Review: Is the new cafe at Edinburgh's Calton Hill worth a £54.45 bill?

The National

28-06-2025

I didn't have much choice in the matter really, as Edinburgh's newest, and potentially most picturesque cafe, was booked solid for most of Saturday.
Located on Calton Hill within the grounds of Collective art centre, the new space has replaced The Lookout, which closed down at the end of last year with its owner moving to Stockbridge's Eating House.
Cafe Calton now provides one of the most scenic places in the capital to enjoy breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffees or cocktails — and has a new outside terrace too. You can also takeaway.
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The venue is being run by The Rocca Group's Stefano Pieraccini, who also owns The Seafood Ristorante in St Andrews and The Broughton in Edinburgh.
We visited at around 9am, to enjoy a relaxed Saturday breakfast. As the rain stopped and the clouds cleared, the sun broke out and Edinburgh was clear for all to see.
We were greeted after the lovely walk up the hill by Mya. The breakfast menu provides a whole range of choices, including smoothies, matcha teas, homemade granola, chia puddings, and pastries.
The Cafe Calton Breakfast, a classic avocado and sourdough with added extras available, a morning salad, haggis toastie, and eggs benedict are also all on offer.
In total we ordered; three coffees, an orange juice, one breakfast, and one eggs benedict — with salmon added on.
Our bill was £54.45 - which included an automatic service charge that wasn't as clearly outlined would be added as I would have liked.
I only have one picture of my food, because to be honest, the views were the most delicious part.
You could see from the castle to Leith, and out towards - . We also had perfect view over the rooftops of the Omni centre and near St James' Quarter. It was fascinating to see the city from high above for such an extended amount of time.
One staff member described how earlier in the week, the haar had came in, and "it felt like you were eating in the clouds".
As we sat, we pondered, 'when would the best time to come be?'
A crystal clear day where you can see for miles around? On a cold, rainy night with the city's cobbled streets shining below you and the castle lit dramatically? Or, for sunset, with cocktails and small plates to help blether the night away?
We looked forward to any of those scenarios, but I wont' be coming often due to the price and I don't particularly recommend a super warm day. Two walls are glass, which does mean it is a clammy atmosphere, especially with the little air conditioning.
Mya, our server, was incredibly attentive and assisted tourists with their particular menu requests with such kindness and laughter. Although a new team, the whole staff seemed to be running the small but busy space with great humour, attention to detail, and efficiency.
I can already see this becoming a favourite for tourist "hidden gem" lists, as well as a lovely treat for locals ...
So, was it worth the £54.45 bill? As a one-off treat, I think so.