Opening a café during a pandemic is a brave move but the owners of Hata on Rodney Street in Canonmills say it has been a promising start. Opened at the end of 2020, this little coffee shop sits at a busy junction in this increasingly lively area.
The name Hata derives from the Polish word chata which has connotations of homeliness. Run by Andrew Rennie and Agata Rudzka, the café was inspired by a 10 month trip they took together in 2019. They had for some time wanted to run their own business and took inspiration from the food and drink they discovered on their trip. As Andrew and Agata said: “We just wanted to take on a challenge and to see it through”. They see the café as a continuation of their trip – “developing our idea and to see where it takes us – hopefully enough people will like what we are doing to enjoy the journey with us”.
After some time trying to find the right location, they both had a gut feeling that this was the right spot. The couple said: “We both knew as soon as we saw this one, that it was the one. We spoke to other businesses in the area and got a really good feeling for it and what was on offer already. We felt that we wanted to be part of that. With places such as the Bearded Baker, Marshmallow Lady and One Canonmills nearby, it’s clearly a rapidly developing area for food and coffee.“
They use coffee beans by Kinross based Unorthodox Roasters. They chose Unorthodox after a blind tasting of beans from eight different roasteries – mainly local ones. They have since built up a good relationship with Unorthodox.
They said: “It all came down to taste really and we really liked the two owners of Unorthodox who run it and have become great friends. The main coffee that we use in their espresso is the Wee Stoater (from Fazenda Cachoeira in the Minas Gerais region of Brazil), which has chocolate, caramel and hazelnut notes. Hata also sell a range of beans and ground coffee by Unorthodox. In addition, we’ve recently started to stock ceramics from the Dutch brand HK Living.“
Other popular drinks served at Hata include their beetroot hot chocolate, chai lattes (both by Unorthodox) and dirty chais (chai latte mixed with espresso). They also serve a selection of green, black and fruit teas.
Their simple food offering includes porridge with a range of accompaniments – honey, banana or home-made berry compote or their ‘goawesome’ porridge; specials with more extravagant home-made toppings, home-made granola with yogurt and berry compote, home-made soups and weekly special sandwiches, with one hot and two deli sandwich specials available every week. Bakery includes home-made cakes, brownies and biscuits – including gluten free and vegan options.
Hata’s close proximity to King George V Park and walking routes such as the Water of Leith Walkway have helped it become a popular takeaway. When the basement area is fully renovated, Hata will have seating capacity for 16.
Andrew and Agata managed to remain busy throughout the lockdown period, which they had prepared for. They said: “It ‘was always part of the business plan that we would possibly have to close or reduce to takeaway only.”
The regular, long weekend queues suggest that they are already a hit with Canonmills residents.
Hata 5 Rodney St, Edinburgh EH7 4EA
