The Elephant House

Currently closed for renovation after a fire. Was here a couple of years ago while in Edinburgh. Great cappucino and sandwiches. Also has a spectacular view of the castle. Highly recommend it for anyone visiting Edinburgh.

glad to have chance to visit this amazing place where harry potter was created by JK Rowling

Sad to see it closed, but that obviously not their fault due to a devastating fire so I’m not leaving a bad review like some of these people. A great stop to look at all the same, and will definitely have to come back when they open back up. Very cool location and surrounding area as well. Worth a visit for both Harry Potter fans and people close by.

Magical place for Harry Potter fans! The coffee shop is actually quite lovely, they have beautiful views by the windows. Hot drinks and cakes were good. Harry Potter fans have written tons of messages all over toilet's doors and walls. Liked the place and our waiter, I believe his name was Aitor, made the experience much better. He was lovely and allowed us to seat in when it was close to closing time, and overall, he was super nice and helpful. It can get really busy, so if you are not a Harry Potter fan, there might be other coffee shops as good as this one, but it's definetely a charming one!

Good elephant cappuccino and a huge homemade muffin I had there. This cafe seems be very famous for tourists and was busy even around 11am on Monday.
It was a bit challenge that I stayed there with relaxed feeling as JK Rowling said, but it’s worth visiting to taste good coffee and cakes, and see the atmosphere where she wrote the Harry Potter!

Not sure why many bad reviews. Food was amazing (had the Scottish pancakes with bacon and syrup and the scone with clotted cream and jam). Super fresh, tasty and good size! Prices are reasonable. And I got JKR’s same table with lovely views and peaceful around. I just loved it! Yes, you’ll have to bear the stares from the rest of the people around that will just want you gone to have the table

We were lucky to stop when we did. It was about 11 a.m. and the lunch crowds had not descended yet. Usually when we walked past, the place was crowded. We decided to stop for an early bite to eat. I knew a bit about the history of the place; how J.K. Rowling had started writing Harry Potter here. The waitress asked if we wanted front or back, we chose back. The view of Greyfriars Kirk and Edinburgh castle and the university is visible from back there. We chose a small table by the window. The lunch menu was not out yet, so we had hot chocolate and porridge. The porridge came with honey and milk. The hot chocolate was the perfect size, not too big and not too small. The waitress was very chatty and when we asked where Ms. Rowling sat when she wrote, she said, "Right here at this window." Couldn't believe our luck! You have to visit the bathrooms. People leave their mark and devotion to Harry Potter in there. The place was warm and cosy and the view was fantastic. Perfect views of Edinburgh castle and the graveyard. Definitely stop in early before the crowds start coming.

The place is nice and most of the staff are nice except one female waitress with long dark hair and she was wearing the red uniform (not the Chinese girl). I was at the place at 3pm, once I was seated I raised my hand up to my head ( which is really low-key) to get her attention. She was standing by the toilet, chatting with another male waiter. After she saw me, instead of coming to the table she turned to the waiter and clearly was discussing about my gesture as I saw her copied my raising hand gesture to the male waiter which I find is really rude. I can understand if she finds the gesture is uncommon to her culture or what so ever, but was it really necessary to copy me?
And as I’m writing this up, she also wondered towards the back of the house by their private room, she was peeking there as one of the waiter and supervisor (possibly manageress?) were talking in there. I thought her attention and focus should be on customers?
It’s such a cool place as the birthplace of Harry Potter, please don’t let the poor service disappoint millions of HP fans.