Victor & Carina Contini Caffe

Just when you thought every single niche novelty possible had been wrung from the cloth of the Royal Mile, along comes Contini Caffe with a porridge bar. Yes, that's right, you heard us. A porridge bar. Sure, there's gelato on offer too, but just stop right there and consider how lucky you are to be treated to a porridge bar. Trawling down the Mile in unexpected rain and hail (despite the fact it's early August and was a heatwave thirty seconds ago)? No fear - Contini's here. With oats. and Milk.

And, if you're not overly enthusiastic about porridge, you can enjoy lunch and breakfast fare too. The cafe is spread over three floors in one of ther Old Town's most iconic buildings. It's self service and you've the option to sit in or take away - so all that's left to do is to pick your poison. And by poison, we mean porridge. And by porridge, we mean the single most comforting and substantial foods created by northen mankind.

If your appetite for the culinary genius of Victor and Carina Contini Caffe has been whet, why not check out their other venues, The Scottish Cafe and Restaurant and their new town Ristorante.

[Kate Pasola]