Cup Cafe in Aberdeen City

This cafe used to be good, but not so much now. The food is overpriced for the quality, portions small and service is lacking. I had mexican soup (thin soup flavoured with taco spice mix) and a very cynical Egg mayonnaise panini. There was no mayonnaise just 1 egg smashed up inside panini, could hardly taste the filling. My husband had the fresh fruit shop bought cold pancakes. The fresh fruit consisted of cut up small pieces of kiwi and grapes (which you would never pick to go with pancakes) My Daughter had the shop bought cold pancake tacos (way over hyped) the fresh fruit once again had small pieces of grapes and kiwi, the smores one had a scraping of chocolate sauce and mini marshmallows (not melted) We also had 3 hot drinks, the bill total was over £45 for really poor quality food and service. Not an enjoyable experience and We will not be returning to this cafe.

I have eaten in Cup many times and although the food is consistently good, I have also found it a bit expensive. I visited it today with a friend and we were surprised to get a bill of almost £30 for 2 soups, 2 coffees and 2 slices of toast each. We decided to check with the waitress whether this was correct and were shocked when we were told that the two slices of toast cost £6, meaning that 4 slices of bread toasted cost £12. We weren't even given any butter with it! I gave Cup 2 stars because the soup was very good but I don't see how they can justify £12 for 4 slices of bread.

My daughter and I booked for 11am to have Sunday brunch. It was not full when we got there but by the time we left it was. We waited at least 10 minutes before they took our order but the food came quite quickly. We ordered the morning breakfast stand which was a breakfast equivalent of afternoon tea. There were pancakes with different toppings and brioche buns eith sausages & poached eggs which were poached to perfection. There were also pots of granola, fruit & yogurt which were very tasty. We had to ask for teaspoons as the granola pots were too small for the dessert spoons on the table. A very original and tasty breakfast, Will definitely go back next time I am in Aberdeen.

Have used cup on several occasions to breakfast with friends..but this time I was less than happy…my breakfast was far from good with hard bacon, a not so poached egg, dry muffin and the most unsatisfactory black pudding..I find it strange that no one asks if everything is okay not even when they present the bill even thou the meal was barely touched…very disappointing

I used to love this place and go regularly but it is not as good as it used to be. Its a cute cafe, the food is overall good with a good selection of items, but a few things let this cafe down. First, its very difficult to actually get a seat, especially at the weekends or lunchtime, as so many people reserve a table and there's not much space for walk-ins; Secondly, the service is not great - staff are pleasant but sometimes I've waited a long time to be served; and finally, on two visits I've had problems with the order.

Previously I would have given 5 stars for cup however I’ve not been in a while and I was quite disappointed. I understand places can be busy and short staffed but there were quite a few tables that were to be cleaned. It was rather quiet when me and my friend arrived and it took about 10/15 minutes to get a menu before another 15 minutes before our order was taken. I noticed when we were served our drinks that the waitress’s apron was filthy, I presume they had been working in the kitchen but good practice would have been to have a clean on especially when it comes to serving. However I cannot fault the food, it’s always really good and I like that you get a little soup taster too.

We came here to enjoy the luxury afternoon tea, which my friend had gifted me for my birthday. It was all so tasty and the sandwiches were freshly made. We took our own prosecco & they provided us with a bottle cooler and glasses, all we had to do was pay corkage. I’ve had lunch here a few times but the decor always makes me smile, it’s so quirky. I highly recommend, we had such a lovely afternoon.

We were seated on entry and given menus and a table near the window 15 minutes into our visit and order still had not been taken we could clearly see staff talking amongst themselves when they could clearly see we were ready to order decided at that point just to leave very disappointing

We arrived at 1:40 for a spot of lunch. We were sat down and left. About 10 minutes later I sent my daughter up to ask for menus at the counter. We were then left again. It was just before 2 when our order was taken and we were then told bruch had finished (menu however said 2:30). That was okay, as there were other things on the menu that sounded lovely. We both ordered the soup and I ordered a pannini and my daughter a quesadilla. Food arrived and we waited for soup spoons. Again we had to go up to the counter to ask for some. My daughter got a panini instead of what she had ordered. We informed the waitress who offered to change it but said we would keep it. We told her as there was a price difference and she could correct for the bill. The soup was very bland and both paninis were not cooked properly being cold and cheese not melted. When we paid the bill we were still charged the supplement.

We were told this place is very ‘instagramable’ - totally true! Breakfast was a piece of art and mega tasty. Service was quick and friendly and attentive and it felt like we were sitting in a friend’s rather eclectic breakfast room. Very sweet. Only downside: we came in first thing in the morning and it was bloody freezing!

Visited cup yesterday, same as last time water in tea pot definately not boiling, complained, second pot exactly the same, had this problem last time we were in and toast burned, also same as last time, also the cafe was very cold, ? Heating

Do not purchase gift vouchers for here. Christmas 22 I received a voucher for cup. They closed late January 23 for a refurbishment, my birthday is early feb so unfortunately when I attempted to redeem my voucher and book my ‘luxury afternoon tea’ they were not open. I forgot about the voucher until thinking about where I should go for my birthday lunch this year. I emailed to explain my voucher was indeed out of date by a week or two, but as they had been closed for a few weeks for a refurb, I politely asked would they still honour it - and could I book a table, giving time and date. The email was informal and friendly. The reply I received, which turned out to be from the owner was short snippy and abrupt. (But after reading other reviews, this doesn’t seem to be something out of the ordinary.) Saying she couldn’t override the giftup voucher. Now I’m pretty sure giftup sell the vouchers on behalf of the cafe, they then supply a digi voucher and take a 3% cut for doing so. So if my luxury tea was £30, they’d have got 90p and cup would have got £29.10! Not bad for cup. As what did cup give in return for that £29? A curt and very short-sited email. Now I don’t own a small independent cafe so I’m no expert, but giving the fact the customer explained they had tried to book previously but couldn’t, their email was friendly and mentioned it was for a birthday, I’d have probably guessed more £ would have been spent when there. I’d also have taken into consideration that I had already received money for this, and considering times are tough for everyone just now, individuals as well as businesses, I’d have most likely honoured this. We’re told to shop local, which I’m fully onboard with. But what cup should bear in mind, it has to work both ways. You own a small independent cafe, you can honour a voucher a week out of date, you can use your discretion and look at the bigger picture. Voucher aside, my booking request wasn’t even acknowledged. I’d honestly have been satisfied if the reply I got was along the lines of - “Yes we can get you booked for that date and time, unfortunately your voucher has expired, however we can look at offering a discount instead” or something along those lines. People can get tea and gimmicky buns elsewhere so why pick cup? People buy from people - something to think about! Would you give business to someone you find abrupt and rude?! I won’t

First of all we arrived and were told they’d “run out of menus” even though there were only about 4 other tables occupied when we were seated. We were asked to use a QR code but the place has bad signal the WiFi password is not on the tables. So our group all had to faff around on our phones. The staff were inattentive from arrival to departure, which you can forgive if they’re busy but the group of 4/5 women were constantly stood behind the counter chatting not paying attention to tables. Every time we needed something - including to order - it was an effort to get someone’s attention. My mum asked for extra hot water when our food arrived and it didn’t come until we’d finished our breakfast. The restaurant claim they are a “purveyor of tea” but the breakfast tea was possibly the worst I’ve ever had. Weak and perfumed tasting. We waited a while for food, which again you can forgive if it’s fresh but sadly it was luke-warm on arrival. The place was cold, and badly needed to put the heating on - especially given its December. It’s a nice little place but the experience, and tea, were bad enough that I wouldn’t return or recommend it.

We visited here after my daughters graduation in the Music Hall. The staff were very friendly and attentive. The food was really good. I had the Big Cup breakfast which certainly hit the spot. My daughters and daughter-in-law had hot chocolates and said they were really good. Before we left the server came over with a slice of cake with a sparkler in it and congratulated my daughter on her graduation. I thought this was a really nice gesture. We will certainly use here again.

It advertises itself to have gluten free options but they only have two breakfast options suitable one of which is a roll but the only thing I can have in side is egg and bacon out of 5 they advertised, they also complained when we asked for them to clean the table with crumbs on it

We arrived for a pre booked table at 12.30, seated at the table with menus and then ignored for the next 20 mins. The table next to us which arrived later than us proceeded to be served before us which is when my family decided we would leave and go elsewhere. It was only while I put my jacket on that someone made the effort to come over to us and then try to disagree that we did not arrive before the other table despite having a booking. Very disappointed as we visited this time last year with our daughter for the kids board and she loved it. I wouldn’t often walk out due to poor service but for a cafe that wasn’t overly busy i couldn’t justify the extra wait we would have likely had for food.

We regularly go to Cup with it, in our opinion, being one of the few really nice cafes in Aberdeen that is definitely not a chain. They always have a good variety of cakes on offer, and their main menu has plenty of variety, is well priced and very tastey. The only criticism I've had on each visit is that while the service is always friendly and helpful, it can be a bit of a wait to get the service with you often having to flag down staff if you want to pay or order something else! Overall though very good.

We were unable to find anyplace in Aberdeen that didn't require reservation for tea...but found this place. It was great. Location very good. Walk able area all around. Food great. Me u pretty good. They were sold out of a few items which told us they are busy

Came here with my family for lunch before the cinema. Upon arrival, we were told our table wasn’t ready despite making a booking, we were told to wait 5 minutes. We understand the cafe was really busy and staff were under pressure to please everyone. Finally, we were seated and we all really liked the surrounding decor such as Alice in Wonderland pictures and a large supply of sweet jars. Unfortunately, the cafe ran out of menus and had to resort to looking at them via online which was an issue due to no service where we were sitting. Luckily, a member of staff found us a menu and we ordered what we liked. We all ordered the cup lunches and they were delicious! my mum and i ordered panini’s and my sister ordered a ham and cheese quesadilla, we also got a taste of soup, handful of crisps and yummy salad. This meal left us stuffed and considered it a good value for money.

Come here all of the time and cannot fault the food or service. Lovely place to go for breakfast, brunch and lunch!

A really disappointing lunch today, staff and service wasn’t great, seemed very disinterested and as if they didn’t want to be there. Food was very poor quality for the price which is ashame because I’ve been wanting to go to cup for a while now but I won’t be returning