The Pastures

The 2013 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the current (2013) edition.

This homely little Marchmont café is easy to wander past, but after you’ve stopped once, you won’t walk by again. Jane Kermack is a cheery, engaging host, ensuring everyone, from students to grannies, feels at ease. The generous full Scottish breakfast is a perfect antidote to morning-after malaise, with some fine poached eggs on toast, while there’s plenty for afters, including home-baked ginger and carrot cakes and an energy-packed fruit flapjack, particularly popular with the cyclists who congregate at the bike shop next door. It’s also a focal point for the local community – on Friday nights, Jane and co-owner Stan Stewart stage a range of fun events such as ‘come-dine-with-us’ and ‘grub ‘n’ games’, featuring a continental-style dinner and plenty of laughs (BYOB is encouraged). A great place for a cup of tea and cake and a flick through the Sunday supplements.

• High point: Fun, friendly, community-minded café
• Low point: Time for a bigger bike rack