Cafe Nom De Plume

I went to café nom de plume on my own for dinner (it’s nearly five, so it can be called early-​bird dinner a single foodie girl). The café is a little off the city centre, but still has an acceptable and nice location (for me, nice location means quite easy to find it via google map as I’m a map idiot). From the outside, it has quite lovely and idyllic wooden arch. Since Christmas is approaching, the arch has lighting decoration, giving impressive to the passerby. Once entering the café, I noticed that there are only three customers who looked like regular-​visit ones. Although neither the only waitress nor the female owner said welcome or hello to me, I didn’t mind it too much. After sitting down, the waitress came to give me menu and just walked away to do her task. The restaurant-​like menu has first page of dishes of the day and normal dishes serving everyday coming after that. Although there are only four or give vegetarian and vegan dishes respectively, they all look simple but refresh. I ordered hummus of the day — red chili hummus with warm pitta bread and side salad (5.5 pounds, a little pricy at first glance for me).
It did not take too long to have hummus served. Hummus is served in a small jar, with pieces of pitta bread and side salad on each side on a rectangular plate. The red chili hummus tastes nice and not spicy at all, but I would expect it could have flavor of red chili. In comparison to hummus, I was impressed by its side salad honestly due to its honey mustard dressing. The dressing seems like home-​made, and I think it is the best salad dressing I have had in Edinburgh. It tastes not strong and greasy, quite fresh with little sweetness. The pitta bread is so-​so, maybe too soft and not warm enough. Personally I love chewy warm pitta bread accompanied with cold hummus in cold weathers because it not only keeps you stomach warm but also enrich the taste of hummus.
Generally, I would recommend café nom de plume for vegetarian friends and nacho lovers. The café actually is more famous for its nachos due to its special cheese topping on the nachos. Maybe next time I will try its main dish to see whether it’s truly on my regular-​visit restaurant list. I’ll wait and see.

After having drinks earlier my friend and I were hungry and needed dinner so we decided to come here.
It’s pretty chill laid back kind of restaurant that had a hodge-​podge of different types of dishes. They had curries to haggis and pork stew with Yorkshire pudding. They also had loads of things to snack and nibble on like nachos and sausages. I ordered the post stew with Yorkshire pudding and I was surprised how tasty it was. I wasn’t expecting it to be seasoned well and Coke out piping hot. The dish came with a small salad and a nice slice of whole wheat bread.
We were kinda in a rush cause my friend had to work but this place would be nice to chill and just have more drinks after dinner. The staff were friendly and it was cool seeing one dance to Missy Elliot… Ha!
The prices for the dishes are very reasonable… The pork dish I ordered was only £7.90. For the taste and they serving they gavel, it was well worth it! I will definitely come back to this place and try out the other dishes just to make sure it wasn’t just a good night for them.

I am not sure what went wrong on the day I visited as reading other reviews this sounded like a great place. The décor is great and quirky and the menu looked good. The gentleman that initially served us was pleasant as was the lady who took our order and served our food.
However the food was not good. Pasta bake was too wet and much too much cheese. The haggis, neeps and tatties too dry. The mince with Yorkshire pud was made from very poor quality mince and was probably just purchased from Iceland. Worst of all was, I told them I was wheat and dairy free, I checked before I started eating my food if the waitress had checked and she said she had. Well she hadn’t as I was ill later on.
I would not recommend you go here if you like good quality food

As I’m travelling alone, I was looking for a cozy place to have lunch, which would make me feel welcome and comfortable. Well, it looks like I found it! It feels like if you were eating on your own living room, facing a lovely garden, with comfy chairs. The food was exquisite. I ordered the fish pie and it satisfied my dxpectations. The cakes are also delicious and the people running the café are adorable!!! I totally reccommend it!

Sometimes the best things in life are accidental — and so it was with our discovery of Café Nom De Plume. My mother, sister and I wandered down Broughton Street in Edinburgh on a recent trip. We were actually headed to a particular spot for lunch, however on arrival discovered our target eatery wasn’t open until 4pm. So we just turned to the restaurant right next door to it — which was Café Nom De Plume. Our lunch was amazing. We opted for olives, breads, oils, hummus, pittas and nachos with vegetarian haggis (sounds weird but it was sooooo good). The food was fit for a king. Also the bottles of house white Pinot Grigio were delicious and happened to be only £12 each (thus we had two bottles — of course!). Our food was so enjoyable we thought we’d try dessert (despite our ‘diets’) and we shared a large dessert of O’Galloway ice cream. Service was attentive, helpful and delightful. An awesome relaxed café, which serves awesome food.

Broughton Street has a lovely addition with this café-​bar & eatery.
The place has an entrance adorned with plants and flowers. Inside there is a wooden home bar and kitchen entrance.
You will notice the LGBT theme — more so in the washrooms. But it is not overly done so.
The cosy corners and the few tables create a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere. So does the background music. They serve a selection of favourite drinks, teas, coffees, juices, beers and spirits.
Beside that there is also an opportunity to eat some food. I saw some giant Yorkshire puddings filled with mince (or haggis?)
The waiting staff was friendly and helpful when needing to make a choice.
A good touch is the supply of free condoms in the Ladies & Gents washrooms. That is of course to encourage safe sex practises — but not just for the gay community.
I felt at ease and relaxed and it is good getaway on a Saturday afternoon to have a little chat and a drink.
Nothing too special, but very restful.

I love this place!
It’s cosy, The walls are indeed yellow, but not bright enough to blind you :-)
There are books all over the place, neatly stuffed into shelves. So if you ever feel bored, or want to take some time for yourself, go there, have some coffee and read some books.
The place is also suitable for dating, as the lights are dimmed, which gives the surroundings a warm notion.
Yes, indeed, the place has a homely feel to it. The seating areas offer chairs as well as couches. Take your pick.
The food was ok. It was nothing special. I believe I had some nachos and coffee and both were fine for the price I paid. Neither a good nor healthy combination, but I was in the mood… The waiters were all very friendly and chatty.
Check out the toilets and you can also take a souvenir, especially when you have run out…(not telling what it is ;-))

Decided to grab a bite here on someone’s recommendation. Nothing overly fancy on the menu, just some hearty home style food. Well impressed with the giant yorkshire pud almost the size of D’s dinner plate! I went for the fish pie as it’s something I quite enjoy eating but never seem to actually make at home. Not sure if our server was new or just couldn’t understand us, but there was much pointing at the menu when we ordered. Aside from that, he was friendly, food was good. Am looking forward to going back to try the Chilli Dogs!

Chilled, cheap and cheerful.
We were Leithwards on one of our ‘somewhere new’ quests and were taken in by the colourful display outside Café Nom De Plume.
I’ve only sampled their coffee, which is acceptable and served with a delicious biscuit. I could smell what was cookin’ however, and it smelled gooood.
The café itself is two rooms with a vestibule (type thingy) joining them. Cheery yellow walls and cosy window seats make it comfortable and you could easily lose an afternoon chatting. It kind of reminds me of my Nana’s kitchen (but in a good way.)
Although, funny story, it’s not soap in the basket in the women’s bathrooms (Sara should read packets before assuming everything is soap) which would have been horrifying had it been my Nana’s house.
I’ll be back to take advantage of the bar and food, no doubt, but this was a great place to while away part of a cheerful afternoon.
I have lost all ability to spell recently…

I could see myself spending rather a lot of time in Nom de Plume, over the coming months, as its relaxed, welcoming style really charmed me. It stays open until 11pm, serves a nice range of boozes, and their extensive menu is packed with tempting dishes.
Overall, we said: «I was very impressed with Café Nom de Plume. It serves an excellent range of dishes, caters well for vegans and vegetarians, and has a warm and welcoming feel to the place. I’ll be back, and I have a feeling I’ll be back often, not least to catch up on all the latest goings-​on in The Spurtle. And there are so many other dishes on their menu that I want to give a whirl.»

My flatmates come here a lot and, this weekend, I decided to join them.
The café itself was cosy and homely and, although it seems small from the front, there is a whole other section to the back of the building overlooking a nice garden.
The clientele were a mixed bunch of couples, older and younger folk and students whiling away an hour with a good book (Incidentally, there is a large book shelf filled with books and table games which you are encouraged to use… good selection too!)
The menu had a good mix of dishes, with both meat-​eaters and vegetarians well catered for, at a fairly reasonable price. My french onion soup, with a lovely cheesy croûton on top, was exceptional tasty and my friends bean stew looked delicious.
The only problem we had was with a veggie chilli that looked and tasted suspiciously like a beef chilli. Now, my friend is not a vegetarian so wasn’t too concerned, but as a veggie myself… I would have sent it straight back!
Our waitor did check with the kitchen, but wasn’t particularly reassuring about it all, and didn’t seem to believe me when I explained that ‘veggie’ mince and ‘meaty’ mince are two entirely different things (and I’ll happily argue that point with any veggie that thinks they taste the same!)
The staff weren’t particularly friendly today (especially when dealing with questions about beef!) however, I’ve been reliably informed they are normally quite chatty and helpful.
Overall, a nice wee spot to stop in if you’re ever in this part of town.

Nice, nice nice. Food, karma, Décor and staff. Returned here and having visited the dirtiest toilets i have encountered anywhere reverse by previous review especiall having seen the «Chef Colin «carrying up frozen boxes, during a quite chatty conversation he was able to inform me it was great as one didn’t need more than one cook and they served it up as pub grub in their other establishment…

I popped in for coffee one Saturday and ended up having a very memorable french onion soup. Friend had the lentil. Also good.
Its a very relaxing place to go and chill out. Staff are very attentive.

Café Nom De Plume is essentially two comfortable sitting rooms with ample seating and a nice, cosy atmosphere. The highlight of this place, for me at least, is the price and qaulity of the food. Starters are only £2 and their chicken broth soup of the day was delicious and filling, served with plenty of warm, fresh bread. Their main courses looked tasty also, with bagels, toasties and pasta dishes costing only about £6 each. They also have plenty of vegetarian options ot choose from so no matter what you eat you won’t go hungry.
My only criticism is that the service was a little slow when I was in despite it not being that busy. Nonetheless, Café Nom De Plume has great style, an good mix of customers and decent food on top of this.

A really chilled out little place, where everyone is really friendly. While not exclusively a gay café, I hear it’s popular within the scene.
The food is nice and cheap and they have a better selection of booze than I would imagine. They sell some of the «rare» ciders, definitely worth a trip if that’s your thing. The best part of experience is probably most eclectic music play list I’ve ever heard.
I know the Jane’s review said that this place is LGBT friendly, and it is. But shouldn’t all places be? Time to grow up Scotland.

I felt very comfortable as soon as I walked into Nom de Plume, probably because it reminded me of my living room; the sort of place I’d happily sit for hours… Nice, but very unpretentious. They have table service (a novelty in cafes nowadays), free wifi, good coffee and friendly staff. I’ve yet to try the food but it certainly looked good– I’ll be back.

This is a great little gem of a café/​restaurant which is LGBT friendly and has a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. The bar has a good stock of beers and ciders as well as wine, the menu is varied and very reasonably priced. Nom de Plume gives real value for money with some amazing food — had the best Christmas dinner ever in there this year.
If you want some great food served by friendly staff in a relaxed atmosphere this is the place to go.