5 John Street, Portobello, Edinburgh

5 John Street is a classical house built around 1820, featuring later additions and alterations. The building is a single storey with a raised basement and has five bays. The main structure is made of polished ashlar, while the blank side elevations are harled, with the southwest side painted and the northeast side unpainted. There is a broad band course above the basement level, a dentilled cornice, and a blocking course.

The northwest (principal) elevation has a central bay that projects, featuring a Doric doorpiece at the top of a flight of nine ashlar steps. The entrance includes a two-leaf, four-panelled door with a four-paned fanlight above. There are two regularly positioned bays on either side at both the ground and basement levels, with windows on each storey.

The southeast (rear) elevation has not been seen since 1994. The building has 12-pane timber sash and case windows, which now have shutters that may be original. There is a bipartite plate glass sash and case window in the right extension. The roof is made of graded grey slate, with a steep piended design and a platformed section on the right extension, along with ashlar, coped wallhead stacks on the side elevations and a harled stack on the right.

The interior has not been seen since 1994. The boundary wall is rendered with ashlar coping and was formerly topped with railings. There are original cast-iron railings at the steps in the centre.