Surgical history and a scone in Edinburgh - Cafe 1505

A report of Scone Blogger 2's second visit to Café 1505 in a month follows. Given the choice of eateries in Edinburgh this could demonstrate a lack of imagination, but in Café 1505's case it's proof of a really good find. The first visit was purely a spur of the moment, we need to eat now in this part of Edinburgh situation, but visit two was a more considered affair, and more importantly for this blog actually featured a scone.

The Nicolson Street café belongs to the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeon's of Edinburgh which has recently been renovated and redeveloped. The name 1505 refers to the date which the college was created. In the interests of culture a visit to the museum was scheduled in advance of the second visit. I'm a big advocate of cake following culture, and in this case a scone followed the history of surgery. 

The main meals at Café 1505 are contemporary, tasty and filling. The cake selections are extensive. Gluten free, vegan and diary free options are plentiful. Faced with such a wide choice, I decided it was about time a blog about scones featured a scone again and 'scone of the day' was selected. At the point of ordering no questions were asked about what flavour it was, after a morning looking at medical matters I decided to diagnose its contents myself.

I'm not convinced that the photo does justice to the scone, which was one of the best I've eaten. After a few false starts (I'm sure there dates here, err no maybe not) I concluded, correctly, that it was white chocolate and banana. It had a beautiful combination of flavours and a superb scone consistency. As it was scone of the day I can't guarantee it would be available again, but if this represents an example of the scone-craft of the café, I'm sure that scone of any day will make a tasty treat.

Snow, scenery and scones in Stirlingshire

January 2017 saw a couple of days of snow in the Stirling area. It didn't last long in the city centre, but up in the Trossachs National Park, it lingered long enough for a snowy walk from Callander to the foot of Ben Ledi followed by a "wee afternoon tea" at Deli Ecosse.

The walk itself featured stunning views of snow-covered mountains and valleys. It's an easy walk along the old railway line, and a very short diversion brings you to a viewing point for the Falls of Leny, which following rain earlier in the week were looking impressive. A take-away sandwich from the recently discovered Apple Jacks café (full review to follow) provided a picnic lunch, but on return to Callander, cake was required and Deli Ecosse more than obliged.

The "wee afternoon tea" was a excellent find. Unlike the traditional offering there weren't any sandwiches, but as Apple Jacks had provided those earlier they were not missed. The photo below shows what was included on our visit: scones, gingerbread, cranberry and chocolate slice, millionaire's shortbread and traditional, but exceptional, shortbread.

The café has a wide choice of eating options, an impressive deli and a wide range of magazines to browse while enjoying your coffee, cake or meal. There are plenty of eating options in the town, but this one is has found a special offering with its delicious and great value "wee afternoon tea".