Edinburgh café, MILK, is encouraging the outdoor lifestyle this winter due to current circumstances and Covid-19 restrictions.

There is outdoor seating at all of their cafés and have also ordered hot water bottles for their customers so that they can keep using their outdoor space at the Sculpture Workshop more comfortably. People are still really keen to sit outside at their cafés at the moment, and they think they will continue to do so throughout the winter. They have already seen a lot of outdoor custom at both their Inverleith and Workshop MILK cafés. 

Now they also want to encourage using reusable cups at their outlets. Covid-19 restrictions mean that many cafés are not accepting those just now, but at MILK they have worked out a way round that. They have a non-contact method of pouring meaning that customers can still take care of the planet. These environmental and sustainable practices are important to them and they are embracing a movement called City to Sea which aims to put reusables back on the menu.

As incentives to MILK customers, they are offering one free coffee with a purchase of one of their MILK reusable cups and 20p discount if the customer brings in a reusable instead of using takeaway packaging.  All of their takeaway packaging is also vegware compostables.   The re-usable cups are available to buy in all of their cafes.  They are £14 for 8oz glass, £10 for 8oz original and £11 for 12oz original.  

Sam Stevens, Director/Co-founder of MILK commented on the City to Sea Movement:  “When lockdown first happened we panicked and immediately stopped accepting reusables.  Safety was our first priority but we were also concerned about the impact on the planet.  Once we saw the City to Sea method of pouring contactless we immediately began using it.  We have had such positive feedback from our customers and we are really pleased  that we too can play a small part in reducing waste.”

Many customers at these venues have dogs as MILK is very dog friendly, even selling their popular dog cupcakes, made from liver by Crumbs of Portobello.

Founded in 2010, MILK is a food destination that says it is nutritionally sound, seasonal and natural.  They choose thoughtfully sourced ingredients which include organic and local produce where possible. 

All of their dishes are made in-house with more than a little love for what they do. Their cakes are baked in their kitchens daily and they pride themselves on having a wide vegan and gluten free range. They use fresh, whole ingredients and even though cake is cake, they try to incorporate as many nutritious ingredients as they can.

MILK at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop open 7 days. Monday-Thursday 9am-2pm, Friday-Sunday 9am-5pm

MILK West End open 7 days. Monday-Friday 9am-2pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am-4pm.

MILK Coffee Shack Inverleith open 7 days 9am-4pm.

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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.