Festival Theatre Cafe
WHERE
Edinburgh
What it’s like
A cafe on the ground floor of the Festival Theatre for a drink, a snack or a toilet stop before or after a show.
This isn't a soft play or an activity in its own right, it's the cafe on the ground floor of the Festival Theatre, and it's worth knowing about if you're bringing kids to a matinee or an evening show. It's open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm, and closed on Sundays, so it's really a before or after-show stop rather than somewhere you'd plan a visit around.
The point of it is the waiting. An usher scans your ticket when you arrive, and if you're early the foyer, cafe and bars are where you sit tight, grab a snack, pick up a programme, or find the toilets before the auditorium doors open about half an hour before the show starts. With kids that half hour matters, it's the difference between a calm walk to your seats and a scramble at the last minute. No hot food goes into the auditorium, so anything more than a drink needs eating in the cafe or foyer first.
It's wheelchair accessible, which helps if you're juggling a pushchair as much as a wheelchair user, and there's a cloakroom too, though only at the Festival Theatre and only from an hour before the performance. Parking near the theatre is the fiddly bit: street parking's limited, and your best bets are the small car park at Nicolson Square or the bigger NCP on Holyrood Road, both a five to ten minute walk and neither one you can book ahead. If you need an accessible space in the courtyard you'll have to ring Stage Door in advance to check availability.
Facilities
Need to know
- Parking
- Limited street parking. Small 24/7 car park on Nicolson Square (5 min walk)
- Food
- Cafe with a wide range of refreshments before curtain up, during interval and post-show, including pastries, cakes, salads, sandwiches
- Getting there by bus or train
- 10 minutes walk from east end of Princes Street
- No hot food is allowed into the auditorium, so eat in the cafe or foyer beforehand
- The cloakroom only opens an hour before the performance starts
- Closed on Sundays, so don't plan a Sunday matinee stop here for food
Plan your visit
What are the opening hours?
Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm. Closed Sundays.
Can we get a proper meal there?
The cafe does pastries, cakes, salads, sandwiches and soup, plus drinks and snacks from the bars on each level.
Is there parking nearby?
Street parking is limited. There's a small car park at Nicolson Square five minutes away, and the bigger NCP on Holyrood Road about nine minutes away with disabled spaces. For accessible parking in the courtyard itself, call Stage Door on 0131 662 1112 to book.
Is it accessible with a pushchair or wheelchair?
Yes, the venue's wheelchair accessible, which works just as well for a pushchair.
When should we arrive?
The doors to the auditorium open about 30 minutes before the show starts. Turning up around then gives you enough time without a long wait.
See all Circus & Street Performance in Edinburgh · Things to do in Edinburgh
MAKE A DAY OF IT
