Stopped in for brunch and had a panini with hot chocolate and it was delicious! Would highly recommend this lovely cafe.

Seeing the birthplace of Harry Potter is cool. Otherwise, service is mediocre. Felt as though they wanted to push tourists in and out resulting in people who appeared more like locals being given a full food menu, and tourists being given only a menu with cakes and scones. Not to mention my scone was ridiculously dry and didn't seem fresh at all. The bathroom is the coolest part because there's a ton of Harry Potter graffiti. Worth a stop in if you're a true blue HP fan, but would not recommend if you're looking for actual food. read more

Famous for Harry Potter writer JK Rowling we headed to this crowded place, the seating process is somewhat efficient as you queue for order at the bar and then get seated, works well and we got a comfy sofa place, I liked my handmade pie filled with goulash like beef, quite tasty I must admit and in the back room you don't get too bothered by tourists walking through - worth a visit read more

The famous café that housed J K Rowling in her pre-fame years of coffee room scribbling. The lovely café, which is charming in its own right, expectedly attracts all the fans of the authoress as well as a few amateur writers hoping that the place will bestow equal fame and success upon all it's clients. Other writers have claims upon the place, and cuttings on the wall display clippings from Ian Rankin books and other claims to fame. Fame, nonetheless, hasn't gone to anybody's head here, and the atmosphere remains laid back and comfortable, having admirably avoided becoming a Disney-esque attraction. The cakes are delicious and perfect for a late evening indulgence. The beautiful elephant chair is one to be grabbed, and the other paintings and elephant-themed pieces add all the gentle majesty that the beasts inspire, encouraging the writers in the corner to think big. read more

The place had ambience, despite only having tea and sharing a slice of cake, we were allowed to sit, relax and take in the scenery. Will be there again and again on future visits read more

A friend recommended this place to me as a coffee house with a character. So far her recommendations were on the spot. I went, I saw, I conquered. With the view of the castle and their specialty drinks, it was a great way to warm up on a chilly Edinburgh day (hot chocolate involving Baileys or Scotch works for me just fine). If only I had enough talent, I could write here the whole novel or, perhaps, short stories involving elephants? - Very writing friendly surrounding Well - you just need occasionally phase out the tourists. The other day I met a couple of them - they were studying their maps and guides very carefully, keeping their voices down. I wasn't sure - I thought I heard some German word here or there, but if they were Germans indeed, I would have heard them loud and clear. I guessed Swiss, whose frustration around the world is being mistaken for Germans or being hardly noticeable at all. I couldn't resist approaching them. It turned out they were Swiss from Zurich, a couple of days in Edinburgh on their way to Highlands. After a long chat, they had a few very useful suggestions for me, who still knows zilch about the city. Sometimes it pays off to come across some organized tourists As opposed to the one writing these words - a disorganized, ignorant me . One star down for lack of wireless. They have their own internet stations, if you need a quick check. Also, avoid the place if you do not like crowds - it has become too popular for its own good read more

I used to pop in here during my student days to listen to bands on a Thursday night, having not been there for years I recommended going to my partner as I had it in my memory as a nice, laidback place with tasty treats... I don'tknowwhat has happened since but I was very disappointed. We went in at 8pm and there was a notice advising us to wait to be seated, so we did... we were the only ones waiting yet the staff decided they could not see us. After 10 mins of standing there and being blatantly ignored we left feelingembaressed. So I don'tknow if the coffee is good or the treats are still tasty but I do know that the staff are rude and useless. I mentioned it to a friend who said she had managed to get seated fine but that her meal was poor and the staff looked bored so maybe that was a good thing we missed out. Maybe I'll leave it another 4 years. read more

Soo rude! I haven't been in The Elephant room for ages. I went the other day and It was embarrassing. Now you have to order and they make you wait standing with your tray until they give you a table. Oh, yes. First pay (show me the money), then wait standing here looking like an idiot at your piece of cake and after you might be allocated a table...Go there at your own risk....Never again read more

A very nice and peaceful place. Great view of the castle which is simply superb on a sunny day. Coffee is good and food is not bad either. My salmon quiche was very nice coming with young potatoes and a wee salad, though my chocolate brownie was a bit hard, while my partner's victorian sponge cake was very nice. Ambience is superb. So if you want a nice and relaxing cup of coffee with a view, don't think there's a better place in the old town. read more

Place is kind of a joke- took an hour and a half to get some cold chili/salsa and cold pizza. pretty much only thing to it is the whole harry potter deal, which didn't seem worth it. would've been a nice casual coffee place if cheaper and not packed with tourists (which admittedly i was) read more

The atmosphere is fantastic, and great views of the Castle. The food is alright, basic, needs to be a little bit more flavorful. If you are stopping by to grab some coffee, its fantastic, if you want lunch, skip it. read more

Harry Potter's birthplace--you can see where JK Rowling drew inspiration from the boys school nearby and the Edinburgh castle seen out the window. I ate here three times in my stay in Edinburgh and loved the IPAs (hard to find in the UK) coffee, tea, and cakes. It is also conveniently located near many other historical sites of Edinburgh. Don't forget to take a trip to the bathroom AKA the Ministry of Magic read more

As a fan of Harry Potter, I heard the elephant house when I was a kid. In Fact, I did not expect too much about the food and or cake offered here due to the café is famous of JK Rowling. But the truth is the coffee and cake I had tonight are amazing, especially the Earl Grey and Vanilla cake, the sweetness and the taste of tea are greatly balanced! Highly recommend! read more

Nice place to spend an afternoon and read. The gimmicky t-shirts and posters on the wall aren't my favorite thing, but the staff don't mind if you hang around for a while. No wifi is a bit of a downside, but the coffee is good and the food's nice too. Plus, it's fun to see all the notes to JK Rowling in the bathroom. read more

Terrible place. I like to give it zero if it is available. We are visiting Scotland and my kids like to see where harry potter was written. I took them there. However, we had a terrible experience. We try to order food on the menu and was told that they were not available. We order substitute food but the dishes we got was not what we ordered. I told the waiter that the food is not what we ordered. He yelled at me and ask me to leave if I do not want it. I ask them who is the manager before I leave and was told the waiter who is serving us is the manager. This all happened in front of my kids.... Do not eat there and buy anything there. It will ruin your kids' whole day. read more

I met a friend there today and immediately remembered why I haven't been in years; for a busy cafe in the centre of town - especially during the festival - they were ridiculously understaffed. I didn't find the attitude of the staff helpful or friendly, in fact one of them was downright rude to a foreign chap trying to order a pot of tea in front of me. I had to wait 25 minutes for my bacon roll and when it did come out, the bacon looked pale pink, unappetising and floppy! The flavour was disappointing to say the least and after trying to explain this to one of the assistants for a few minutes, gave it up as a bad job, and left. read more

If you are after good coffee, nice food, a pleasant place to sit, and attentive staff, then stay well clear. This is a tourist trap trading on past glories and tenuous Harry Potter connections (Rowling also wrote at other Edinburgh cafes which have the sense to downplay the links). The coffee is poor, with badly textured milk and too much froth, while food is over-priced and forgettable. The seating and ambiance is awkward, overcrowded, and especially in the back room, filled with screaming kids and tour groups. On the other hand, if you simply want to stare at the seats that J.K. Rowling sat in many years ago, then this is your place. But remember, she would not be found dead here now. read more

The only justification I have for paying an extortionate amount for a wee cup of coffee is that I love harry potter. The tea is good but overall this place is very overrated!! read more

The nachos were great and it was a pretty cool atmosphere. They were really busy but seemed to handle the chaos well. It was our first stop in Edinburgh and it did not disappoint! read more

Amazing cakes and good coffee. The decoration it's really funny because there are elephants in everywhere. It's a nice and comfortable place. Always very busy specially full of Harry Potter fans who want to enjoy one of the places where this character was born. read more

So after a year of walking past this place I finally went in today seeing there wasn't a MASSIVE CROWD! I mean common people just cause Harry 'Worthless" Potter was written here doesn't make it a huge national monument! The place is average at best. The staff didnt seem to helpful if not a little weird. You had to have a member seat you . I thought that was weird for a cafe. The prices seem a little high but I guess when your a national monument you can demand high prices for average food. The plus side of the food was they had a good selection of meals and cakes and whatnot. You can also get a wee pint . But they dont do ice coffee which I thought was strange as well. The coffee was ok as well at least it wasn't burnt I suppose. The decor is cool though I like elephants and they had TONS of elephants all over the place which is very fitting of the name. And the music was totally my style, Bob Marley and Bob Dylan so I liked that. But other then that I was not impressed, although I will come back again to try the place seeing as how its so popular , but for me food doesn't taste better just because some celebrity used this place as her haunt. Just saying.... read more

Unspeakably awful! Years ago this place was pretty good. But it's not so much resting on their laurels, as falling into a deep pit of disgustingly inedible food and truly lousy don't-care service. They trade on the fact JK Rowling went in a couple of times, though she herself says it's another cafe (now gone) she actually wrote mostly in. And it still looks quite interesting. But the stuff they actually serve up has to be some of the most revolting cafe food in Edinburgh. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid. read more

Good coffee and some fluffy scrambled eggs. Decent breakfast, but let's be real about why I even came. It's for the Harry Potter fandom-ness. The bathrooms alone are well worth a peek. Fans have scrawled the most awesome things from wall to wall --quotes from the books, spells, personal messages to JK Rowling, you name it! It's one of the coolest bathrooms I've ever been in. There's postcards you can buy to send back to your fellow Harry Potter fan friends too! Service is speedy and polite. Is the food so amazing that I'd be back? No, but for a Harry Potter fan, you should come and support at least once! read more

Don't expect anything great from this cafe. Come in, go straight to the back, enjoy the view of the castle and the graveyard, then go straight back out. There's nothing else. This does not feel like JK Rowling's cafe. It's become a crazy tourist attraction filled with tourists, and their pesky children. It's like visiting a theme park. I'm not being racist, but all that chinese translation just ruins the experience. Especially when they claim that they aren't enabling wifi to recreate the '95 experience. It looks like they are just a bunch of money-crazed people who only search for more profit. They have failed to maintain the right atmosphere. Spoon at Nicholson street is a much better cafe. If you're another one of those pesky tourists don't go to Spoon and spoil the atmosphere there. But if you're a mature human who needs a peaceful environment to work, while pondering on JK Rowling's inspiring life, go there. read more

the quiche was super tasty and my boyfriend was in love with his vat of carrot and coriander soup. busy, not great seating and a bit cramped. but a nice little place. they could stand to heat it a bit more, though. read more

Save an hour of your life and just make the suggested donation (think 1.50) to check out where parts of Harry Potter were written. Takes forever to get a table and once you do the wait staff disappears. We joked that JK Rowling must have written a chapter between ordering and getting food. We ordered desserts and coffee drinks and they were all pretty meh. read more

Good food, I recommend trying moome with irish creme, my wife really enjoyed her large cup of latte. Wonderful view to the Edinburgh Castle. Be there when they open, otherwise it will be really crowded. read more

ohhh I love their cakes , many of their products are pretty handmade , I love my cappuccino there ....

while it could stand on it's own two feet from a marketing perspective, the elephant house has definitely chosen the celebrity route actively promoting their connection with j k rowling, ian rankin and alexander mccall-smith. it's unremarkable not bad though, a low 'good'. too hot for our liking but not scalding. the cappuccino and flat white we tried were definitely made with care by a barista who knew their craft but there were no distinguishing features. if you're serious about your coffee, you can do better in edinburgh. if you're not in a hurry, this is a nice spot to while away a few hours. http://edinburghcoffeelovers.blogspot.com twitter: @edinburghcoffee read more

Terrible experience. Line was only 10 long but it took 45 mins since service was very slow. Lots of workers but few were helping us customers. read more

I've never quite figured out what it is with Edinburgh and elephants, but the Elephant House is the one place of many similar-named eateries that's worth a look-in if you like them - elephants that is. More so, if you like cakes, because there's a mighty fine selection. This is a busy place, and the place JK Rowling would go for coffee whilst penning the first part of her Potter adventures, apparently. Since then, Rowling has done wonders for the publishing industry and given a voice to all closeted young wizards. She's also enhanced the Elephant House takings, not least from tourists and festival-goers and avid Potter readers. A noticeboard brimful of scribbled messages plus cheap internet is a mine of information, especially if you're in town flat-hunting. Service is friendly enough, though sometimes a bit buffeted by chaos behind the counter. Coffee's not the best in town, but the Elephant House is definitely worth a visit. read more

I'd agree with the general consensus here! Loads of hype but disappointing. Queues are always huge and because you get told off by staff for bagging a seat before you order, you can end up with a tray of food and then find there's nowhere to sit! More than once I've had to share a teeny table with strangers which was rather embarrassing. It's also rather on the expensive side for what you get, presumably because of all the unwitting tourists who come through the door after a bit of the Harry Potter experience! Nice tea in big teapots and great cakes, but the seating/queuing system and the pricey menu has put me off :( read more

Decent cafe with a cool bit of history to go with it (mentioned in every other review here) Nice view of the castle. The Mocha was good and food was decent. read more

I waited more than 15 minutes in the door, and I asked an employee when we will be attended. He disappeared and never responded. Nobody cared about the people that were waiting, so we finally left and had a wonderful dinner across the street. read more

Great funky atmosphere with amazing selection of drinks and sweet cakey treats. Nice big windows at back with historic views of castle, good central location to meet up with friends. read more

I was really disappointed the one and only time I visited this Elephant House. Despite having great lunches at the other branch in the Bristo Square area, the evening meal I had here was dreadful. THe chicken burger I ordered was rock solid and quite possible still frozen. I realise chicken burgers aren't what the Elephant House is all about but still, I would have expected my meal to be at least edible. Ther service wasn't particularly welcoming either and I'm loathe to go back. I see other reviewers have had a different experience so perhaps this was a one off, but it would take a lot for me to be persuaded otherwise! read more

A lot of cafes say that they are where JK Rowling wrote harry Potter. Maybe this is, maybe it isn't, but it's still the place I like to come for a bagel at lunchtime, a slice of cake and a cup of tea in the afternoon or brunch with friends at the weekend. The only thing which lets it down is the (extremely) slow service at the counter. I have been left standing there for ten minuted before being able to place an order whilst the staff make a cup of tea for another customer, but it has a great atmosphere and the food is lovely. It even has an alcohol license so you can have a beer with your cake if the fancy takes you! read more

A pretty average cafe when it comes to food and drink. Nothing to write home about. But the view of the castle from the window is great!

Diregards Harry Potter. This place has little to do with it. But go in anyway because it is a nice place. Had a good hot chocolate with a great view of the castle. Nice decor and feeling. Wish they wouldn't capitalise on J.K.Rowling but they would be just as alluring without that connection. read more

if it weren't for Harry Potter, it's just a very sub-average bar....