mile
    ££

    The desk agent at my hotel recommended Scran for a full Scottish breakfast. He was not wrong…read more First, finding the place was a little challenge. It's not on the main road, but off through a covered alley. You'll see their sign if you look. I ordered the full breakfast consisting of a fried egg, pork sausage link, uncured bacon, fried breaded sausage patty, sourdough bread, potato scone, haggis and blood sausage fried crispy, and baked beans. I'd never tried haggis or blood sausage, but I wanted to say I'd at least tried it. I was shocked to find I really liked both. Not gamey at all. They tasted like well seasoned sausages. Don't fear the haggis! I also had a mimosa and a latte to wrap up the meal. Totally unhealthy, but totally delicious. Service was also great. Slow but steady, and very attentive. If I make it back to Edinburgh, I'll definitely eat at Scran again.

    Can I give more than 5 stars because I absolutely would!!!! I have been dreaming about this cookie…read morebutter French toast with fresh berries ever since I had it. By far the best breakfast I've had... in my entire life!? I found this gorgeous restaurant on Instagram and thought it might an over-hyped spot. Not at all!!!! The food was delicious! AND gorgeous! The latte art was perfect, and delicious. I booked on Open Table and requested a table with a great view. They seated us under the sign and it was just perfect! I highly recommend scran! The servers were so kind and even helped with our group photos.

    Photos
    Scran
    Scran - Eggs Florentine

    Eggs Florentine

    Scran - French toast

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    French toast

    Southern Cross Cafe - coffee - Updated July 2026

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