Greenwoods, Edinburgh
Photograph: Greenwoods
Photograph: Greenwoods

The 21 best breakfast and brunch spots in Edinburgh for 2025

Feeling worse for wear? From breakfast tacos to a ‘full Scottish’, these brunch spots will sort you right out

Dayna McAlpine
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Seeing as Edinburgh has the best restaurant scene in Scotland (yeah I said it, Glasgow), the Capital unsurprisingly comes armed with some seriously braw brunches and breakfasts. After all, when you’ve got a nightlife like ours, you’ve got to have a line-up of places that can take on the damage from the night before. In our city you can enjoy everything from the healthy to indulgent, from cafes with nutrient-packed granola bowls and smoothies to legendary greasy spoons who serve ‘big, bigger and biggest’ full Scottish breakfasts. Looking for something a bit less traditional? We've got you covered with Mexican cantinas, Canadian diners and all the rest of it. 

Why is bottomless brunch not a thing in Edinburgh?

Bottomless brunch is technically illegal due to our licencing laws here in Scotland. And yes, I’ll admit, it can be a bit of a bummer – but at least we can all still remember how good our breakfast was come dinnertime. Also, there’s nothing stopping you from ordering a Bloody Mary or Mimosa (although, with some of the best coffee shops in the UK calling Edinburgh home, we’ll probably just take a flat white). 

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This guide was recently updated by Dayna McAlpine, a writer based in Edinburgh. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines

Brunch and breakfast in Edinburgh

  • Mexican

Getting a seat at this wee Mexican cantina can be a race and you’ll often find Leith locals loitering around waiting for it to open at 12pm but honestly, it’s easy to see why. Brunch at Chorrito is truly essential morning-after-the-night-before dining. Their huevos rancheros, fried egg tacos and chicken mulitas are enough to pull anyone back from the dead – all washed down with a spiced hair-of-the-dog marg, of course. It’s laid back counter dining at its absolute best and every meal comes with a selection of Chorrito’s tongue-numbing (iconic) own brand hot sauces. 

Order this: The Chilaquiles: Tortilla Chips smothered in Enchilada sauce, a fried egg, refried beans and more lovely stuff  we’re drooling just thinking about it. 

Address: Cantina, Chorrito, 126 Leith Walk, Edinburgh EH6 5DT

  • price 1 of 4

Brunch enthusiasts, hangover-sufferers and families alike flock in their masses to Loudons every weekend. Its simple, relaxed interior can lend itself to any sort of occasion, whether business breakfast, quiet solo brunch or chatty mums’ meet-up. This place is famed for its eggs benedict, pancakes and other breakfast staples. Whether you’re at the Fountainbridge or New Waverley location, expect to battle a queue of Loudons loyalists for a seat, but do wait it out – any Edinburgher will tell you it’s worth it. 

Order this: We can guarantee you’ve never had an Eggs Benny like The Hoots Mon – bacon, black pudding puree and whisky hollandaise changes the game. 

Address: 94B Fountainbridge, Edinburgh, EH3 9QA

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  • Cafés

If you’re feeling a little worse for wear, head here for a moreish health kick. Urban Angel’s smoothies blend mango and orange juice with nutrient-loaded things like spinach and spirulina (there’s also a raw chocolate version, made with oat milk, cacao, dates, banana and vanilla). The virtue continues in the superfood salads, all-day brunch menu and more. If any of this sounds like joyless, penitent eating, you’d be dead wrong – the flavours are straight from heaven. 

Order this: The Baked Eggs at Urban Angel are a thing of legend – a huge heaving dish of tomato sauce chorizo, black pudding, coriander and chili jam… and toast, of course.

Address: 121 Hanover Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1DJ

4. Margot

One of Edinburgh’s newer eateries, Margot has already made a name for itself – but being the sister restaurant of acclaimed neighbourhood bistro Leftfield, we never expected anything less. ‘But isn't Margot a wine bar?’, you may ask, but we’d argue that the launch of their breakfast and brunch menu might be the best thing to happen to Brunstfield. We’re huge fans of their warming bowls of polenta, topped with sticky soy mushrooms, eggs, crispy chilli oil and coriander – paired with a Mimosa, of course. 

Address: 7-8 Barclay Terrace, Edinburgh EH10 4HP

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5. Hula

Freshly-pressed juices, fruit-packed smoothie bowls, full-on fry-ups and (obvs) avocado toast: Hula certainly knows how to pack a punch. With two venues in Edinburgh city centre, this juice bar and café prides itself on championing fresh, healthy eating. They’re also plastic-free and have plenty of vegan options on offer, so it will pretty much please everyone. 

Address: 103-105 West Bow, Edinburgh, EH1 2JP 

  • Delis

Just two minutes from the bustling Royal Mile, Edinburgh Larder is hidden down a side street. But those in the know are always richly rewarded. This café sells seasonal, locally sourced and tasty food, with its breakfast menu available all day and featuring all the classics like eggs benedict, porridge and waffles. If you’re in a bit later, try the Taste of Scotland Plate, which comes with Belhaven cold smoked sea trout, Ramsay’s honey roast ham, granary bread, Scottish cheeses, salad and loads more. 

Address: 15 Blackfriars Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1NB

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This café-bar may look like a pub – because it once was – but it had a serious facelift for its 2007 launch and has menus that would put many Edinburgh restaurants to shame. As you sit among the old wooden fixtures and fittings, enhanced with the odd ornamental eccentricity, you can browse the all-day brunch selection (daily from 10am), including choices like poached eggs on toast with wild mushrooms fried in butter and rosemary, decent porridge, eggs benedict and big fried breakfasts.

Address: 23-24 Sandport Place, Edinburgh, EH6 6EW

8. Ardfern

New kid on the block Ardfern is the latest project from legendary Edinburgh chef Roberta Hall (Little Chartroom, Eleanore) but has quickly become a must-visit for brunch. The menu boasts a selection of Scottish staples like a lamb sausage muffin with cheese and egg (think a bougie version of a certain fast food chain’s classic…) and a full breakfast with thick-cut bacon, homemade haggis and tattie scones. Feeling delicate? Go for overnight oats with fig raspberry and almond crunch. Just don’t miss the cooked-to-order filled doughnut (yes, they come warm), perfectly paired with a strong cup of coffee. 

Address: 30 Albert Place, Edinburgh, EH7 5HN

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9. Down The Hatch

If you’ve got a big appetite, Canadian diner Down The Hatch has the big breakfast options for you – and sorry, but you won’t find any fruit-filled yoghurt and granola options here. Instead, everything is served fried on a skillet. And as much as we’ll normally recommend a Scottish breakfast to anyone visiting our city, it’s the Canadian skillet that’s the real star of the show – buttermilk pancakes, sausages, bacon, hash browns and fried eggs… all served with Canadian maple syrup, of course.

Please note: there are two branches of this spot in Edinburgh – only one of them, the South Queensferry branch, serves breakfast, located in a small village on the outskirts of the city. Visit their city centre spot for the regular menu. 

Address: Port Edgar Marina, Edinburgh, Queensferry, South Queensferry EH30 9SQ

10. The Raeburn

As a boutique hotel in the middle of buzzy Stockbridge, the Raeburn is well known in the area for its excellent bar and restaurant offering, but it ain’t too shabby for the morning after either. Soak up your hangover with a proper Scottish fry-up (complete with haggis and black pudding), or enjoy a lighter start to the day with a choice of toppings on some freshly made buttermilk pancakes. Delish. 

Address: 112 Raeburn Place, Edinburgh, EH4 1HG

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