Summerhall Cafe in Edinburgh, City of

We went on this tour on Saturday 3rd of September for my daughters 21st birthday the lady that took the tour was brilliant learnt lots about GIN and got to sample purchase and wax top a mini bottle, it is really worth a visit the Tour Guide was called Elisa very easy to understand, I would recommend if your staying central Edinburgh you would need a taxi to and from! But overall a fabulous 👌 day out thanks from us in Belfast x

We decided to pop in to the cafe after taking part in one of the escape rooms. The cafe was clean warm & bright as we walked in and we quickly found a seat by the window. The ordering was all done on line through my phone and the menus was easy to navigate and use on the app. Our drinks arrived first and were brought over by a young girl shuffling her feet she never spoke, just popped the drinks & glasses down even though my husband, daughter and I all spoke to her & made eye contact. We all said Thank you, but she never even acknowledged that just turned and walked off. The food was made to order as far as we could tell it took about 10 mins to arrive my daughter and I both had nachos with chilli con carney. The plates of food were piping hot and there was a decent portion, my husband has a ciabatta sandwich ( it wasn’t a ciabatta roll ) and it came with salad coleslaw and veg crisps, the chap that brought his wasn’t all that chatty either but did nod in acknowledgment when my hubby said thank you. There was a younger lad in a blue staff jumper who was fab, engaging and polite. He was clearing tables and delivering food and drinks. It was nice to see a cheery face, and looked like he wanted to be there.

Popped in here earlier today for a quick bite to eat with 2 others. Cafe staff friendly, helpful and chatty and food lovely and good value. We had soup and sandwich deals- beautiful homemade soup and fresh flavourful sandwiches and wraps. Cake was amazing too! We will definitely return soon

Just eaten here, not for the first time. Soup good and clearly home made. Sandwich ditto. Staff friendly and helpful and surroundings relaxing, light and sunny (today, at least). Thought it worth recording, as quite a bit of negative comment below, which is not my experience.

Have previously eaten here so didn’t hesitate to recommend to friends visiting. What a disappointment though. I had a soup and sandwich combo which was mediocre at best - certainly didn’t taste fresh. I understand that it was lunchtime and busy (though no idea why given the quality of the food!) but the place wasn’t exactly clean. Tables had been left unclean - the staff seemed overworked and not enough of them. The venue itself seems to have really gone downhill lately - very disappointing all round!

Have been here before albeit for breakfast rolls and a corporate event but this time round I was very disappointed with quality of food and coffee alongside the service. Visited as a family with two kids. Kids boxes priced £5 were of poor quality and value (heavily buttered turkey roll, snack bar, pre packed fruit in syrup plus a carton of apple juice). We also had a selection of wraps and soup. My wrap of falafel was tasteless, my fathers roast beef in Yorkshire pudding was inedible. Very disappointed and wished we had ventured through to the pub for something to eat. Won’t be back in a hurry.

I popped into Summerhall following a work trip to Edinburgh and was pleasantly surprised. The venue itself is quirky and the cafe was perfect for the coffee and sandwich that I so needed after a long morning of work drool (and at a reasonable price as far as Edinburgh goes). Staff were super friendly and attentive and will definitely try and visit again next time I am in the city.

I've tried again and again to give this place a chance as Summerhall is a big part of my life but the cafe just depresses me. It is such a gorgeous, light space and the tables and chairs are really lovely. That's where the enjoyment ends as I'm constantly let down by miserable, lackluster service. I go there most days and hardly any member of staff smiles at you and doesn't look like it's the last place they want to be. It's almost like you disturb them if you ask for a coffee. One girl always has an expression that could sour milk. I've always had to wait at least 20 mins for a takeaway sandwich, I've had brownies that are incredibly stale and dry. The sandwiches and soups and coffees are actually good but the experience is always let down by the customer service. They don't seem to recycle waste, no bin for recycling. The tap on the glass water dispenser is broken and there is hardly ever water in it. They use horrible plastic cups for water. After Christmas the ugly fake christmas trees they had on the tables were still on the tables about 2 weeks into january. The whole outfit just screams of laziness and an attitude of 'can't be arsed.' You've got a premium venue in southside edinburgh. Just shape up, pleeeease.

This was a very poor experience. The food, when it eventually arrived was cold, and had clearly not been heated up properly. The service seemed a bit amateurish side. Thankfully we were given a refund. Will not be going back.

The cafe at Summerhall is always hectic during the festival. In previous years the staff have often been fairly slow and unreliable - this summer however there was a noticeable improvement with most of the staff really friendly and organised. The range of food and drinks is limited, in my opinion, but fine for basic sandwiches and cakes if that's what you're looking for.

Had a beautiful steak toastie in a fantastic environment. Couldn’t praise the staff any more, was served by a lovely Geordie girl who couldn’t have been nicer. Will certainly be making a return! Hidden gem

Had lunch today and it is a great place for kids and the food was mostly good so I would like to recommend and go back but I'll definitely be avoiding anything that comes with salad - noticed it seemed a bit crunchy towards the end and when nearly finished realised that there was what seemed to be soil on my plate. Can only assume the salad wasn't washed well. Pointed it out to staff who didn't apologise or anything - said they would let the kitchen know so hopefully won't happen to anyone else!

We stopped for a coffee and were made so welcome by the staff. It was busy but they took the time to explain a few things...very helpful! The coffee was lovely and there is plenty seating. Will definitely return.

Summerhall is open all year round (despite the name). The cafe is part of an impressive arts centre that always has fascinating exhibitions, as well as frequent music events, and learning activity sessions for both adults and children. The cafe serves good coffee, great cakes (including gluten free options), cheap and cheerful soup and sandwiches, and a reasonable breakfast. The staff are always great: efficient, and very helpful. The ambience can be nicely chilled, with plenty of light, power points for laptops, and good background music. Midweek, mid-morning, the cafe can suddenly turn into a joyous confusion of mostly mothers and children, so the noise level increases. However, if you have children, they'll love it there because of the toys, and the space to safely roam. I enjoyed the cafe at least once a week, sometimes more, for 6 months, and was never disappointed.

They food is nice and the majority of staff are nice, however, one member of staff(Asian girl had a very blasé attitude). Range of cakes and biscuits look tasty. Not the cafe's fault but there seems to be a lot of people using tables for a long time after their meal- working on laptops etc. This takes up space and makes it hard for others to get a space. I'm glad I tried this place as it meant I got to look round summer hall itself but I think I would go to somewhere else in the area for lunch next time!

I don't mind the food at Summerhall, it's quite tasty with a good amount of variety but literally every time I go in i'm treated like a nuisance for wanting to order - no eye contact, unfiendly staff have to finish their conversations before they acknowledge your existence, depends who you get but on the most part I feel like i'm walking on eggshells.

Staff was polite, their bread great and the soups very good. Nice atmosphere although there were mothers with babies and can get noisy in the mornings.

Had a lovely sourdough toastie here, and really enjoyed it. Loved that I could bring in the dog I was looking after - the only thing is it may be nice if there was a water bowl for them around (or maybe there was and I didn't notice, in which case apologies). Plenty of seating. Would be nice if there was a student discount offered as it is a little pricy to go regularly for lunch but still a great place. I really enjoyed the side salad that came with my meal too, which is rare for me!

Nothing is marked vegan on the menu but, annoying though that is, it's not uncommon. I asked if the lentil stew was vegan. Yes it was but it was finished. What else was vegan? Well the soup but not the bread. Why on earth do they need to put animal ingredients into the bread! What else? Well only the quinoa salad without the cheese. Would that be cheaper? No certainly not (because I'd get more salad). What's you're problem with vegans? They are a tiny proportion of our customers. How would you know if you don't cater for them? All of this in the sort of place in the sort of area you'd expect would have a significant vegan customer base. Perfectly nice, if slightly dull, quinoa salad but a bit insubstantial, and a pleasant enough ambience. Sort out the bread and cook a bit more lentil stew and it would be okay.

Lovely place but food unimaginative and could be greatly improved with some simple ideas. Cakes and bakes not good.

Discovered this lovely cafe when I attended a conference in the venue. Was really impressed with the atmosphere and delighted to discover it was dog friendly, so stopped by several times with the dogs on our latest visit to Edinburgh. Perfect location for a nice coffee & cake after taking the hounds for a stroll on the meadows.

Truly awful food. Ordered sausage and mash hoping to share it with my child. Everything was very salty, mash was lumpy, onion was under cooked in the gravy.

We had arrived early for an escape game based in the same location and so availed ourselves of the cafe facilities.

Has great potential but the ever changing disinterested staff let it down. The bakes are often stale and the coffee is verging on the vile. Flat white served in a stupid little glass -too hot to hold and the two dead birds in a cage need to go.

Lovely cafe with a nice choice of cakes, etc to have with your tea. Nice atmosphere created. Selection of different seating.

Dropped in for a spot of lunch with my daughter and was delighted to have eaten the goats cheese beetroot and sun blushed tomato sour dough toastie. Spot on. Great freindly staff. I'll certainly be back

Good enough without being somewhere we would go out of our way to visit. Advertising gluten free cakes and then not having any at all was a bit disappointing.