Roseleaf sits on Sandport Place in Leith, a corner spot a short walk from The Shore and the Water of Leith, tucked into a residential pocket of Edinburgh's old port. It has run since 2007 as a bar cafe rather than a straight pub, and the room reads that way: mismatched vintage furniture, hats and bric-a-brac on the walls, and menus pasted into old National Geographic magazines.
Who would love it: anyone who wants character over polish, a long brunch that drifts into afternoon drinks, or a cocktail served in a teapot without a hint of irony. Who might not: a visitor after a sleek, minimal cocktail bar, because the charm here is deliberately cluttered and homespun.
The signature is the pot-tail. Roseleaf serves cocktails in chintzy vintage teapots meant to be poured into teacups and shared, a quirk that has followed the bar through years of reviews. Time Out singles out the teapot cocktails as the thing to order, and Tripadvisor reviewers return to them again and again.
Beyond the pot-tails, the drinks list leans local. There are real ales with an emphasis on Scottish breweries, a tidy wine list, an unusually long fresh-juice selection for a bar, and a spirits range that rewards a slow afternoon. The kitchen runs all day, with a brunch menu from 10am to 5pm and an evening bistro menu from 5pm to 10pm, so the room shifts from coffee-and-eggs to drinks-and-plates without a hard line between the two.
Priya Nair's read: treat Roseleaf as a destination for the atmosphere as much as the drinks. Order a pot-tail for the table, settle into a corner, and let the afternoon stretch. It was named best restaurant and cafe in Leith in a 2022 local poll, and that neighborhood loyalty is the truest measure of the place.
The crowd is a Leith mix of locals, brunch regulars and visitors who walked over from The Shore. It runs relaxed and conversational rather than loud, family-friendly by day and warmer in the evening once the bistro menu and the teapots come out. Weekend brunch is the busiest service, so a booking helps.
The space is small and characterful, spread across a couple of cosy rooms with a fireplace, soft light and the sort of décor that rewards a second look. Foodie Explorers, in its review of the Sandport Place room, describes the quirky interiors and teapot service as the heart of the appeal, and that is exactly right.
Best time to go: a lazy weekend brunch that rolls into afternoon pot-tails, or a quiet weekday evening for the bistro menu. Avoid expecting a quick in-and-out drink, because Roseleaf is built for lingering rather than for a fast pint on the way somewhere else.
What regulars consistently flag, across Yelp and Tripadvisor, is the warmth of the welcome, the teapot cocktails and the all-day food, with the main caution being the size: it is a small room that fills at peak, so the best seats go to those who book or arrive early.
It earns its place among Leith's most-loved rooms by being unapologetically itself, a quirky bar cafe that does food, drink and atmosphere on its own terms. See where it sits among Edinburgh's hidden gem bars, read our wider guide to the best bars in Edinburgh, or browse the full Edinburgh bar guide.
Pair this bar with
For a waterside Leith pint a few minutes away, head to Teuchters Landing Edinburgh on the dock. For seafood and wine on The Shore, Fishers Leith is the obvious next stop. And for a younger, characterful Leith Walk room, Lioness of Leith keeps the quirky spirit going.
Sources
Time Out Edinburgh · Foodie Explorers · Yelp Edinburgh · venue listings (accessed 2026-06)
Reviewed by Priya Nair, barsforKings. Published Nov 24, 2025. Last reviewed Mar 13, 2026 · How we pick bars
