Are you a lover of the bacon sarnie? Then you must head to Moo Cafeteria. Their version of this classic (just £1.75) is the best I've eaten in many years. For a start, the bacon tasted like it had been cooked from scratch, not just microwaved. A novel sensation in this day and age. A freshness about roll and bacon was almost equally unusual.

A trip to Moo is also a chance to enjoy viewing the Moo micro farm. It's like a child's farm, complete with plastic animals, fences and farmers. It ranges over several shelves of a display cabinet. The owners are justifiably proud of what they have created - with both cafe and farm.

Moo decor is quirky (mismatched chairs, black and white stripes on the walls) and staff are friendly. One of them watched over my 19 month old daughter while I took her elder sister to the loo.

The ethos is hearty home-cooked food that isn’t too pretentious. You can even find much-loved Scottish meat pies. These are the kind yearned for by many home-sick Scots (including me) when abroad.

The cuisine is an endearing mixture of trendy gastro fare (such as the pork and chorizo cassoulet, boeuf bourguignon and thai green curry). Alongside that are Scottish staples, such as the aforementioned bacon sarnie and pies.

Eldest daughter was taken by the tubes of Lovehearts sweets arranged in a basket near floor level. Fans of traditional Scottish confectionary will be pleased to know there are Tunnocks wafers on sale too.

Moo is a little bit different to your typical Edinburgh cafe. It's got a stylish eccentricity. It’s a bit fun, a bit different. It's like a cross between your favourite greasy spoon, a Scottish fish and chip shop and an upmarket French restaurant.

It also offers good value. You can have a slap-up roast dinner complete with trimmings for less than a tenner. The coffee (Italian) is fabulous, though I might be biased. I was in particular need of a caffeine jag the day I visited after pushing my children around the nearby Botanics for hours.

Moo only opened late last year and is already building a strong local fan base. I struggled to remember what was on the site before, though I must have walked past it often enough. Eventually I remembered it was previously home to a steak house. I never once went inside. I've already become a regular at Moo.

It's hard to imagine two restaurants that could be more different to each other. Moo is all bright colours and trendy modernism, in a way the steak house, well, you know, wasn't.

You can find Moo in the city's Canonmills area, close to the Water of Leith Walkway and Royal Botanic Gardens.

Monday to Friday 8am to 7pm, weekend 9am to 7pm. 9 Brandon Terrace, Edinburgh, EH3 5EA

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