Over the summer, I spent a little over a week in Edinburgh, Scotland for an academic collaboration. I decided to see how many afternoon teas I could sample while visiting (oh, the sacrifice!). Sadly, I was not able to get a reservation at the Colonnades at the Signet Library, which other sources highly recommended. Here are some recommendations and insights from the four locations that I tried.
Clarinda’s Tearoom
Address: 69 Canongate, Edinburgh EH8 8BS, UK
Pros: Homey feel. Delightfully eccentric mixed china and lace. Friendly service. Excellent scones. Conveniently close to many sites on the Royal Mile for a pick-me-up.
Cons: Crowded and quite busy. Clearly very touristy as a result of being on the Royal Mile and near Holyrood House. They have a policy of sharing tables. So if your dream tea is relaxing with a cup and reading by yourself or people watching, this is not a place that you can come to linger unfortunately. No Wifi available.
Price: $
Logistics: No reservations. Probably best to time your visit outside of peak tourism hours.
The Dome
Address: 14 George St, Edinburgh EH2 2PF, UK
Pros: Beautiful setting in historical building. Free WiFi. Free to linger. Seating until 5 PM, which can function as dinner. Vegetarian menu offered.
Favorite dish: Tiramasu
Price: $$
Logistics: Reservations recommended.
Chandelier inside the Dome in Edinburgh 
Afternoon tea at the Dome 
Inside the tea room at the Dome.
Waldorf Astoria
Pros: Vegan and gluten free menus are available. They can also easily accommodate vegetarian dietary requirements. Seating until 5:30 PM–so you can make this into dinner. You can also try as many teas as you want while you are there!
Cons: Expensive and realistically too much food for one person.
Favorite dish: Chutney + arran cheddar
Price: $$$
Logistics: Reservation required in advance. There is a dress code.
Tea at the Waldorf Astoria in Edinburgh. 
Another round of delights at the Waldorf Astoria.
eTeaket
Address: 41 Frederick St, Edinburgh EH2 1EP, UK
Pros: Delicious chocolate cake. Free Wifi.
Cons: When I visited they were out of scones and their Wifi wasn’t working. I was really excited about their cream tea offering, so was somewhat disappointed. Moral of the story: go early, before they sell out of scones!
Price: $
Logistics: No reservation needed.
Conclusions
In my opinion, there is no such thing as bad afternoon tea. I’m not sure anything will be able to beat my experience at the Ritz in London. However, I think the Dome offered the best value for the experience in Edinburgh. Have you had afternoon tea in Edinburgh? What are your favorite spots?