The Lower Aisle Restaurant
The restaurant offers a warm welcome to all visitors. Situated beneath the Cathedral, at the east end, we are open, serving tea, coffee, snacks and lunches from Monday to Friday 08.00 - 16.30 and Sunday 09.00 - 13.30. During August we are open Monday - Friday 08.00 - 18.00, Saturdays 08.30 - 17.00 and Sundays 09.00-13.30.
The restaurant seats 48 people in the main section at tables and 40 people in the upper section at tables and in armchairs around coffee tables. Groups are welcome to make a booking during the day and evening bookings can be considered.
Much of our food is freshly cooked in our kitchen. Scones, soups, hot dishes, baked potatoes, toasted baguettes and bagels and rolls, with a variety of freshly prepared fillings, form the main part of the menu, but cakes, desserts and Orkney ice cream are available too.
Freshly squeezed orange juice, herbal teas and hot chocolate are served and we specialise in Brodie's of Edinburgh's coffees for our cappuccinos, lattes, and filter coffee.
Our prices are among the most reasonable on the Royal Mile and where else can you enjoy your lunch in a historic setting listening to the peal of the bells?
Praise for the Lower Aisle:
'The heart of Edinburgh's touristland offers cold comfort to the hungry: coffee chains, sandwich bars, a chip shop… Those in the know head for an anonymous door behind St Giles' Cathedral, which leads to a café as homely and delightful as the alternatives are soulless. The food is retro, but not in a knowing way: filled rolls, a substantial soup, home-made quiche, casseroles, nourishing bakes. There is even the kind of home-baking that belongs in church halls to relish with a pot of strong tea afterwards.'
The Sunday Times June 2003
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