Lowdown

As a lover of specialty coffee, Lowdown hit the mark in every way. The coffee was unbelievably good (I had the flight), it was served and discussed with passion and love, and the space to drink it was beautiful and wonderful refuge from the Edinburgh rain. Do your research and come prepared to drink something new, prepared by amazing baristas who are obssessed with great coffee, and you won't be disappointed. This is not Starbucks!!

I very much liked this cute basement cafe. It was pretty busy on arrival but I managed to get a seat within a few minutes. It was table service and the staff were very friendly. There is seating both inside and outside. I had the carrot and avocado toastie and added the extra for soup on the side (spicy sweet potato, which the staff recommended). It was exactly what I needed after a morning of walking. They have a really big range of specialty teas too, I came back later to get a takeaway hojicha as well as a delicious amaretto biscuit. It was properly brewed (eg not a teabag in a cup sort of job) and very good quality tea. Only suggestion would be to have some more interesting cold drinks? That was it though, would definitely return.

When my friend living in Edinburgh suggested Lowdown as the best coffee in town and stressed that I must try their banana bread I thought “I’m sure its great, I love banana bread but it is just banana bread how good could it be?” Way better than I could imagine. It was £4.50 so it better have been, but well well well worth it. Served with grated dark chocolate, a scoop of mascarpone cheese and what I assume is honey. It was just perfectly sweet without being too decadent. The latte, £3.20, was also incredible and served at the perfect temperature to start sipping it right away while the thick mug kept it hot throughout the sit down. Located right in the heart of New Town, it’s extremely central and there’s really nothing more you could ask for when looking for a great coffee with a nice treat.