The Early Bird
I’d been to visit The Early Bird at the heart of Tollcross shortly after it opened, just a little while back. It struck me as a friendly little please but I wasn’t super taken with their coffee, so made a note to revisit. On a brisk Saturday I popped in for a second look.

Exterior
The place has been smartly refit in quite a classic coffee shop aesthetic. The detailing is stylish with a particularly amusing dog light fitting.
On the first occasion I’d tried their “bold roast” which was a lighter roasted blend – roasted locally, but I’m not sure by whom. It hadn’t packed much punch so this time I tried their dark roast.

Coffee
It was a well made espresso in the Italian roast style. That isn’t really my bag but I recognised that it would have a reasonably broad appeal.
I should come back when looking for a feed as some of their grub options looked tempting, particularly their chimney cakes.
So overall, Early Bird looks to be a smart new cafe and was abuzz with appreciative punters when I visited. The coffee didn’t quite hit the mark for me, but I’ll be back to give it another go and to see what their food is like.
Address: 39 Home Street, Edinburgh EH3 9JP