Elephant House Café in Edinburgh reopens 4 years after devastating fire

By Gbam Godwin On Dec 30, 2025

Elephant House Café in Edinburgh reopens 4 years after devastating fire.

An Edinburgh café with ties to J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books will reopen today after more than four years.

The Elephant House Café on George IV Bridge was forced to close in August 2021 due to a horrific fire that extensively damaged the café and surrounding houses.

The popular city centre café was notable for being frequented by author JK Rowling in the 1990s, when she was writing her famous Harry Potter novels. However, the café’s future remained uncertain for several years after Tonstate Group, the building’s owner, declared bankruptcy.

However, today (Monday, December 29), the café will reopen its doors after being restored to its former magnificence.

The café proprietors wrote on Instagram: “After 1,587 days, we’re finally ready to open our doors again on George IV Bridge.” Tomorrow at 10 a.m., for the first time since 2021, we welcome you back.” They said further:

“We’d love for you to join us, raise a cup and be part of this moment, see you there!” Reacting to the news, one user wrote: “Wishing you a beautiful reopening! I’ll definitely need to arrange a return visit,” with another adding’so excited to have you back.”

The cafe has been referred to as ‘the Birthplace of Harry Potter’ over the years, however JK Rowling later clarified that this is not entirely true and that she had been writing the books for several years.

In 2020, the famed author reacted to a reader who questioned the Elephant House cafe’s claim, saying: “I was thinking of establishing a section on my website regarding all the purported inspirations and birthplaces of Potter.

I’d been writing Potter for several years before I even stepped into this cafe, so it’s not the birthplace, but I did write there, so we’ll let them off!”