Over the last few summers, the gorgeous Signet Library in Edinburgh has teamed up with the caterer Heritage Portfolio to play host to the Pommery Champagne Café Bar – a welcome haven of civilisation in the mêlée of the Royal Mile at Festival time.

That association will be on a more permanent footing from June 1st when the Lower Library will open under the name Colonnades.

Open throughout the year, the new venture aims to be Edinburgh’s most glamorous afternoon tea venue. The signature afternoon tea will change with the seasons and reflect the best of Scottish produce.

Tea sommelier

The venue will have its own tea sommelier, Champagne experts, mixologists and an on-site pastry chef, with all food cooked from scratch.

Colonnades will work in partnership with Scottish producers such as the Wee Tea Company and Summerhouse Drinks, alongside the Signet Library’s favourite tipple: Pommery Champagne.

The interior of the Library has had a £250,000 restoration and will feature unique lighting, intricate gold leaf, a bespoke hand-woven carpet and, of course, the classical pillars from which Colonnades will take its name. The interior designer, Amy Schellenberg, who also worked with the Royal and Ancient, guided the process.

500 years of history

Robert Pirrie, chief executive of the Society of Writers to HM Signet, owners of the Signet Library, comments: ‘This opening represents the crowning glory to ten years’ work by the WS Society and Heritage Portfolio.

‘This is a new era in the extraordinary life of the Society which goes back over 500 years to when the Signet Library was built for the Writers to the Signet as a library and meeting place at the height of the Enlightenment period in Edinburgh.

‘Over the years the building has adapted and evolved with changing times. We are now opening our doors so the public can share this unique architectural gem with us.’