City Café

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.

City Café has long been a buzzing starting-off point for a night out in Edinburgh. Live DJ sets at the weekend attract hordes of clubbers bound for Cabaret Voltaire across the street or the Bongo Club down the road. During the day, the American diner-style booths and leather banquettes are perfect for lounging around in, and students and fashion-conscious types can often be spotted draping themselves stylishly over the pool tables. The food is simple but tasty and filling. Desperate Dan-sized burgers come stacked with bacon and barbecue sauce or cheese and jalapeños and there is cheese tortellini or spiced couscous in a tangy tomato compote for vegetarians. Weekend brunches are designed to soak up the excesses of the night before: the selection includes a full Scottish breakfast, eggs benedict on muffins, pancakes with maple syrup or a healthy bowl of muesli and yoghurt. A new management team took over in December 2007 and promptly gave the bathrooms a complete refit. They also plan to refurbish the downstairs bar area and put on weekly acoustic music nights, but work had not yet started at time of going to press.

• High point: Bagging a booth and chilling out
• Low point: No desserts, just sweeties sold behind the bar

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