Cafe restaurants in Scotland
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Mum’s
After a change of name due to management fall-outs, the original founder of Monster Mash has reopened with a new name. This nostalgia-fuelled cafe continues to serve up classic British comfort food of the 1950s – bangers and mash, shepherd’s pie, fish and chips. But there’s a twist – the food is all top-quality nosh freshly prepared from local produce, including Crombie’s gourmet sausages. And there’s even a wine list!
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Mums
After a change of name due to management fall-outs, the original founder of Monster Mash has reopened it with a new name. This nostalgia-fuelled cafe continues to serve up classic British comfort food of the 1950s – bangers and mash, shepherd's pie, fish and chips. But there's a twist – the food is all top-quality nosh freshly prepared from local produce, including Crombie's gourmet sausages. And there's even a wine list!
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Heart Buchanan
The famous West End deli – give your nose a treat and drop in – has a small cafe space next door. Break any or all of the 10 commandments to bag a table, then enjoy some of Glasgow's best breakfasts, all with an exquisite quality of produce, a refreshing juice or milkshake, or regularly changing light-lunch options. If you failed in the table quest, the deli also does some of these meals to take away.
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Café Arriba
Arriba is a funky little cafe, brightly decked out in primary colours and offering the best choice of vegetarian grub on the island, ranging from a veggie breakfast fry-up to Indian-spiced bean cakes with mint yoghurt, as well as carnivorous treats such as slow-cooked haunch of venison with red wine and beetroot gravy. Also serves excellent coffee.
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Frigate Café
This waterfront cafe is a popular venue for coffee, tea and ice cream; it also sells a very tasty local smoked cheese. But you can also sit down and graze the Italian-influenced menu of salads, pizzas and pastas, or just drop by for a glass of wine or a beer.
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Lily's Coffee Shop
Don't be put off by the slightly sterile feel: Lily's is a top lunch spot fusing a creative blend of East and West. It's a unique cross between a Chinese bistro and chic cafe with made-to-order Chinese food (such as dumpling buns and mandarin-duck wraps) and standards like burgers and baked potatoes that are tarted up almost beyond recognition. The Chinese food is outstanding – fresh, lively and served with fruits and salad.
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Reel
Part music shop and part cafe, Kirkwall’s best coffee-stop sits alongside St Magnus Cathedral, and bravely puts tables outside at the slightest threat of sunshine. It’s a relaxed spot that’s good for morning-after debriefing, as well as lunchtime panini and musically named sandwiches (along with their cheese one: Skara Brie). It’s a centre for local folk musicians, with regular evening sessions.
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Jasper’s
This bright cafe specialises in juices and smoothies, from citrus blast (orange, grapefruit and lemon) to beetroot zinger (beetroot, apple and lemon), and serves superb Fairtrade coffee. Breakfast is available till noon, and includes porridge with a choice of toppings (honey, jam or banana), omelettes, cereals and fry-ups, plus lunches of soup, sandwiches, scones and pastries.
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Foodies at Holyrood
This stylish cafe, handy for a post-sightseeing snack after visiting Holyroodhouse or Dynamic Earth, is dedicated to serving top quality, locally sourced produce. Healthy breakfasts range from homemade muesli to porridge with apple, sultanas and cinnamon, while the lunch menu includes soups, freshly prepared sandwiches, ciabattas and baked potatoes.
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Where the Monkey Sleeps
This funky little number in the middle of the business district is just what you need to get away from the ubiquitous coffee chains. Laid-back and a little hippy, the bagels and paninis, with names like maverick or renegade, are highlights, as are some very inventive dishes, such as the 'nuclear' beans, dripping with cayenne and Tabasco.
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Peerie Shop Cafe
If you’ve been craving proper espresso since leaving the mainland, head to this gem of a spot, with art exhibitions, wire-mounted halogens and industrial-gantry chic. Newspapers, scrumptious cakes and sandwiches, hot chocolate that you deserve after that blasting wind outside, and – more rarely – outdoor seating give everyone a reason to be here.
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Bay Tree Café
The mostly vegetarian Bay Tree Café is excellent value. It has smiling staff, filling mains (mostly Middle Eastern and Greek), generous salads and a good range of hot drinks. The cafe is famous for its all-day Sunday brunch, including vegetarian burger, tattie scone, mushrooms, beans and tomato. It also serves a vegan breakfast.
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Darnley Coffee House
Just down the hill from the castle, beyond the end of Broad St, Darnley Coffee House is a good pit stop for home baking and speciality coffees during a walk around the Old Town. The building is a historic 16th-century house where Darnley, lover and later husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, once stayed while visiting her.
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Glebe Cairn Café
The cafe in the Kilmartin House Museum has a lovely conservatory with a view across fields to a prehistoric cairn. Dishes include homemade Cullen Skink, a Celtic cheese platter and hummus with sweet-and-sour beetroot relish. The drinks menu ranges from espresso to elderflower wine by way of Fraoch heather-scented ale.
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Diner 7
A neat local eatery with rust-coloured leather booths and banquettes, black and copper tables, and local art on the walls, this diner has a menu of succulent Aberdeen Angus steaks and homemade burgers, but also offers more unusual fare such as chicken and chorizo kebabs, or smoked haddock with black-pudding stovies.
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Blue Moon Cafe
The Blue Moon is the focus of Broughton St's gay social life, always busy, always friendly, and serving up delicious nachos, salads, sandwiches and baked potatoes. It's famous for its homemade burgers (beef, chicken or falafel), which come with a range of toppings, and delicious daily specials.
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Always Sunday
If the thought of a greasy fry-up is enough to put you off your breakfast, head instead for this bright and breezy cafe that dishes up hearty but healthy grub such as fresh fruit smoothies, crisp salads, homemade soups and speciality sandwiches, washed down with fair-trade coffee or herbal tea.
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Crafts & Things
Just off the main road between Glencoe and Ballachulish, the coffee shop in this craft shop is a good spot for a lunch of homemade lentil soup with crusty rolls, ciabatta sandwiches, or just coffee and carrot cake. There are tables outdoors, and a box of toys to keep the little ones occupied.
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Zest
Serving toasties, paninis and filled rolls along with a good coffee selection, this slick place is popular with students. French doors opening onto the street make it a great spot for people-watching on a breezy summer day. The juices and smoothies here are great, and priced very fairly.
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Eteaket
A 'tea boutique' serving more than 40 varieties of leaf tea, this cosy cafe also offers tempting breakfasts (bagels, toasted croissants, scrambled eggs), fresh sandwiches (ciabatta with hummus, feta cheese and sunblush tomatoes) and afternoon tea (scones with jam and clotted cream).
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Julia’s Café & Bistro
This cafe with a conservatory, opposite the port, keeps all-comers happy, with massive fry-ups offset on the cardiac karma scale by the wraps, salads and tempting vegetarian dishes such as nut roast or couscous. In summer it opens for dinner with elaborate fare (£10 to £13) on offer.
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Beautiful Mountain
This cosy cafe is squeezed into a couple of tiny rooms (seating upstairs), but serves all-day breakfasts and tasty sandwiches (smoked salmon, Thai chicken, pastrami) on sourdough, bagels, ciabatta and lots of other breads, along with exquisite espresso and consummate cappuccino.
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Pier Restaurant
Just above the ferry, this simple place does burgers and standard bar meals, and is good for a coffee or a whisky while waiting for the boat or a chat and a game of pool after a long day’s walking. There’s also internet access and a list of local residents who offer B&B.
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Skoon Art Café
Set halfway along the Golden Road, this neat little art gallery doubles as an excellent cafe serving delicious homemade soups (broccoli and roast almond, and carrot and fennel are favourites), sandwiches, cakes and desserts (try the marmalade and ginger cake).
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Forest Café
A chilled-out and comfortably scuffed-around-the-edges antidote to squeaky-clean style bars, this volunteer-run, not-for-profit art space and café serves up humongous helpings of hearty vegetarian and vegan fodder, ranging from burritos to falafel burgers.
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