Forest Cafe

The Forest is a volunteer-run, collectively-owned, free arts and events project. We are also a registered charity, #SC038234 to be exact. We run a vegetarian café and a dedicated basement space for people to get involved in any creative activity imaginable. Our events have included music, theatre, dancing, yoga, massage, poetry recitals, art displays, knit-ins, book tours, language teaching, monsterbike making…and plenty more. We’re always on the lookout for new events and ideas, even when they take us to space.

The Forest has come a long way since its birth in 2000 in a tiny month-by-month let in Westport. For 8 years we ran in a beautiful old church at the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town, where we ran a multi award-winning Fringe venue, an acclaimed publishing house, a record label, and a hundred other wonders. Now we’re located at 141 Lauriston Place, in Tollcross.