The first cafe I ever went to - and I am still coming back, even to this day. If that isnt enough detail for you, let me explain. The food is excellent - and, more importantly, there is a huge selection. Yes, the prices are a bit on the steep side, but what do you expect from a place so close to the royal mile? My favourate thing has to be the outside seating however, there is nothing better than sitting outside with a coffee, a tuna melt panini (in my opinion the best they do here) and watching the world go by. Splended. read more

Southern Cross Cafe - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

I actually thought the Southern Cross Cafe was some sort of hostel when I walked up and saw the crowd of young backpackers sitting outside munching toasties and swigging from big mugs of tea. Fancying a bit of that myself, I tottered in and had a look at the very reasonable and tasty looking menu. I left a few minutes later with some juice and a cheese toastie which I didn't think was too expensive for the location of the cafe. The queue was massive as I pushed past loads of hungry folk, old and young this time, and I found myself wondering what this cafe had to pull in the punters like it did. Taking a bite of my toastie, which was hotter than the sun on the inside (be warned!), I realised that there really is nothing like a bit of home cooked comforts, especially if you're travelling and need to be perked up with a toasted sandwich like your granny makes. Great wee caff, well worth a visit but don't expect to get a seat outside! read more

Southern Cross Cafe - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Being linked to a backpackers hostel, you'd expect this place to be a bit shabby round the edges, serving cheap food to hungry tourists you want to spend as little as possible. You'd be wrong. I'd say it's somewhere between a café and a bistro, as it's licensed to serve alcohol and it's open until around midnight. And the quality's so much higher than you'd expect - both the service and the actual food itself. I went with a friend recently, and we managed to nab ourselves one of the half dozen or so outdoor tables which meant we had prime people-watching range all over Cockburn Street and the adjacent Hunter Square. We only had coffees, but the food menu did have some tasty-looking things on it that caught my eye, and I'll be heading back here soon for a spot of lunch to give it a whirl. It's never going to win any awards for offering the best value for money of all the eateries in Edinburgh, but don't let that put you off. read more

Not exactly sure what's going on here. While the food and service were decent (not great), I was kind of expecting a bargain given its hostel roots. Alas... I opted for a latte, the Croque Madame and an order of pancakes thinking that would fill my belly nicely. You've heard of silver dollar pancakes? These were more like 50¢ pancakes. Of course they COST £3.95, which at current exchange rates come out to about $7. For three TINY pancakes. And I guess I'm still learning the ins and outs of food here in the UK -- the syrup was (I think) just honey, and not enough to cover three JFK's worth of batter. Oh well -- the servers were friendly and the place was hopping for an early morning, I'd just rather not drop £10 for a very average breakfast. Call me cheap, or maybe just American... read more

Southern Cross Cafe - $16 worth of food? - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Nice wee cafe with seating and a versatile menu featuring classics like eggs benny and the full Scottish. The prices are decent for the area of town and the service was top notch. It's a great spot for breakfast or lunch...they do close at five though so no evening snacks here... read more

Nice...I just wish the food was better We dropped in a few days ago for an afternoon pick-me-up and am happy to report they have nice staff, a great location, and some tasty coffee. But, we had a coconut/raspberry tart that was sweet but dry and tasteless, a lemon tart that was way too gelatinous and insufficiently lemon-y and a hazelnut/chocolate thang that while having a better consistency than the first two also suffered from a lack of flavor. read more

We had a delicious,affordable, filling breakfast, served by a kind young lady. On this day of snow, inclement weather and many shops closed, we were grateful the staff made it safely to work and were able to provide a tasty meal for us! read more

Perfect way to start your day in Edinburgh. Fast WiFi, good food and great service and on a perfect location.

So cute and quirky the staff are super nice and the service was quick. Love that they have free wifi! It's a great place to do homework! read more

Southern Cross Cafe - Goat Cheese Salad - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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Best on Ground: Blueberry pancakes with Golden Syrup and Cream. Closely followed by the Gentleman's favourite - Eggs Benedict. Coffee: Best I've had in Scotland. Staff: Friendly, attentive and always happy to converse. The kind of staff a hospitality business owner can trust to make their place stand out. Atmosphere: Casual, friendly and relaxing with nice tunes. A five star rating for the best coffee shop I've been to in Europe! read more

Super delicious Scottish meal! Stumbled upon this place after we tried to go to another that was full. Incredible delicious food at a great price-split the The Bug Belter between two people and it was a perfect amount of food! Great Sunday morning breakfast! read more

Dropped in after lunch, had the breakfast, wife had the club. Very good food and generous portions staff was very friendly. No room for desserts but will drop back by to try those. read more

Nice staff, pleasant setting, amazing home baking. Recommend the almond chocolate cake! We didn't have but someone ordered hot choc and both cream and marshmallows portions were generous! Will be back! :) read more

Coffee. I. Need. Coffee. That's why I stopped in. Sure I could've walked a little further to the Starbucks at the top of the road, but this place caught my eye. Inside is really nice and the staff were really friendly, but not in the "it is too early in the morning to every be that peppy" sort of friendly. They let you add your own milk to your coffee and I ended up getting a massive brownie to take away, you know, for a little snack later. The brownie was delicious ;) read more

I'm clearly not around the Royal Mile and Cockburn Street enough as I had never noticed this cafe before! Myself and a friend went in to escape the bitterly cold weather. We were shown to a table in the back as we wanted to be as far away from the door and the cold as possible. I just had a scone and hot chocolate which were fine, but my friend had quesadillas which looked really appetising and she said it tasted really good. I think I'll need to go back to try out some other food on the menu. read more

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned the price of coffee at this cafe. £3.60 for a cappuccino!! I'll not be back.

The haggis Scottish breakfast doesn't disappoint. Ridiculously busy for weekend brunch but very hospitable service nonetheless. Modern cafe + brunch place that is appropriate for all occasions. read more

Really nice workers who are super busy but the food is not good and it takes over 30min to get your order

Good breakfast place. We ate here twice while in Edinburgh and the food was good and the service was excellent. I would definitely recommend. read more

Lovely little cafe that was a welcome respite from the drizzle and cold. Although they were busy, they seated 5 of us within about 5 minutes, and took our order quickly. My coffee was good, and I had a lovely scone with cream and jam. Also pinched one of Lauren's haggis balls, which was lovely, with a good amount of pepper. Staff were great, and the cafe had a nice atmosphere. read more

Just had a Big Belter breakfast and it was amazing!! Really friendly staff, great food and great atmosphere. The cakes look amazing as welll!! If you're in Edinburgh come here! read more

Scones with fresh cream to die for. Scottish smoked salmon delightful. Good cup of tea after an all night flight

My lunch was exactly what my encroaching cold craved. Thank you so much for the delicious big bowl of parsnip soup and the brie pannini on bread that was fresh rustic perfection! read more

Nice cafe with great food. The coffee is "normal" (nothing special) and the staff is a little bit confused ;) But I would visit it again!

Such a lovely little cafe, friendly staff and great food! 10/10 will definitely go back.

Really lovely atmosphere and good simple menu. Staff are lovely and very nice relaxed atmosphere

Great place for an afternoon snack. I had a hot chocolate and a caramel shortbread which was amazing! They have outside tables so you can enjoy your hot drink and still watch people passing by. It's a great way to catch your breath and rest a little in between the ups and downs of Edinburgh! For the great location, the prices are okay. read more

This is such a cozy breakfast spot. The staff are welcoming and the atmosphere is wonderful. We both got lattes that were delicious and I had an egg sandwich that was wonderful. It was a great spot to tuck into before a full day and we enjoyed ourselves! read more

Food was edible, service lackluster. My wife's pasta of the day was tasty but my "Spicy couscous salad" was as bland as bland can be. Nary a spice to be found. Despite ordering a salad and special of the day it took 50 minutes from ordering to get our food. read more

Such a lovely wee spot. The staff were beyond lovely, the food was decent, and there was a great vibe about the place.

Hit the spot. I popped in here during a rushed day, having missed lunch I asked if they did something like a cheeseburger. What I got was a substantial and very tasty burger and chips (not fries!!) and coffee so nice I suspect it couldn't be decaf. Service was very good too. Pricewise what I paid was about twice the price of a McDonalds meal but I would much rather have SX burger than two big macs! Just off the Royal Mile and probable better for it. read more

How often do you come across an eatery where the staff are both incredibly friendly AND incredibly efficient (even when they're really busy)? The SX Café is just such a place -- and the food is excellent as well. I've been there several times recently and I can't recommend it too highly. It's equally good for breakfast, lunch or coffee and a treat. Also, it's perfectly positioned just off the Royal Mile. I'm really glad I found it before leaving Edinburgh. read more

Wonderfully friendly service and a pleasant place to sit for a bit with a cup. We ordered cappuccinos which were expertly made by the man in charge. Best coffee we had over two weeks in Great Britain. We went back to try the food while waiting for our train out of Edinburgh, though, and it didn't hold up to the atmosphere or the coffee. Still, I'd recommend Southern Cross Cafe over any of the options available in the train station! read more

I give this place 5 stars based only on their perfectly perfect Eggs Benedict and their flat white coffee. Both are so good that it's all I ever have when I go there. read more

Nipped in for a small afternoon snack and enjoyed some excellent homemade cakes carrot cake, walnut cake and sticky toffee pudding. Main courses also looked excellent and good value. Will have to come back another day read more

Cute and cosey. Friendly staff with great coffee and yummies! My husband and I stopped in after a busy day of sightseeing and we're glad we did. read more

Cute place but sub-par service and average food. Ordered the soup and sandwich combo and was told that they were out of the ciabatta bread so they would put it on a wrap. This resulted in a very small, quesadilla-like sandwich which should have been much cheaper based on the bread swap. We were excited to try the soup of the day which was potato leek, but were disappointed that our sandwiches came with tomato soup (which was far too sweet) and wish they had told us they were out of the soup before we ordered. Overall we felt that we could have gotten a tastier and more substantial meal for far cheaper. read more

Went to this cafe last week with realatives , v. disapointing- we ordered tea - which was a glass latte glass filled with water and a teabag- not a good start, we then progressed to the food - everyone i was with went for the full scottish breakfast - i decided to go for the toasted ham+cheese sandwich with fried egg on top(croque madam). Scottish breakfast was disapointing- it was very small for the price paid for it. I was a bit put of by the appearance of my food ( the crusts were missing- but maybe this is what they do in france!) but the fried egg was cooked prefectly. I took one bit of it and it actually was quiet nice, but then i FOUND A BIG LONG DIRtY BLACK/TURNED GREY HAIR IN IT - it was disgusting and totaly put me off. I went and showed the waitress and she wasnt v. accomadating-she just said sorry and i'l get you another one - however I refused - it had totaly put me off! That was as much of an apology I got. The waitress or no one else for that matter came near us for the remainder of the time we spent there(probably another 30mins). O n review of the place , the culterly and toilets were also v. dirty which leads me to think that hygiene and food safety must not be high on there agenda. read more