Elephant House in Edinburgh, City of

It's worth stopping by for some pictures and a spooky drink. They had food upstairs, but we didn’t go up to eat. The staff were super friendly.

The Elephant House, located in Edinburgh, Scotland, has gained worldwide fame as the place where J.K. Rowling spent time writing much of her early Harry Potter novels. This cozy café offers a warm, inviting atmosphere, making it a popular spot for both locals and tourists. Beyond its connection to the Harry Potter series, The Elephant House serves a variety of delicious dishes and beverages, from coffee and tea to cakes and meals. The café also boasts beautiful views of Edinburgh Castle, adding to its charm. With its rich literary history and welcoming vibe, The Elephant House is a must-visit for fans of the series and anyone looking for a pleasant café experience in Edinburgh.

Wrong address in their we site to begin with. The original address is connected with HP, new address is Victoria Street which would be associated with Diagon Alley. Their Facebook states they are pet friendly, they aren't- this needs to be updated. Disappointing for ASD son due to misleading information.

Amazing view and atmosphere!! Coffee coming very quick! Totally recommended! but shop is actually located in Victoria street. Please be careful.

Just so so. Don’t like the desert, too sweet

This is the original Elephant House, which JK Rowling frequented when writing her book. Since then a fire made this place shut down and open a new red cafe right in the middle of Victoria Street. 'Miraculously the table which was JK's favourite spot to write at survived the fire and is now in the new location.' - said my tour guide

The Bailey's & hot chocolate drink is TO DIE FOR! super cute cafe, great for brooding if you can get a window seat

Avoid this tourist trap. Incredibly overpriced for low quality. I tried the "Butterscotch Beer" since it's marketed as being the real like equivalent of Butterbeer of Harry Potter fame. It's just cream soda. Nothing buttery, nothing like beer. Cold straight out the fridge. On the back it says "Cream Soda flavoured soft drink with sweetener" so it's not even real cream soda!

I was lucky to visit this place without too many people. The Apple Pie was excellent. It’s impressive to see the photos of JK Rowling and the table that was used for writing HP.

The „birthplace“ of Harry Potter. Nice atmosphere overall. The ciabatta was no real ciabatta bread, more like a panini but still tasted good. We ordered a bacon & tomato roll, got one with bacon & sausage instead. Coffee was okay but nothing special. The first waitress was really nice, her co-worker seemed to have a bad day.

Perfectly fine. Delicious food at a good price. Nice service.

It's in another spot because of a fire that happened a couple years ago

Quite disappointed, though I had low expectations. Went there while on a trip, not out of Potter-mania so I didn't expect much when getting in this "quaint" little place open on Victoria Street for now. It's really beautiful, though beware the steps, you might fall over once at the top! But seriously, £8 for the "Butterscotch Beer" when you can get the exact same thing for four times less and twice the amount in a classic souvenir shop... Apparently it is also widely known but I expected everything from plain butter with a hint of beer or the contrary, a slightly creamy beer. NOT AT ALL! Mere sugar in a cool looking drink, because the only advantage in all of this "sugar with a hint of water" was the Instagram potential of it. Looks good, does not taste good at all for someone past the age of 10.

Wonderful place with great service!

I didn't like the establishment. To start, we ordered Caesar. It was terrible. It's not tasty. They forgot to put in the chicken. Then they added it, but the chicken was terrible. Weathered, dry. And the salad costs £17. This was the worst salad I've eaten in Edinburgh. I don't recommend the place. Apart from the story that Julianne Rowling wrote Harry Potter in it, there is nothing else. Just a minus. The beer is not bad.

Edinburgh is a famous place of pilgrimage for Harry Potter fans. The Elephant House Cafe is undoubtedly Edinburgh's most famous Harry Potter attraction. JK Rowling spent a lot of time in this unusual cafe while writing the first Harry Potter story. The cafe itself is nothing special, but it's worth noting the intriguing Harry Potter-themed graffiti in the toilets

Very disappointing, a common ham sandwich, toast, 2 canned beers and a dessert for 63 euros? Excessive price for more than average food, only the dessert was ok (apple tart)

I went and it was under construction...

Mikayla the waitress was so lovely. Am absolute credit to this place!! Thank you :)

Great! Good food and lovely place.

Two stars because it’s a cute location and space but definitely a tourist trap. Prices too high and bad food, besides try to charge you excessive tipping. Also, nothing HP on the decoration, menu, nothing magical about it.

Fechado provisóriamente , só compra bebida na porta e sai, foi meio frustrante porque pra quem é fã da saga de Harry Potter aí é a lanchonete que a escritora terminou o primeiro livro e da vista pro cemitério onde ela se inspirou em alguns nomes para dar ao personagens

They are open, just on Victoria street. Went in for a quick slice of cake and Scottish coffee. Both were lovely. I was rushing to get a slice of cake for my birthday as I was visiting Edinburgh with my family for my birthday. It's new year's eve, most places closed and no cake. So I was rather lucky. Their purple velvet cake was really nice.

Sitio extremadamente caro y el personal malisimo,una cerveza en lata 6€

They are moved to the Vitoria street. Cozy place, average drinks but very good service. Good place to stop by, sit in front of some windows and think about how the author wrote the 📖

A quanto pare ciò che è riportato sopra la porta d'ingresso non è vero, ma la certezza matematica non ce l'ha proprio nessuno. Quello che di sicuro so dirvi è che al momento del mio passaggio (fine Ottobre 2023) il locale era ancora chiuso alla clientela.

Obviously due to recent events this place is currently closed, but still a good place to get a photo out front.

cafe where JK Rowling wrote parts of her Harry Potter books cannot reopen because the building's owner has gone into liquidation, the BBC understands. The Elephant House cafe was one of several properties badly damaged in a blaze on George IV Bridge in Edinburgh in August 2021.

OK, es hat gebrannt, irgendwann... und das war sicher traurig, aber das ist nun schon Jahre her. Während unseres Besuches gab es nicht die geringsten Anzeichen, dass dort gearbeitet wurde. Mit einer baldigen Wiedereröffnung dieses eigentlich ikonischen Ortes würde ich als Besucher daher nicht so bald rechnen.

Sadly closed due to a fire - no signs of when it may reopen.

A really cool spot!! Definitely would recommend stopping by to visit if you're in Edinburgh!

Pour les fans de la Saga Harry Potter le jeune sorcier de l'école de Poudlard. Ce pub n'est certainement pas un repère caché pour les disciples de Lord Voldemort. Mais ici l'auteure J.K. Rowling est venue composer ce qui sera une fantastique aventure pour Harry. Malheureusement le café est pour l'heure fermé car il a subi un incendie. Mais que les fans se rassurent car il n'a pas complètement disparu.

just closed because of fire :((

Currently closed for renovation after a fire. Was here a couple of years ago while in Edinburgh. Great cappucino and sandwiches. Also has a spectacular view of the castle. Highly recommend it for anyone visiting Edinburgh.

Al juliol de 2023 està tancat perquè hi va haver un incendi i s'ha de reformar.

nice place to visit for a harry potter fan!

Leider war dieses mal geschlossen aber vor vier Jahren war ich drin. Ein absoluter Muss für Harry Potter Fans.

glad to have chance to visit this amazing place where harry potter was created by JK Rowling

O lugar está fechado há um ano e continua ativo aqui no Google

Too much noise but food is very good for a resonable price. In response to the comment below, we were there in 2018 ;)

Looking forward to seeing you back in business again.

Jak wielką fanką Harrego Pottera nie mogłam odpuścić sobie tego miejsca, będąc w Edynburgu 😃 W dniu odwiedzić miejsce to było zamknięte,natomiast pamiątka pozostanie na zawsze😊 Miejsce to znajduje się niedaleko cmentarza , z którego autorka czerpała inspiracje😊

Пришли посмотреть это знаменитое место в июне 2022 г. Но оно было закрыто. Оказывается в нем случился пожар, кафе пострадало и теперь закрыто . Поэтому оценить еду и атмосферу заведения не получилось.

Ist temporär geschlossen. Laut Coldmirror soll es sich aber auch nicht lohnen.

Harry Potter book wasn’t written here. See karma, and the shop got burned down by fire. Just read how impolite they owner respond to negative reviews. Stop lying and make a decent business, maybe then you might succeed. Too greedy about money.

This place is just local tourist trap :) they are proclaiming to be "birthplace" of Harry Potter but they are not :) JK rowling said that she has been there once or twice after first book has been already published :) real birthplace is not there :) was that fire your Karma?

Très belle vue depuis le restaurant, la nourriture est bonne et pas très chère

Shame it was closed due to a fire. Worth a visit if you’re a Harry Potter fan! Will have to visit when it re-opens.

Pas possible de le visiter il est fermé

Interesting place. Until recently it was closed. (month of February '22). Not that impressive.

Food was mediocre but nice to see where the HP books were written

Foi onde iniciou a escrita do Harry Potter, mas encontrava de fechado. VALE o registro em frente.

4일 에든버러있었는데 다 휴일.. 그냥 인연이 아닌가봐.. ;(

متحمسين ندخل. بس للاسف كان مغلق لصيانه

Sławna kawiarnia, w której JK Rowling napisała swoją pierwszą powieść o Harrym Potterze mieści się na George |\/ Bridge ( moście Św Jerzego) w Edynburgu. Niestety nieczynna z powodu zeszłorocznego pożaru jaki wybuchł na moście.

Schönes Haus, das Café ist leider geschlossen

Imprescindible para los fans de Harry

注文してから３０分ほど待ちましたが、遅かったため店員に確認したところ忘れてたと言われさらに２０分ほど待ちました。 ウエイターが２人ほどなので、回転率は悪いです。2度と来ないでしょう。

Esta cerrado por un incendio en el edificio de al lado. Aún así, es un lugar obligado para los fanáticos de Harry Potter, ya que JK Rowling escribió algunos capítulos de Harry Potter en él.

Una hermosa experiencia desayunar en el lugar que vio nacer a Harry Potter. Aunque el lugar no es propiamente temático de la saga, hay ciertos guiños a la misma. ¡Es una visita obligada para cualquier fan que ande por los rumbos!

Purtroppo é ancora chiuso, ma é comunque fantastico farsi una foto con scritto “the birthplace of Harry Potter”. Spero riapri al più presto, un’abbraccio a tutto lo staff. A vada Kedavra!

Só consegui ver por fora, por causa do incêndio que houve.

It was one of the few cafes in Edinburgh that was open very early in the morning (I get up pretty early). I enjoyed the quietness of this cafe at opening time, when it was not yet overrun with tourists, and I loved the great view on the castle from that table by the window that I liked so much. Their delicious scones with clotted cream and jam were perfect to start the day. When I arrived at 07:15 am last week and found the door closed, I had a bad feeling... and when I read their announcement about the fire in their establishment, my heart broke into a million pieces. Our house also caught fire, I know what a traumatic event that is. I wish you a speedy return to us, as you are my favourite café! Hopefully you'll be open again when I come back to Edinburgh :) For those who leave 1 star or 2 because the café is closed: consider yourself lucky that it wasn't your house that caught fire...

Sad to see it closed, but that obviously not their fault due to a devastating fire so I’m not leaving a bad review like some of these people. A great stop to look at all the same, and will definitely have to come back when they open back up. Very cool location and surrounding area as well. Worth a visit for both Harry Potter fans and people close by.

la verdad más por su historia que otra cosa el servicio más o menos y el café pues nada del otro mundo.

ハリポタファンはエジンバラ城→教会→このカフェという王道ルートがおすすめです！！ 友人が飲んでたホットチョコが美味しかったです。私が飲んでたのはハズレでした。笑

Fermer jusqu'à août Juste vu l extérieur

Still closed as of May 2022. As I was skimming through some of the past reviews I was honestly shocked, like WOW! Since when it’s ok to publicly show dislike based on this place hosting some amount of ppl coming from a certain racial background… I don’t see any problem if anyone any color, a fan or not, wants to stop by this place and enjoy… I mean for those who made a fuss, what about you just ignore them, like you always do, if their existence somewhat mysteriously causes some disturbance to you? Jesus..

Zur Zeit leider nach Brand geschlossen. Sieht auch nicht so aus, als würde dort gebaut werden. Schade!

Harry Potter'ın doğduğu yer. The birthplace of Harry Potter.

They closed due to a fire August 24th of 2021, so I only got to see the outside. It looks really cool from the pictures; & if I got a chance to come back when it’s open I would.

The Elephant House is a regular stop for Harry Potter fans and long bore a sign declaring itself as the “birthplace” of the fictional young wizard. The café was also once frequented by a number of other now famous writers such as Ian Rankin and Alexander McCall-Smith. It’s important to note that this place suffered smoke and water damage after a blaze broke out at the patisserie next door and it remains closed until now.

Hier hat J.K. Rowling Teile von Harry Potter erfunden und Ideen gesammelt.

We walked here to find it boarded up with a sign out saying close for foreseeable future due to a fire

Ein absolutes Muss für Harry Potter Fans. Wenn man hier einen Platz ergattern kann dann den tollen Kuchen kosten. Chocolate Fudge ist super. Ich war schon 2015 das erste Mal hier und auch wenn es ein Touristen hotspott ist , komme ich immer wieder gerne vorbei

We stood 5 minutes to be ignored by 4 staff in front of us standing and looking indifferent. We were then sat at the table. for the nex 10min we saw no waiter and my friend went and grabbed one after short deliberation. It was evening and the place wasn't busy at all. We ordered some tea, and since the pizzas were small (i asked the waitress) we just ordered tea for 3 people and 1 hot chocolate. They arrived 25 minutes later. We said thank you and good bye on our way out but no one answered. It is a typical place with overpriced menu and poor service which is always full of people (mainly from Asia) who travelled to see stuff linked with Harry Potter. They will always have steady queue of mass of tourists and simply don't care. My other friends said the same abut this place. Go elsewhere, explore and get the real spirit of autentic Edinburgh and its charming cafeterias. Leave your opinions to help others make balanced decision.

Excelent place to grabe a bite in an incredible atmosphere

مقهى مشهور ومزدحم جدا لان مؤلفة هاري بورتر كانت تقضي وقتها هنا اثناء كتابة رواية هاري بورتر لديهم القهوة لذيذة والحلى كذلك عام 2018

Really good food ,plus J.K.Rowllong was writing hire

Está cerrado por un incendio ocurrido hace tiempo y no tiene pinta de que vuelvan a abrirlo.

🇬🇧 While it's now known that this isn't Harry Potter's real birthplace (as stated by J.K. Rowling), this venue is full of magic. The atmosphere is beautiful, the decor is really welcoming and it's great to be able to eat a piece of cake while admiring Edinburgh Castle from the window. However, it remains true that some Harry Potter chapters have been written here and being able to see some memorabilia and dedications from fans is still nice. Fair prices, good cakes and interesting drinks. 🇮🇹 Anche se è ormai risaputo che questo non è il vero luogo di nascita di harry potter (come dichiarato da J.K. Rowling), questo locale è pieno di magia. L'atmosfera è bellissima, l'arredamento è davvero accogliente ed è fantastico poter mangiare una fetta di torta ammirando il castello di Edimburgo dalla finestra. Resta comunque vero che alcuni capitoli di Harry Potter sono stati scritti qui e poter vedere alcuni cimeli e dediche dei fan è comunque bello. Prezzi giusti, torte buone e bevande interessanti.

A legendary place. On a table in the corner J.K. Rowling was writing a book. Delicious coffee and desserts. Do not forget to take a pencil with you, it will come in handy Легендарное место. За столиком в углу Джоан Роулинг писала книгу. Вкусный кофе и десерты. Не забудьте взять в собой карандаш, он Вам пригодится.

Var aldrig inne, men coolt att se "birthplace of Harry Potter"

Estar na cafeteria onde nasceu Harry Potter foi um sonho realizado.

Sajnos tömeg van, viszont Harry Potter rajongóknak fontos állomás. A sütemények nagyon finomak. Türelemre mindenképp szükség van.

Famous for the author J.K.Rowling going there and getting her ideas for Harry potter great for coffee teas and simply the expierience also there is Bobby Greyfriars !

Loved it - as always! So sorry it may be weeks before I can return...

UNDER ATTACK BY THE DARK WIZARDS! Muggles beware!

I'm sorry to see this place devastated in blaze... I wish owners to quick reopen this great place.

Daughter was chuffed, but no chance of getting in

This is one of my favorite cafés in Edinburgh. Not only is the food consistently good, and is the service excellent, but in the back room you get a beautiful view of the Edinburgh Castle. Add to this the fact that J. K. Rowling wrote some of the Harry Potter books here, and you have a magical place. I’ve been here numerous times and I will be back again and again.

I was lucky to visit during the early evening, we stayed until they were closing because the ambiance was so perfect. The alleged birthplace of Harry Potter was enchanting. Great coffee, I would suggest the whiskey coffee & victoria sponge (pictured). Thank you for a lovely experience :)

Menu lacked choice. Maybe that can be misinterpreted. There was choice, but most was strange and weird combination offerings and for a coffee shop. Got the feeling it was trying to hard to be more like a restaurant. Had fish cakes “chips” and salad. Not much fish in the fish cakes, the chips were wedges that weren’t cooked and were hard and the salad had way too much dressing on. Maybe they should stick to serving coffee and cakes. We were asked if everything was alright with the food literally as we were chewing our first bite (she’d served us, went to get drinks for the table next to us and asked) the next time she came over was after we’d been finished for 5 minutes. I was offered another portion of “chips” but I was leaving, the meal was done and didn’t want to wait for chips. They obviously thought that offer was enough as no refund was offered. I think they get by on the tourism from the Potter connection judging by the extensive Chinese translation on the menu. I regretted not going to Valeries next door.

Our train was delayed a few hours so we had a quick afternoon in Edinburgh. We were delighted to find this place after visiting greyfriars bobby. Probably the lucky nose led us here! The staff served us quickly as we were rushing back for the train. Great coffee and cakes, interesting and clean interior. Recommended.

Overrated. Overcrowded, busy, incredibly slow service, and not very smart seating (to say the least). They would consistently first ignore people waiting to be seated despite tables clearly available, and then give people the wrong size seat! In the space of five minutes, one individual was given a table for four, we (a group of four) were given a table for six (despite the aforementioned table for four available in the corner), and another group of four were given a table for two! Shocking seating. Food was very plain and unimpressive; definitely not worth the price. The wrap tasted like it was made with frozen meat, and the cheesecake was room temperature. Overall definitely do not recommend visiting - there are much better cafés available nearby.

OK so we passed this place on our coach trip to Edinburgh, and it was pointed out that some parts of Harry Potter were created here, so as a fan I thought I would pop in for a visit. Enjoyed an acholic hot chocolate, but the lack of a fifth star was down to the atmosphere, it seemed nice overall, but a little busy and stilted, so left pretty quickly. Nice drink, warmed me a little.

จุดกำเนิดของแฮร์รี่ พอตเตอร์ ⚡ birthplace of harry potter

Such a lovely place meals good plus side j k Rolling wrought her books

As other reviewers have mentioned, this is a great spot for Harry Potter fans but there are definitely other cafes in the area with the same or better quality food and service but far less busy. Worth a stop for fans though or if you pass it on a “slower” day!

Very tasty food, excellent environment but too expensive, tips included and the service wad average. The staff should be more polite.