Steampunk @the Warehouse

Steampunk is an excellent coffee shop in North Berwick. It is a bit off the beaten track but once you find it, you are in for a treat.
It gives off hipster vibes, which I love. The water tap upstairs and the sink in the toilets look especially hipster. The lemonade glasses are pretty cool too.
There are 3 areas to sit. There is the coffee bar downstairs, the bistro upstairs and some wicker tables and chairs in the little sun trap of a courtyard.11
The chocolate chip cookie and the lemonade are my personal favourites but I might go for a hot chocolate next time.
The staff are polite but not to an extent that they come across as annoying. Our service was a bit slow but it was very busy today.
Steampunk is definitely my favourite café in NB. Mainly because I love all things hipster but I also love their lemonade and baking!

Really I would give these a 3 ½ stars if they had ½. But since they don’t Im being nice and giving a 4 star.
First off the place is really cool, and has a major hipster vibe. Which can go either way as good or bad. I felt like in this case it was mostly good. cool décor, nice layout with antique chairs… though one arm chair I was sitting on, the arm rest was totally falling apart and I kept getting poked by the horse hair that was used to stuff it… ya that was interesting, uncomfortable and too weird to drink my coffee on so we switched to a table.
The staff was friendly, which is not always a given with hyper places.
My major disappointment was that we came for lunch… but its not really a lunch place… I mean I guess it could be but ALL they had was different grill cheese sandwiches (not good for lactose intolerant people!) and a few side salads and one soup (which had cream in it!). We left and had lunch somewhere else and came back later for coffee and tea.
So the coffee. It reminded me of artisan roast, which I know so many people LOVE… but I just LIKE it. I LOVE darker roasts… the ones peoples are burnt tasting ya thats my cup of coffee… so Im not a coffee snob I get it… so stop reading this if you are. I the coffee was light and had ‘bright’ end. I don’t really like my coffee too «bright» (a coffee term for acidic). The soy milk they used was fine, but they did horrible foam. like really bad… and the waiter even said that it didn’t look that nice because it was soya… Ive made tons of soya milk lattes (used to work at a coffee shop) YES its harder but not impossible to get nice foam… ALSO we JUST ordered a tea, a soya latte and two pieces of cake… It took them 15 min to get them to us… and it wasn’t busy at all… not sure what that was about…
Anywho it was a nice place to sit and chat. We enjoyed it, and maybe it is some of the best coffee in town, I don’t know…

Great café with friendly staff that feels more like it should be in London or Edinburgh than slightly posh and staid NB.
Great coffee, I’ve only given 4 stars as their range of cakes and pastries is fairly standard and uninspiring (granola triangles, brownies etc.) and why get them here with Bostock only 2 minutes away? They also do light savoury food, grilled sandwiches, soup etc.
The interior is achingly cool and right on point. The tap in the toilets is an old gas valve, the giant roaster (which they roast their coffee in) and sacks of beans sit proudly in front of you when you go in, quirky antiques are melded skilfully with modern design make this place feel right up to the minute but comfy at the same time.
The clientelle is totally mixed, tourists, old couples, parents with young children, cyclists in lycra, etc etc.
Definitely worth a visit and probably the best coffee in town. Also, good for groups as ample room upstairs. Outside seating available in summer.

After swooning over their Instagram page for long enough that I’m pretty sure I moved into ‘stalking’ territory I finally made the trip to Steampunk on Sunday and MAN OH MAN did it live up to my high expectations. I had the coffee/​savoury muffin combo both of which were excellent, but special shout out to the appley-​cheesy-​chutney muffin of my dreams. The place itself is lovely to sit in, with loads of big tables and friendly staff. I had an iced latte to go which really hit the spot, iced drinks can be a bit on the dodgy side but this was gooood. Their other cakes looked divine too with some interesting options!

This place is just fab and ticks all my boxes. Huge old warehouse with all the original features, antique furniture and plenty of space. Coffee is great, and you can buy it in either beans or ground to take home! The baking is delicious and fresh! I haven’t tried any savoury food there but I’m sure it’s great too, saving that for my next visit!
They have outdoor seating too which is perfect on a nice sunny day!

Edinburgh city is a safe haven for any coffee lover. And one of the things I don’t like about travelling is not knowing whether I’ll get a good cup of coffee on my journey. But North Berwick is a dead cert when it comes to both good coffee, good cafés and good food. And a large chunk of that is thanks to Steampunk.
Starting as a pop-​up for festivals and the Stockbridge Market (and still a permanent feature at the Stockbridge Market, in a converted campervan), Steampunk is a local Scottish brand following in Artisan Roast’s footsteps: the beans are roasted locally (in North Berwick itself). First there was a smaller Steampunk café in North Berwick, and I believe earlier this year (2014) they opened up in the Warehouse. And floor to ceiling to highest rafter, it’s a wonderful home for coffee just outside of Edinburgh.
There’s cakes, salads, sandwiches, soups all very fresh and healthy (edging on hipster, but in a good way). When I visited there was a mix of families, young folks, old folks, and us – a band of cyclists clad in lycra. We found room upstairs, and were able to tuck into our cakes and coffees happily, then take our coffees outside to sit in the sun to finish off.
The staff are friendly, the coffee is very, very good, and the passion of an independent, and relatively new business, shows.
If you’re in North Berwick for a day-​trip, head to the Lobster Shack for lunch, then here for your afternoon coffee and cake. Two outstanding businesses that would rival any of the best in Edinburgh city itself.

Great coffee, better baked goods and a really fun steampunk themes ambiance. Highly recommend it.

We were drawn in by the beautiful blackboard — and very pleased that we were!
Walking in, we were stunned by the building and décor. Just beautiful with a lovely, comfortable, homely feel.
Next, was having to choose between the amazing array of food on offer. We each chose a cake and pot of tea and was very impressed! We loved the presentation of the food, right down to the cups, jars and holders. The staff too are all lovely!
I would definitely recommend this place to anyone visiting North Berwick.

Mmmmm Steampunk coffee! OOOOOOOhhhh steampunk coffee! What a delight to finally get to N. B and taste a delicious flat white in the warehouse.
My flat white was right slap bang oh my goodness such a good cuppa. Rich and velvety and oooh so creamy. It paired so well with the apple cake.
The coffee is roasted in North Berwick itself and i’m chuffed to bits that they sell retail bags to take home for the home brew! The cake is made on the premises and was devine.
Now this is my first stop and choice for a coffee in N.B. It’s eccentric collection of tables and chairs for dining on are totally on trend as is the coffee bar. They have seating upstairs and a few lunch dishes too.
Basically you order and pay at the till if you sit downstairs or you go up stairs and then it’s waiter service.
I love the ambience of the café. Lovely place to sit and sip the world away!

Okay, so full disclosure before I start: Hans, one of the owners of Steampunk, is a very good friend of mine. That does not mean my review is a lie, simply that I wouldn’t have written a review at all if I felt like Steampunk’s new home in the Warehouse wasn’t worthy of the review I’m about to write.
I’ve always felt like North Berwick’s food and coffee options were at odds with the vibe I got from the small town itself. Visiting the first time, it felt like the perfect place for quaint but modern fare, a kind of mini-​Portland. Progressive and interesting and full of creatives. When looking for refreshments, though, we felt the place was sorely lacking. There’s no end to old-​fashioned cafes that haven’t really had to try hard for years and are quite staid as a result. In other words: not a good place for coffee.
Then, a wild Steampunk appeared! While I’ll agree that their old home in The Den was lacking in atmosphere, the coffee was excellent and the brownies were sublime.
And now we have The Warehouse. With a focus on good coffee and good food and with a rustic, bohemian aesthetic, I felt like this could be the place North Berwick had been waiting for. There’s a free-​standing fireplace right near the entrance, the actual coffee roaster they use is tucked away in one corner, the countertop is a surprisingly stylish blend of molded concrete, sinks and tubes. Lots and lots of tubes and gauges! It all seems to blend together really well and feels a LOT more inviting than The Den (sorry). It helps that the mezzanine eating area doesn’t block the view of the roof from the ground floor. Everything feels connected.
I was there on the second day after opening, and I don’t think anyone had quite expected the amount of people that showed up! There was a constant influx of customers, and most seats were taken most of the time. I saw a LOT of people waving at the staff and shouting positive feedback as they left, so if you don’t take MY word for it, take the word of… those people… Who I’m telling you said something positive. So take my word for it after all, I guess. I mean, who am I kidding? I could have made this entire paragraph up. –I– know it’s true, but… well, yeah. It’s true. People seem to love the place.
As for the quality of their fare, Hans and Luiza were doing the coffees that day, and they both do some of the smoothest Flat Whites I’ve had in the UK. Personally, I prefer my flats a bit bolder to the taste, with a bit more of an acidic and fruity espresso, but this is a very deliberate choice of blend to create a Flat White that will be palatable both to the newcomer and to the more seasoned espresso-​based coffee drinkers among us. I hope that they’ll start doing weekly guestspressos (see what I did there??? Yeah, don’t expect my stand-​up show at the Fringe any time soon) as that would satisfy my more exploratory urges. I usually end up having the guest beans at Brew Lab when I go there (my go-​to in Edinburgh, along with Wellington’s) so the option would have been great, though not strictly necessary.
The brownie I had was gooey and delicious, and the lamb tagine that was the special that day was beyond anything I had any business expecting at a place that was built on a coffee foundation.
All in all, I do indeed think this might be exactly the kind of place that could revitalise North Berwick’s appeal. If you’re a fan of coffee, food, the sea, puffins and the rustic-​modern aesthetic I think it’s well worth it to take the trip out to N. Berwick for the sake of checking out Steampunk. It’s a nice drive/​train ride, too!
PS: They are dog-​friendly, too, which my puppy Balrog was very happy about.

I am head over heels in LOVE with this place and that might be a slight understatement… after the disappointment of my last visit to North Berwick when they were still based at the Den, it was with slight trepidation that I ventured to their new digs.
That all went out the window when I spotted the blackboard from the street and saw the lovely building they’ve moved in to. All doubt was erased even before I opened the doors. Steampunk properly has a ‘home’!
The bike on the wall, the butler’s sinks with bottled cold drinks. the cakes presented on slate tiles. I couldn’t get inside quickly enough. (aside from having to stop and take a photo of course!)
Once inside. that GORGEOUS La Marzocco machine with its neon red glow and Steampunk’s logo etched into the side (it’s wooden crate still outside being testament to how recently they’ve opened), the hessian bags of coffee piled high next to a lovely Probat coffee roaster. the mismatched old armchairs around an old stove/​hearth (?). I couldn’t quite decide what to do with myself!
We mentioned we were after food and were directed upstairs. the modern mezzanine is kitted out with large dining tables and proper dining table chairs with a couch and two armchairs around a coffee table next to yet another old stove in the corner. the kitchen is ‘open plan’ and you can see exactly what’s happening and watch your food being dished up.
A lamb stew & a beef stew were on the menu and both were delicious and served with the most amazing seed/​nut bread. No butter required thank you very much.
The coffee was as always, super amazing. there’s really no words that will tell you how good the coffee is. you just need to try it for yourself. I then moved on to a pistachio rooibos tea which was equally scrumptious and great with my orange cake.
It’s worth it to drive the hour from Edinburgh for their coffee alone, but with these sweet new digs. I forsee many trips to North Berwick this summer.
ps. even their bathrooms are awesomely cool. seriously. this place = ah-​maze!