Mimi’s Bakehouse

Mimi's Bakehouse

It’s all about the cake. That’s what it says over the counter at Mimi’s and that sums up what is rapidly becoming a must-visit place in Leith. In truth, it’s always been a must-visit for me, so it’s good to see the rest of the world catching up, even if I can’t always get a table now! Naturally, the coffee’s great and, as well as a mouth-watering range of cakes, Mimi’s does excellent breakfasts and lovely lunches.

One note of caution about Mimi’s: since it’s so popular, this really isn’t a place to just sit and linger. That’s not to say that the staff are going to hassle you to eat up and get out, far from it. However, it’s busy and that means a certain level of noise and bustle. Also, Mimi’s is all about the pleasure of the food. As such, it’s somewhere I go for the coffee, cake and food rather than to spend a couple of hours and have a coffee while I’m at it.

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To A Tea

From the menu of "To A Tea" with the slogan "Take Time for Tea"You’ve got to love the attitude of the owner, Stas Leonidou, and the whole ethos of To A Tea. Anyone who is prepared to have three different hot water boilers, each set to a different temperature, so that he can brew the perfect cuppa depending on the type of tea, has to be admired. And I don’t even drink the stuff.

To A Tea is my kind of place. Forget that he’s got the emphasis wrong (tea, not coffee), forget the cakes (they’re excellent by the way), forget the friendly atmosphere, the comfortable chairs, the superb staff. Anyone who takes this much care and shows this much passion about what he does deserves to succeed.

Well, actually that’s not entirely true. If you showed this much passion and then made lousy tea, you’d deserve to fail, but To A Tea does everything right, including the coffee. Go there, drink the tea and coffee, eat the cake, make the business thrive. Oh, and tell Stas that he needs to open a branch in Guildford!

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