Pulp Fiction [cafe under new management]

Edinburgh is known for its excellent supply of secondhand and specialist bookshops; many of these cluster around either end of the Grassmarket - on the West Port and now on Candlemaker Row - which led to the creation of the West Port Book Festival.

Into this literary melee comes Pulp Fiction. Located on Bread Street, and adding to the eccentricity of the area, it started out as a secondhand bookshop specialising in Sci-Fi and genre fiction. Steve, the owner, has great plans for the place however, and has already reorganised the space to allow for more seating, installed a remarkably good free WiFi connection and started selling tea and cakes. It's being used quite regularly as an event space, is often open later than anything equivalent, and there may be dramatic changes to come (perhaps involving the excellent view of the castle it would have if someone hadn't previously bricked up the windows).

It's worth bearing in mind that the place is primarily a bookshop and not a cafe. So while they do provide hot drinks at low prices, you shouldn't expect an exciting range of fine teas and single-source coffees. If you can't make it out of a kettle it's probably not going to happen but then, a lot of people care more about the space than the drinks and quite a few of them have nested here already.



So, in summary: it's fairly comfy; the drinks, while not terribly exciting, are cheap; there's good WiFi and a reasonable number of sockets; there is cake; you're surrounded by books. I think that's some sort of #win.

The Institute [closed]

A new contender has appeared! Seated on Roseneath Street (opposite the Earl of Marchmont) The Institute is a tea shop with a difference. Quite a few, actually.



For one thing, it's just tea. No coffee. Sure, this may change if the punters demand their morning ristretto loud enough but for the time being it's just a vast selection of teas and a small selection of very pretty cakes. Often served with teeny tiny cleavers.



It's the brainchild of the 'provocative' photographer Gavin Evans and Kamikaze, a circus performer with a passion for tea. They wanted to have somewhere to hang out and hang nice art so they made one. Either as a gallery or a tea-erie it would be justifiable but having both together is most excellent.

At the moment the walls are peppered with Evans' work, but these are soon to be auctioned off and replaced with new work. One advantage of having such unusual pieces on display is that there are few 'yummy mummies' or gangs of children to be found in the shop.

There is WiFi to be had, and a few sockets which are free to use if you can grab them. The seating and lighting, while basic, does the job.

The place is open til 1730 or 1900 depending on the day and if you can guarantee at least 15 people they are bookable from 1900-2300 any night, which is rather exciting.

It's certainly worth a look. So far it's not too busy but this may change as word spreads. If nothing else you should pop in to see the art and have some tea.

Cameo bar (by the cinema, not in Leith)

It's potentially confusing because there is a place on Commercial Street called the Cameo Bar. But nobody would want to trek all the way down there when there's a nice bar/cafe attached to the Cameo cinema in Tollcross...



I believe they do quiz nights sometimes and it can be a bit busy/noisy/crowded, but usually it's got a lovely atmosphere.

Important points? It's open late and if has free Wifi. Oh, and there are some secret sockets which aren't meant to be for public use but might be riskable. If I get bored of the Trav I may give this one a go...

Fredericks

The shiny new place upstairs on Frederick Street has a lovely view.

They serve Artisan coffee (which is lovely, if you like that sort of thing) and a small but pleasing selection of teas. There's also some food but I didn't try any...

There were a few sockets visible but appeared to be a complete absence of Wifi. And it's kinda small and busy.



Good for taking visiting patents for a nice pot of afternoon tea perhaps, but not for getting any work done.

The Chocolate Tree

I went in here for the first time today. It was, alas, a brief glimpse, as there were no chairs available. The place is quite small, quaint, and rather nicely adorned, but without chairs, it is just a hallway to the door.

That having been said, it holds promise. The chocolate sweets one can buy are amazing - I very much suggest the chilli and tequila. Also, the staff are completely awesome, and up for a ten minute chat about Linguistics. This may be because I know the staff, and she does Linguistics, but that's not the point.

I look forward to checking on a future date to see if they have wifi.

The Trav

It occurred to me that the Traverse Theatre's bar/cafe has free WiFi and, being a bar, is open late. Time to investigate!

If you've never been, it's underground and very red. When it's quiet it's lovely; when it's busy you can't move for over-inflated egos. However, the staff are generally pretty civilised which kinda makes up for what the clientele sometimes lack.



The WiFi seems to be an okay speed. There are many various seatings for the placing of bums on. A few sockets are dotted around the edge of the main bar area - not sure whether they're meant for public usage though. I had intended to have a mocha to test and was quite excited when I spotted a big tin of illy but it seems the coffee machine was turned off around 8pm. They offered filter coffee but I went with cola, which was only £1.50 - not bad for such a generally swanky establishment!

I'll have to come back to see how it pans out during the busier months (and to see if they make me unplug, which would be a bit of a dealbreaker) but for now I'm quite impressed.

And for those of you who don't frequent this sort of place, it's here.

Chocolate Soup [closed]

...this place is alright.

IFF (That's logic for if and only if) you like overpriced food, glaringly bright colours (which really destroy the otherwise lovely quietude of a hangover, I might add), weird tables/booths, and lots of tourists and yuppies.

IFF.

But it's not all that bad. I mean. It serves hot drinks. See?



I didn't check the wireless because I wanted to get out of there as soon as I could.