Looking Glass Books

Today it seemed like time to investigate the much-hyped new bookshop/cafe in the Quartermile, Looking Glass Books. It's not obvious as it's in one of the newer buildings that aren't visible from Middle Meadow Walk.


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It's not a building site anymore, in case you were wondering.

If you like Fredericks and you like pretty books you'll love this place. Clean and pretty, with interesting (deliberately and, I suspect, very expensively mismatched) furniture it's quite possible to pass a few hours here in idle or business-related chat.



What it may not be as good for is getting Work done.

Being in the Quartermile development seems to make it difficult to install power points for customer use and sure enough, Looking Glass seem to have none. I will make allowances because the shop has only been there about a week but when I asked for the Wifi password nobody knew it. Update below Thankfully I was meeting people there and not expecting to do any work or I'd have been scuppered.

The place has a lovely atmosphere, everyone I saw coming and going seemed to enjoy just being there. The teas are from eteaket and while they don't have the full range at least it means that the selection they have are reliable and more than just teabags. I didn't spot where the coffee was from but it was thoroughly drinkable, if perhaps served in overly small portions (I like a long drink, serving me coffee in cups or glasses that I could drink in one big gulp will not endear you to me).



I worry that it might not get much passing trade due to being so hidden away. It's the sort of place that you want to succeed, not least because it's an independent bookshop and we need more of them. I shall be watching it eagerly.

UPDATE It has been pointed out that there are in fact sockets - I must have had none nearby when I was in - and there was no Wifi password available because it needs none. Excellent news!

Freeman's

A new addition to the every-growing cafe scene in Marchmont, Freeman's is nothing special to look at but is certainly spacious.



Proudly announcing the sources of their products, "The only supplier of Monmouth Coffee in Edinburgh", "Pastries & Bread from Bakery Andante, Morningside", "The Chocolate Tree hot chocolate", the effort seems to pay off as these things are better than in many nearby venues.

Decent Wifi but rather lacking in available sockets. The seating is variable, from tiny chairs to huge sofas; the tables seem to be filled mostly with people playing card games rather than waving their Macbooks around - which is a nice change. The clientele are, however, exactly what you would expect from a Marchmont cafe and as such tend to hang out for hours talking loudly amongst themselves. Not ideal for getting work done unless you are armed with good headphones.

Not a bad place, open late (looked like it was until at least 8pm, possibly 9) but a bit out of the way unless you live locally.

Map

We now have a map! Take a look here. It is obviously not full, but hopefully we'll fill it up soon and get suggestions as to what we can add to it, and what we should review next.

Your friendly customer reviews staff,
us.

Coffee H@ME Internet

I got lost yesterday trying to find my way to a friend's house is Leith. I don't yet live in the world of cyborg technology; following the extended mind theories of Edinburgh's own Andy Clark, what I mean by this is that I don't have a smartphone. Some of the time I have my laptop - yesterday, alas, I didn't.

After wandering around looking through closed windows on a bank holiday, I stumbled upon Coffee H@ME Internet, a snug little internet cafe on Leith Walk. They have computer's lining the wall, which makes it seem like your standard pay-and-get-out café - but the staff was incredibly helpful, the price for internet is cheap, and it's clear that they actually serve good coffee, and have a lot of options. They even have tables without computers, so you can bring your own. I might very well go there again if I can't find the Castle.

Verdict? Good.

PS. In case you're wondering, I've moved away from Edinburgh, and Simon is moving too. Chris is still around, and we'll blog when we're back in this home city of ours, however. Also, we're always looking for other staff. Pay? None. Hours? Non-existant. Satisfaction? Well, I guess that depends.

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...