With the sun shining brightly, on a glorious Monday, I was drawn from my office by the call of lunch. Sunny Leith was my direction of choice, with the Sicilian Pastry Shop my intended destination. On my way down the road, though, my eye was caught by Café 9, so I decided to stop there, instead.

Exterior

A simple shop front tells you what you need to know: the place does sit-in; takeaway; and has free wi-fi. I was looking to exercise the middle of these options, so was soon standing at the deli counter being warmly welcomed.

From the chalkboard, I could see that today’s soup option was cream of mushroom, which sounded good to me. I paused longer over what to have as an accompaniment, eventually settling upon a roasted vegetable and mozzarella panini. I was invited to take a seat while this was prepared, which I duly did.

Soup

This gave me time to take in the surroundings, which retained the simple black and white theme of the exterior, with splashes of colour from a few carefully chosen artworks.

I was soon on my way, having been bid a cheery adieu by the super friendly staff. After a little more exposure to the glorious sunshine, it was time to settle down to the intake of my comestibles.

Interior

The panini was good, with a nice array of well-prepared vegetables, and nice mozzarella. The soup was rather better than good, with lots of rich mushroom flavour, in a well-judged, creamy broth.

So overall, I found Café 9 to be a very charming place, serving good quality grub. The amiable and diligent service was greatly appreciated, too. If you’re looking for a friendly and tasty little lunch in Edinburgh, this is definitely one place to add to your list.

Scores

Blythe scores Café 9
3.5/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
4/5 for service
3.5/5 for setting
giving an overall 14/20

Today’s quester was: Blythe

I ate: roasted vegetables and mozzarella panini, mushroom soup

I drank: nowt

I wore: maroon shirt

Total bill: £4.50