The Elephant House - Edinburgh

 

After a beautiful , but strange train ride, Dan and I arrived in in Edinburgh, Scotland just before noon. The countryside and ocean views from our window were amazing, as was the family of 8 adults that sat right in front of us. They boarded the train at 9 AM in York, with 2 bags of beer and what I can only assume was more in their bellies. They were loud and obnoxious and after a couple of hours we were finally able to move seats and enjoy the scenery.
We checked into our hotel, a Marriott Residence Inn, which was new and modern with an amazing view. Dan did not even consider changing rooms! We journeyed out into the blustery, cold to see the sites and get a bite to eat before our tour of the underground city of Mary King's Close. We came across The Elephant House and liked the vibe and the menu, so we decided to eat here. The staff was friendly, young  and efficient and helped you to find a seat and brought the food out when it was ready. Both of us ordered a Chorizo, Pesto and Mozzarella Panini that came with a side salad, Dan had a pot of tea and I enjoyed the wonderful Mallow Delight. The Mallow Delight turned out to be a wonderful hot chocolate covered in a mound of whipped cream and marshmallows. The food was good and just what we needed to get started. In fact, we liked it so much that we returned on Monday afternoon for a late lunch before our train ride back to Leeds. This time Dan ordered the same thing, but I ordered the Bacon and Brie Baked Potato. The potato was very good, with that brie gently melting into the warm potato and the English version of bacon.

When I used the restroom on the first visit, I noticed the walls were covered in Harry Potter graffiti. I thought it odd, but they were all nice and a lot of them were thanking J.K Rowling for writing the books. I did not think much about it after that, but last night Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire came on the telly and I remembered the graffiti. I went over to the computer to look it up and found out that J.K Rowling spent some time here writing her books. That explained all of the graffiti and young people taking pictures out front! Harry Potter or no, it was a very nice place to eat and warm up from the cold.
They are located at 21 George IV Bridge Edinburgh EH1 1EN  www.elephanthouse.biz .