The Grassmarket Café

This Old Town café is part of the Grassmarket Community Project, supporting some of Edinburgh's most marginalised communities.

The 2019/20 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

Built as a sleek extension to Greyfriars Kirk, with classrooms, cookery facilities and a community hall, the Grassmarket Community Project opened in 2013 and runs a programme of activities for homeless, marginalised and vulnerable people. The café is bright, airy and modern, and proceeds go straight back into the community. So local workers who stop in for a takeaway soup or tourists who sit in with a homemade scone and a mocha all help raise funds for weekly community meals, where anyone can drop in for a free dinner and a movie (see social media for more details). For the paying public, food includes breakfast rolls, BLTs (with satisfyingly thick slices of B), TLC (that’s tuna, lime and coriander) tortilla wraps, traybakes and coffee. When the sun is out, the outdoor tables are a good spot to take a load off, while their vouchers (which can be given to those in need to exchange for a meal) deserve a double thumbs up.