Mo Beans

Friendly cafe with great coffee, affordable homemade cakes, community events and no airs and graces.

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

This neighbourhood café has not hired a hipster interior designer to style the joint. There are no exposed brick walls, no identikit vintage Edison bulbs dangling from the ceiling. Instead, expect a homely clutter of mismatched furniture, a pile of board games and books, and if you’re really lucky, a chance to challenge owner Richard ‘Mo’ Mowat to a game of chess, with a free coffee or soup if you win. Mowat’s homemade cakes and brownies are scandalously cheap by Edinburgh standards, as is his mum’s homemade tablet. Fresh salads such as vegan Russian salad with beetroot, beans, gherkin and carrot also come in big portions at affordable prices. Coffee is the only concession made to the moustachioed barista culture; it’s from Leith roastery Williams and Johnson and very expertly made too. Apart from that, Mo Beans aims to create a friendly, down to earth café with lots of events like book groups and community nights, often co-staffed by Mo’s adorable Labrador Nuno who clearly understands that each table holds a stash of dog biscuits.