The White House Kitchen
I don’t often make it out to Craigmillar but I’d had the White House Kitchen on my radar for a visit for quite a while. On my way to the official opening of the Thistle Foundation’s new Centre of Wellbeing, I popped in to give it a try.

Exterior
In a signature white building, as you might expect from the name, it’s a sort of community hub with a cafe as the centrepiece.
The interior is smart and bright with elegantly stripey tables topped in a pattern I’d gladly wear as a shirt. I liked it a lot.

Soup
Ordering is at the counter then dishes are delivered to your table by the friendly and efficient staff.
Selecting from their chalkboard I started with the split pea and bacon soup then thought I’d give their macaroni cheese a whirl.

Interior
The soup arrived looking rather bonnier than I’d expected and accompanied by an excellent freshly baked brown roll. It proved one of the best soups of the year so far, with a lovely rustic texture that packed oodles of charm and smoky bacon flavour. It rightly takes its place as one of the Soupquest exceptionals.
The main course was very good, too. The macaroni cheese had a lovely bubbly cheese crust, then lots of cheesily saucy macaroni beneath. The accompanying nuggets of garlic toast were really good, too.

Macaroni cheese
So overall, I was glad to finally visit the White House Kitchen. It’s a crackin’ good place and a fabulous purveyor of smartly prepared food. The fact that it’s at the heart of one of our more deprived communities gives it an unusual context but one in which it is seems to be thriving. Make sure to visit soon; it’s worth a special trip.
Scores
Blythe scores The White House
4.5/5 for food
4/5 for presentation
4/5 for setting
4/5 for service
giving an overall 16.5/20
I ate: split pea and bacon soup, macaroni cheese
I drank: water
I wore: grey suit
Total bill: £7.30
Address: 70 Niddrie Mains Road, Edinburgh EH16 4BG
7 Comments
Yay you made it! The food here is fab; I’m rather partial to the pulled pork in their homemade bun 🙂
Yeah, the menu held many more dishes that I wanted to try. Will hopefully make it for another visit soon 🙂
Wow, I used to work at the Castle Rock Edinvar offices up there and back when I started, that place was a pub…and not the nicest one you ever saw (shutters on the windows I seem to remember!!) It’s come a long way!!
It really has – now a fantastic cafe and great community resource! 🙂