The Elephant House

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Picture of The Elephant House

Opened in 1995, The Elephant House has established itself as one of the best tea and coffee houses in Edinburgh. Made famous as the place of inspiration to writers such as J.K. Rowling, who sat writing much of her early novels in the back room, overlooking Edinburgh Castle.

Ian Rankin, author of the bestselling Rebus novels, and Alexander McCall-Smith have also frequented The Elephant House, as well as many others throughout the years.

Experience the magic yourself. Visit us and savour a cup of tea or coffee before venturing out to explore historic Edinburgh.

  • A cup of coffee from The Elephant House will deliver to you a full round taste …
  • It will bring back warm memories …
  • It will ease your pain …
  • It will get you back on the fast track …
  • Or help you pause in the slow lane …
  • It will satisfy your every need!
  • We serve only the finest arabica coffees – you won't find robusta at The Elephant House.

Arabica: The Coffee Choice

Not all beans are created equal

Beans that look beautiful in a tin can actually be old and stale and can taste harsh. Our coffee is roasted locally, and in small quantities, which achieves a peak of flavour. Also, the coffee is stored unsealed for no longer than one day, ensuring unparalleled freshness.

The Elephant House offers three classic straight coffees. We also serve a historically famous blend and a different speciality coffee every week.

Blended coffees combine a variety of tastes to create greater complexity and richness in a coffee. At its best, good blending is high art and offers a unity in diversity which few straight coffees can match.

So take home a pound of Elephant House coffee ground to your specification, and taste the difference!

Voted best coffee shop in Edinburgh by The List magazine

Open from 8.00am till 11.00pm seven days a week, The Elephant House serves Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. We stock a large selection of teas and coffees, wines, draught and bottled beers and a very affordable selection of cakes, tray-bakes and main dishes.

Come drop by The Elephant House and see our collection of over 600 elephants of all shapes and sizes, many of which are for sale.

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