The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word ABERDEEN
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
A
B
E
R
D
E
E
N
More clues leading to the result ABERDEEN
- A river running through foreign capital or British city
- Unusual beard, even for a poet somewhere in Scotland
- Port, rum, beer and last of wine
- Eve supports unkempt beard for Angus’s partner
- President to want Republican backing in East Coast city
- Dog, one breed that’s trained with measure of dash
- Dancing bear, 16, climbing in Scottish city
- Daughter wearing Lincoln green, no good for the city
- Scottie, a breed misguidedly English neuter
- Two rivers shielded by a mountain city at Royal burgh
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "East Coast city" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case east coast city = aberdeen.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.