Coffee Angel

Espresso, the Coffee Angel wayYou’ve got to love a place that calls itself Coffee Angel, and so it is with Coffee Angel in Edinburgh’s New Town. The coffee is excellent, there’s a good range of cakes and it also has some food options.  What I liked best about Coffee Angel is the look and feel of the place; it’s definitely somewhere you could linger the whole afternoon and the friendly and helpful staff don’t look as if they’d mind.

It’s got free wifi and an excellent range of seating: sofas for lounging, tables for working, bar stools for perching and outside seating for that rare thing in Scotland, a sunny day! I really, really loved the place. The only downside I could see was that there weren’t any power sockets for my laptop.

You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.

Quite often I’m drawn to a place just by my first impression when walking by. So it was with the Coffee Angel; I came past one winter’s day in January and thought “that’s worth a try”. Unfortunately, back then I was in a hurry to meet a friend for lunch in the centre of town, so I gave it a miss. However, when I wandered past again this August, I stopped in.

The first thing to say is that the coffee’s great. I had the usual test case, a single espresso, which turned out to be short with a good crema and full body. It also tasted every bit as good as it looked. The cups are cute too. I know it shouldn’t matter, but for some reason it does to me.

It’s got a good range of the usual cakes and sweet things and also a small range of food.  Other than the coffee, what struck me was the ambiance. Brown woodwork and whitewashed walls created a very uniform theme that was matched by the staff uniforms and the furniture. I know it doesn’t sound very promising, but trust me, it really works: it all felt very calm and uncluttered.

I was there mid-afternoon and everything was very relaxed, including the staff (but in a good way: service was prompt and cheerful, even when I was being awkward). Coffee Angel’s probably got one of the best range of seating in any place I’ve been; sofas and comfy chairs in the corners, plenty of tables and chairs, outside seating for the occasional sunny day and finally, a couple of bars with an ample number of high-stools that you can perch on and watch the world go by.

The clientele was just as varied: a few of us with our laptops (the free wifi was a bonus, but I couldn’t see anywhere to plug my laptop in), a couple of people doing work, a pair of young mothers and their babies and two guys in suits discussing business over their lattes. No-one looked hurried and it seemed the ideal place to linger all afternoon if need be. It filled up as the afternoon went on and definitely seems to be a place for pretty much everyone.

A personal downside to Coffee Angel is that it’s not anywhere near anywhere I want to be, although when I walk from my friends’ place in Leith to the centre of town along the Water of Leith, I go right past it. Somehow I think that might be my preferred route into town from now on (unless it’s raining, in which case the No 22 bus is still my friend). However, if I worked in the area, it would definitely be my number one spot for an afternoon coffee break and if I lived around the corner, I’d probably be in there all the time.

24-27 BRANDON TERRACE • EDINBURGH • EH3 5DZ
www.coffee-angel.co.uk +44 (0) 131 622 6235
Monday 07:30 – 19.00 Seating Sofas, comfortable chairs, table, bar, outside
Tuesday 07:30 – 19.00 Food Cakes, Panini
Wednesday 07:30 – 19.00 Service Order at Counter, deliver to table
Thursday 07:30 – 19.00 Cards Visa, Mastercard, Amex
Friday 07:30 – 19.00 Wifi Free
Saturday 08:30 – 19.00 Power No
Sunday 10:00 – 19.00 Mobile 3G, Voice
Chain No Visits 2nd August 2012

Liked this? Then don’t forget to check out the Coffee Spot Guide to Edinburgh for more great Coffee Spots.


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4 thoughts on “Coffee Angel

  1. I suspect power outlets are going to become less and less important to places like this as more people move to tablets with longer battery lives instead of traditional laptops.

  2. Pingback: Cafe Kino | Brian's Coffee Spot

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