Handily located 50 metres away from my uni building, and with the local competition, until recently, being second-rate Black Medicine at Marchmont has proved to be a bit of a haunt. \n\nI have been nipping in here for break-time pick-me-ups and pre-presentation nerve-settlers, sitting in for project meetings over a panini and soup and mounting the occasional rant over a latte here for three years.\n\nSo I can say with some confidence that the coffee is very, very good and is generally served at a temperature ready to drink, which I like. The soup is always homemade and more often than not delicious (adding a small soup to a panini or bagel for a pound is a great winter warmer). The decor is warm and the furniture is solid.\n\nDepending on which side of the bed the staff member got out of you will either get a beaming grin, genuine banter and table service or a what-do-you-want chin nod and your order plonked at the end of the bar, but hey, keeps you on your toes and even with the latter the coffee will be flawless.\n\nA good place to work or read if you keep the caffeine running to a level but after about 45 minutes I find that the dim light begins to irritate and it's back across the road for me.