JoJo’s Danish Bakery

Before turning GF I used to come here quite frequently for a better value alternative to the pastries over at Peter’s yard. Here the cinnamon whirls, vanilla crowns and fruit danishes are MASSIVE. If you eat one for breakfast, it should keep of hunger until lunch time.
The interior is really cute, boasting a very rustic setting of pine furniture and almost decorative loaves of freshly baked bread. There aren’t that many places around the royal mile which offer great fresh food in an independent bakery.
The lady who owns and runs this business is very nice and friendly, and quite happy to offer suggestions. She runs cupcake and bread making classes, both of which I have heard great things about.
The only issues? It is not often open, I have gone past hopefully many times before and been disappointed. Then of course, they don’t cater for coeliacs so I can’t go back :(May go back to buy my boyfriend a pastry though, he studies Scandinavian studies and English so anything Danish, Swedish or Norwegian seems very exciting.

Can I ‘update’ my review with another 5 stars. Because it’s beyond absolutely necessary.
Myself and 5 friends booked ourselves a bread making class. Most of us had attempted bread, with varying results, from time to time and we wanted some tips and tricks to improve our skillz. When we saw the class in Jojo’s was half price we got ourselves together and booked a lesson.
Seriously fun. The teacher made it feel like we were just a bunch of friends hanging out baking bread. Some of us even popped out for wine halfway through! We had a spectacular amount of fun laughing and joking and generally having a great time, in parallel to baking two different kinds of bread. One type was a basic bread recipe so that we could get to grips to the fundamentals and learn a few techniques. The other was a more specific Italian bread which was slightly different but definitely showed us how we could apply our new skills. We were taught how to alter these recipes to our liking and the problems we were likely to run into. Suddenly it was 10:30! We didn’t feel the time go by at all.
I really can’t recommend these classes enough. And if you do go try a cupcake. NOM!

Now, I love to bake… it’s relaxing, good fun and makes my flat smell like warm vanilla sponges! So my lovely family decided to indulge my love, and teach me some new skills. I therefore found myself at Jo Jo’s Danish Bakery on a rainy, Thursday night attending a Cupcake Decorating class.
Jo Jo’s run these classes regularly and cover cupcake baking and decorating, bread making and chocolate skills (we were shown some of the finished chocolates from this class and they looked amazing!). My class came courtesy of a Groupon voucher, but the classes are 2.5 hours and cost about £60. For this you have lots of fun, learn loads of new skills and get 6 decorated cupcakes to take home in a pretty box!
Our teacher, Rachel, was a bubbly, enthusiastic baker who led the class well and was keen to show us as much as she could pack into the time. She was happy to go over any questions we had, and help us problem-​solve our bakery disasters!
The class itself was a group of around 14 and, despite the fact I was the only one there on my own, everyone was happy to blether away and have a laugh. Jo Jo’s are also happy if you want to bring a bottle of wine to have over the course of the night… none of us did… but its a great idea for a girly night! (although the quality of the decorating may be compromised after a couple of glasses!)
The bakery is a lovely space with lots of yummy, looking pastries packed away for the next day. It was cosy, extremely homely and we all felt very relaxed!
I had a great night here and would happily go back for another class, in the meantime I will definitely be making a trip back to Jo Jo’s to while away an afternoon eating delicious pastries!

I wrote a review a couple of weeks back but having had time to reflect realised that I was perhaps a little harsh. One delete button later and I think I’m in a better place to give a more considered opinion.
First off I think the idea of a Danish café selling freshly made produce is a good concept. I’m not exactly sure what a Danish café should look like but the owner was really motivated by the dream of bringing a little corner of Denmark to an otherwise fairly bleak area of Edinburgh.
When we arrived the café was empty — it was mid-​morning on a dull Thursday and I needed something sweet and flakey to get me through to lunch time. A chocolate flake could have been the answer but decided I’d opt for an apple Danish and a steaming cup of coffee. I was slightly disappointed by the range of pastries, but perhaps was being unrealistic — think I wanted a range of pastries alphabetically catalogued and covering a couple of tray-​lined walls. Never the less, the apple number I chose was great and certainly led to an upturned frown. The coffee could have been hotter but wasn’t a bad brew.
The owner mentioned a Danish baker was heading over to start the bread production going so daresay I’ll be back.

Oh dear lord this place is heavenly!!!
I turned up on an early tuesday afternoon to be the only person there, I love it when that happens! I walked in and was actually gobsmacked by the display they have! Apple Danish, Custard Danish, Raspberry Danish, Cupcakes, some traditional Danish Pastry that kinda looks like a Pain Au Chocolat, Chocolate Truffles, those thin Slices of different flavoured chocolate (technicalities of the name have slipped my mind, mainly due to trying to take it all in!) I was warmly welcomed by the guy behind the counter and ordered myself a apple danish, cappuccino, and two little chocolate truffles, what a pie, I know.
I took a seat, and did not have to wait long before my mid-​afternoon treat arrived. It did give me a chance to take in the surroundings of this place — SO cute. Little danish flags on the tables, by the looks of it they mismatch crockery, I don’t know why but I love that! And the lighting is spot on, it totally sets a nice relaxed and cosy atmosphere. They have little candles on every table and only a few actual lights which are not painful on the eye, it is so very homely.
Then comes the pastry — I could have eaten a dozen! The coffee was nice and served in a good sized cup. And the chocolate truffles were delish, I am suprised at how much flavour they had in them, especially the milk chocolate mulled wine one, an early festive kickstart!
So, I think this place is great. Reasonable prices, good service, a wide selection of sweet delights, plus from what I could gather they do savoury things around lunch. All round winner.

How can Jo Jo’s Danish Bakery have no reviews on Unilocal so far?!
It’s a Danish Bakery, baking its own fresh Danish cakes, pastries and savouries. It’s food. It’s good. It’s totally nom-​able. It’s a cute little café just off the Royal Mile that’s a wee bit different. If you haven’t, go!
Tucked just on a side street, near Pleasance, off the Royal Mile I noticed Jo Jo’s opening earlier this year. I know she has been selling her home-​made Danish cakes at the Farmer’s Market and other fairs, like the Foodies Festival, and they always looked amazing.
It is too cruel that I pass it everyday after the gym so one day I just had to give in, and went in for a cardamon bun as big as my face. Literally. Look at the photos I uploaded.
I actually only managed half, and saved the rest for the later. But oh boy that was goooood. They do croissants, cakes, danish pastries (no surprises) that are so fresh, home-​made and oozing with flavour, light pastry, buttery, sugary goodness. The savoury tarts /​quiche type things looked lovely too.
The café is a really cute space, and the server told me they do a games night on a Wednesday too that sounds like fun.
I will need to go back again to try a croissant next time I think. If you like fresh, baked cakes (who doesn’t?!) and perhaps fancy a pastry-​brunch or afternoon snack (as big as your face) then definitely seek out Jo Jo’s!

Delicious pastries and good sourdough bread both make this place worthwhile.
The coffee is excellent and the tea is good. Not cheap, but it’s just off the Royal Mile nowhere is cheap around here.
Jojo also sells her pastries and her bread at Edinburgh Farmers Market. a bit cheaper than in the shop.

I got Groupon vouchers to go to this place but had already heard good things about it so was really looking forward to going, however, I was a bit disappointed. It could have been because Hubby and I were the only people in the place but there was absolutely no atmosphere whatsoever. It was very clean and the lady who served us was pleasant enough but it was all a bit sterile. The coffee was good, if you like strong coffee, because it would have raised the dead but, having heard great things about their cupcakes, the best I can manage is that they were average! Frankly, I’ve had better off the shelf in Asda and, to be really honest, it was fairly obvious they had been sitting out all morning because they were just a little dry. I have more vouchers for this place but am going to pass them on because, really… it’s not worth the effort.