Our Man in Edinburgh: Patisserie Florentin

Like everything else about the place, the iron-legged, fake-marble-topped table and the slightly plastic-y imitation wicker chair have a much-loved, slightly neglected, vintage feeling about them.

It may be mid-February, but I’m taking advantage of a rare bout of sunshine and sitting outside Patisserie Florentin (5 North West Circus Place, Stockbridge) in the early morning sun. Well, ‘early’ might be a stretch - it’s just after 10am - but I like to take my Sunday mornings easy like, well, a Sunday morning.

I digress. I have walked passed this place virtually every day of the last two and a half months without giving its faded, sun-bleached yellow and maroon exterior so much as a second thought, but when someone in my office told me about its breakfasts I decided to ignore it no longer.

It’s that sort of place really - you walk passed it, virtually oblivious to its presence, until someone tells you about it. The menu for its breakfast isn’t exactly what I’d call extensive, but that’s not really an issue as everyone I can see is having the first option on it: a ham & cheese croissant accompanied by a cup of coffee (or a little pot of tea, if you’re so inclined) and a glass of orange juice. At £3.70 I would say that it’s a steal.

A fresh, slightly flaky croissant, oozing with melting cheese and a decent slice of ham (no supermarket wafer-thin, ‘may contain horse’ here) - what could be better for a weekend breakfast? The orange juice is just perfect and the coffee too is deliciously dark and strong. Perhaps the only thing that lets the side down is the size of the coffee - although that’s potentially more of a reflection on so many trips to Starbucks and the bucket-sized mugs I normally drink from at home than the size of their cups - but that’s just me being picky.

By the end of my rather leisurely breakfast the traffic was getting a little heavier and the sound of tires on cobbles a little wearing, but that too I can hardly hold against them, as it was my choice to prop myself by a table outside.

Judging by the clientele that passed through during the time I was there, Patisserie Florentin is a hit with Stockbridge. There was a virtually non-stop trail of sleepy looking parents and Barboured-up young couples (all accompanied by black Labradors, obviously). Talking of such canine companions, I also really like that you can sit outside with your dog (or inside, if it’s small) and that you seem to be able to bring them in with you when you order. Let’s be honest, the fact that they do take away is just the icing on the cake, and if I had a dog and was ever slightly worse for wear I would head here before a long head-clearing ramble. Whilst I don’t have a dog, I have a sneaky suspicion that takeaway from here might definitely start a few walks over the coming months.

Patisserie Florentin doesn’t appear to do any marketing or advertising - and more unusually these days, no social media either - and by the look of it, there really doesn’t seem to be a need for them to start any time soon. If it is the sort of place that relies on bringing people in the door by others spreading the word (which I suspect it just might be), I am more than happy to oblige - consider yourself informed!

Have you been to Patisserie Florentin? If so, what did you think - let everyone know in the comments below.

Patisserie Florentin can be found at 5 North West Circus Place, Stockbridge

Craig (74 Posts)

Edinburgh-dwelling, baking and food-obsessed, twenty-something adventure enthusiast. Runs on liberal amounts of coffee, cheese, cake and gin; bribable with same.