The best cafes in Edinburgh to work from
Here are the best cafes to work from in Edinburgh. I've based my reviews on factors like wifi quality, staff friendliness, space, price and how good the coffee is. I work online from cafes every day as a freelance Twitter ghost writer and sending newsletters for founders so it's important I find a great cafe for working in.
Fortitude (Stockbridge)
This is one of the best cafes to work from in Edinburgh. There is a tonne of natural light and high ceilings. The building was a butchers many moons ago. The coffee is first rate and there are a mix of 1-2 person tables and a couple of bigger tables for groups. As this cafe is near a hipster bakery, it can get very busy with tourists. The cafe plays a great soundtrack of mostly funk, soul and chill out beats.
Brew'd by The Source (Old Town)
This cafe has some of the best single-origin coffee in Edinburgh! As they roast their own beans, they keep prices much lower than other city centre cafes.
The baristas are very friendly and will talk to you about the origins of the coffee. It feels like a boutique experience! They are laptop-friendly and fine with people working there. The only downside was the wifi wasn't working when I was there and the cafe is very small so it wouldn't be a good place for meeting people. It's a cafe that's best to go to if you are working on your own for an hour, having a phone you can use as a hotspot and want some excellent but strong coffee.
Union (university area)
Slap bang in the university area, this is the most hipster cafe on the list. The staff can be a bit cold but the coffee and wifi are good. There's a lot of space to work as well with room for around 40 customers. It's very popular with students so it will be busier during term time i.e. September to May.
They are sometimes a bit fussy about laptops if you try to stay too long. If you're going for an hour or a bit longer you'll be fine. They also do table service and the staff are usually quick. BrewLab is definitely on the pricier side of things with coffees like lattes at £3.40. Even the BatchBrew was £3.40 whereas it's £3 in Fortitude and honestly. I'd say the latter is a touch better.
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Black Medicine (university area)
Just round the corner from BrewLab is Black Medicine, which is also popular with students. Coffees here cost £3.30 and are decent. They also have hot food which is great but sadly no table service. If you order hot food and a coffee at the same time you then have an awkward wait at the end of the bar. The staff are friendly though.
The wifi sadly is not that great but there is a lot of space, especially downstairs and they don't care how long you stay (within reason). This would be a good place to go if you want to code or write without distractions. Unfortunately, due to the stone building you can't always get a data signal downstairs on your phone so you can't just use a hotspot. There are benches upstairs which look out onto the busy street which are excellent for people watching while you work.
Mayvn (New Town)
A bit on the pricy side but this cafe on George Street has a great vibe. It's always full of laptop workers. I love the decor and it has a very "Bali/Chang Mai" sort of feel to it. They do have some tables that are laptop-free but there is a big table in the middle of the room with lots of people working.
It does lean towards a 20s/student crowd and the service isn't always the best but the vibe and decor compensate for this.
Onto (Newington)
Formerly a branch of Fortitude, this is now an independent cafe owned by the former manager, who is always very cheerful. There's a nice vibe here and there's always a good mix of mostly hip-hop, funk and soul on the speakers. The coffee and cakes are all very good.
One downside- there are no sockets so charge your laptop before you get here. This is also a small cafe so there is space for about 10-15 people tops so it wouldn't suit a big group.
