The Beach House in Edinburgh, City of

Hi Would like to share my experience at the cafe, made an effort to go last Friday for an interview with Rachel @ 10am Cafe busy and I was told to sit there in the middle of a busy cafe for an interview. I was really disappointed when the owner laboured on about my age and how some of the younger workers couldn’t cope. So unprofessional as that was all she would talk about I have been in hospitality for over 20 years and it was down to discrimination in the workplace and also still waiting for a response to come in for a trial shift Disguised

This is a lovely little place BUT it has almost become a victim of its own success - long waits for food and drinks to arrive this morning, staff were looking a little harassed (it was very busy) and it was so loud that conversation was a little difficult. On quieter days this is a great place.

A super cozy place down to the water. The view is absolutely fantastic and the atmosphere is incredibly good in there. We got a coffee and a piece of cake. The coffee was incredibly delicious and in a good size. We chose their chocolate cake with raspberries, which was super delicious with a good taste and texture. It was delicious with a little tartness from the raspberries, and the piece was large. All in all, a super nice place for coffee and cake.

Excessively rude member of staff and very poor experience- complaint handled very poorly by manager. Disappointing as I regularly attended but will not be returning. There are plenty of places in Portobello where you will not be treated poorly and have to pay for the experience.

Amazing food as always. I absolutely love the quality of food and setting! Make you give yourself lots of time as there is always a que to sit inside.

We had breakfast here & really enjoyed a healthy & nutritious meal on the beach. The cake selection was amazing & we enjoyed our brownie to take away :)

Black puddings more like warmed-up slabs of pate - entirely undercooked. If the waitress could've been more obvious that she wanted us out for the next customer 5 seconds after we'd finished the coffees she may as well put an egg timer on the table. Overpriced. Over-rated. Underperforming.

I love The Beach House Cafe 💖 Always open for excellent coffees & fabulous food and their homebaking is amazing ! The lovely friendly staff make it my favourite place to go for coffee & food plus the great views 🌊

Nice place facing the beach, the environment is pleasant and relaxing and you can enjoy the view of the sea from the windows. here you can have tasty sandwiches, various dishes and soups for a quick snack. There is a large selection of cakes and biscuits. The service is attentive and friendly. Advised.

Lovely food, great location for beach views

Local business, best business. Simple as that.

A perfect place to stop off for cake and coffee.

The coffee seems poor quality and the hot chocolate was really baddddd.

Another cafe I love going to! I've lost count of the number of times I've visited! It is very popular and if you want to avoid the queues, go early!

Este lugar suele ser genial. Las mejores vistas. Fui temprano a desayunar, pero el personal joven era tan grosero a pesar de que traté de ser amable. A esa hora de la mañana había muy poca gente allí. Unas preguntas básicas y me trataron como a un idiota. ¡Mejor capacitación del personal o simplemente contratación de mejor personal!

Beautiful view, good prices with good quality and very friendly staff. Thank you!

Joining the other customers who have experienced the 'rude' individuals working here. Nothing against the food or drink or the lovely girl who took our order, but the initial encounter was dreadful. A snide comment and sarcastic look when being told that we could sit once the table was cleaned, followed by eye rolls to a fellow staff member. When table cleared ignored then when asking if we can now sit we were barked at to stay put until told. Once sat I watched the interaction between the two and saw the shrugging shoulders, further eye rolls etc. The culture between these two is not customer orientated, more 'us' against 'them' (the stupid, annoying customer). I can see they are busy, I can see they are working hard, but they need to learn the correct words to use in such situations or they will continue to spoil the experience for future customers, looking at the negative reviews, I can see this is not uncommon. Correct words could be ' welcome, I'll quickly prepare the table then come and get you in just a moment'. Or 'can you wait here just a moment, here's the menu, I am just going to prepare your table and I'll be back in just a minute'. I've worked in the hospitality industry for more than 20yrs and these guys need re programming.

The best porridge in the city!!

Great food in a great setting at very affordable price

Beautiful location and venue but food is mediocre and service was average. One egg in a £14 shakshuka that is basically a bland tomato sauce. The English muffin was clearly stale. I won’t eat a meal here again but will have cake and enjoy the view.

Great Breakfast Spot. We stayed done the beach for a week and really liked the location and vibe inside the Café. Great selection of bakerys and other breakfast items on the menu. I would recommend the salmon bagel.

The view is absolutely stunning—perfectly positioned to enjoy both the beach and the sunshine. The French toast is incredible—super soft and juicy, with perfectly cooked bacon, cinnamon sauce, and maple syrup. It’s definitely a must-try. The salmon and avocado toast is also fantastic, with fresh, thick slices of smoked salmon, though my friend found the bread a bit too chewy. The pigs in a blanket were just okay, but I’d recommend adding scrambled eggs for an extra boost. The coffee is great, and it’s also pet-friendly.

The food is delicious (the portion is a bit small though). The place is lovely, the staff is friendly and the view is stunning. Get ready for a short wait (totally worth it)!

Super fresh selection of baked goods, great coffee and very attentive service. Was a great spot to get out of the wind and to warm up. I didn't eat myself but the food being delivered to surrounding tables looked delicious.

Came in here at the end of a pleasant walk from Musselburgh for a snack. Very busy with locals. Always a good sign. In spite of that service was fast. Good selection of food on menu. Large cake selection on menu. The toast made with their own wholemeal bread was very tasty. Additional seating available on promenade. Too windy to sit out on this day, but this seating is usually well used at other times.

Ci siamo fermati a riposare dal cammino e dal vento e per ristoranti con un tè caldo ed una fetta di torta. Locale carino sulla spiaggia, menù ampio ed invitante. Abbiamo assaggiato la carrot cake, la almond amd cherry cake e la victoria cake, tutte buone, meno la victoria cake che in mezzo aveva una cremina zuccherosa invece che la panna montata. Prezzi nella media del luogo

Great service and soup. Really lovely place

Great food. However, the lady with red hair was horrifically rude to us when she approached our table. This ruined the experience. We used one of the wall sockets to charge my laptop. She came over to us quickly and said aggressively - did you even ask ? We were in disbelief by this. She repeated again - did you even ask ? We apologised and said no. She went on to say it was a small business and that they would not pay to charge my laptop because it costs them money. This matter did not need to be dealt in such a shockingly rude way. I was utterly appalled at how unprofessional she was. Would not recommend.

I had a very disappointing experience at this coffee shop. I ordered a hot chocolate with Baileys, which was already overpriced at £6.50. Then, without asking if we were okay with the additional charge, they added a tiny, unwrapped cookie—barely 3cm—for an extra £3! They just placed it on the plate with the hot chocolate, as if it was complimentary. The quality of the products didn’t justify these exorbitant prices. It felt like we were being charged premium prices for mediocre offerings. They didn’t even bother to inform us about the cookie charge in advance. Overall, it felt like a rip-off. I wouldn’t recommend this place, and we definitely won’t be returning.

Tuve una experiencia muy decepcionante en esta cafetería. Pedí un chocolate caliente con Baileys, que ya estaba sobrevalorado en £ 6. 50 . Luego, sin preguntar si estábamos de acuerdo con el cargo adicional, agregaron una pequeña galleta sin envolver —apenas 3 cm— por 3 libras adicionales. Simplemente lo colocaron en el plato con el chocolate caliente, como si fuera de cortesía. La calidad de los productos no justificaba estos precios exorbitantes. Parecía que nos cobraban precios premium por ofertas mediocres. Ni siquiera se molestaron en informarnos sobre el cargo por cookies por adelantado. En general, se sentía como una estafa. No recomendaría este lugar, y definitivamente no volveremos.

The place is good, the staff is great. The owner charged us 3 pounds for a chocolate bar, which they put with the coffee, without asking. When you order a coffee and they give you the complimentary cookie, know that there is no courtesy, they charge you for it.

Slow, slow, slow service at this non dog friendly beach side cafe in Portobello. Nice slice of cake despite the very high price point. They didn’t bother to send out the dark single origin hot chocolate with oat milk I ordered but the vegan nutty banana cake was decent. As for the tea. Forget it. So a long, long wait and ended up not even serving properly they were quick to take payment having even tried to charge me not only for the hot chocolate but two cakes! Don’t bother going here and support other smaller more caring independent businesses instead. Ironically it wasn’t even that busy!

Bonitas ensaladas frescas, un montón de opciones, realmente encantador para sentarse al frente con vistas a la playa, especialmente cuando el tiempo es cálido.

I love the Beach House. The staff are friendly the food is good and the outlook is great. It's always clean and the atmosphere is always good.

Set on the promenade in Portobello, it has a scenic sea view. Spacious and cheerfully decorated. Good quality and well presented food. Service was excellent. It was popular and busy when we went so we had to wait 10 minutes for a free table but it was definitely worth it.

Saturday in November. A lot of staff running around but very slow service, 25 minutes spent waiting on a bowl of soup to arrive to then have to send it back because the soup is stone cold is disappointing. £5 for a kids soup (less than a ladleful) with one quarter of a slice (I'm not exaggerating) of the butt end of a stale loaf of bread is quite frankly a disgrace. The kids soup was cold too (not freezing cold, but kind of like it had been heated up half heartedly, 20 minutes ago, and then left on the side while somebody cut up the stale bread). A cold poached egg, however that may be possible, is not appetising. We didn't mention to the staff that the egg, rosti and black pudding were cold because quite frankly we'd waited long enough by that point and when the plates were collected nobody actually asked. This felt odd and is the first time i can remember that happening. Is the go to question at this point not 'was everything ok with the meal?' The prices are pretty much as you would pay anywhere respectable these days, which makes this place expensive for the experience that you get. If the prices are going to hike like that, then you need to deliver, I would have no problem with the exact same prices if the service and food matched expectations. It is in a lovely location on the prom and so is convenient in that regard. However I wouldn't rush back.

Not a huge menu, but everything we had was tasty, soup, quiche, and panini (could have been crispier).

La comida era agradable, pero el servicio menos. En un día en que el café estaba casi vacío, tomó bastante tiempo para que se tomara nuestro pedido, luego bastante tiempo para que se sirviera la comida y bebida y luego faltaron algunos artículos.

Lovely location and food. Service is ridiculously slow and the American waitress is the rudest server I have ever encountered. She lets the place down ever more than the wait times.

I went to them for breakfast, delicious 👌🏼 and the place is nice and the service is excellent. A beautiful experience. I advise you that anyone who visits Edinburgh must have an amazing sea view.

Lovely breakfast and very nice surroundings. The setting is absolutely beautiful.

Had breakfast here this morning and it was amazing. Had the tastiest French toast with a beautiful costal view . The staff were so lovely, I didn’t get her name but we were served by a short blonde woman and she had us feel so welcome :)

2a vez en menos de una semana y todo lo que puedo decir es que evitar el servicio al cliente fue atroz, el señor que es el gerente claramente fuera de su profundidad, haciendo todo lo posible, pero absolutamente ningún pedido, el personal se preguntaba sobre mirar dudoso no hola y un chico joven en particular fue increíblemente grosero, ningún pedido tomado durante más de 20 minutos después de que groseramente se le dijo que hiciera cola fuera, las bebidas llegaron 30 minutos después tuvimos que pedirlos después de que la comida llegó, los baños son una desgracia, así que cómo es la parte trasera de la casa. Este solía ser un gran lugar, pero no volveré!

Cute little brunch spot. Was very busy but only waited 5 min which was just fine. Lovely walk after down the beach & so many cute dogs having the time of their lives. Worth goin to. Food & service were professional. Cappuccino very tasty.

It looks like a go to place on the Prom but would recommend you try elsewhere. Barista staff can be quite rude to customers; ignoring them, answering any queries on service as if the customer is always wrong (have witnessed them being purposefully mean on more than one occasion) and best of all you queue up for this delight. Miros is much friendlier, more accommodating and the food is hearty and tasty.

Great breakfast, excellent service and superb location, right on the beach front. Definitely recommend the macchiato if you're after coffee.

Lovely place, but hugely overpriced - tiny coffee 120ml for £3.60!!!

Well I've just had the most expensive soup I've ever ordered at £7 a bowl! This included two pieces of bread which weren't even fresh. I appreciate that sitting overlooking the beach does come at a premium but the soup was very average. When I went inside to pay I was just completely ignored by the staff & even when eventually served the man didn't so much as look at me when taking my money. Not a great experience!

We were walking around Portobello, and this café caught our eye thanks to its beautiful display of delicacies. We did well to follow our instinct! We had a blast! Soft, tasty... wonderful :) little bonus beautiful view of the sea! Go for it !

This place is clearly very popular as could be seen by the queues outside last Sunday morning when it was cold and sunny. It didn't seem clear to us that there was a queue for an inside table but a separate (smaller) queue for ordering drinks for the outside tables next to the beach. Luckily some local people pointed this out as I was then able to move to the smaller and slightly quicker queue. We returned about 12 30 hoping for a light lunch but were told the kitchen was so behind that they were no longer taking orders for hot food. Clearly the business is a victim of its own success. The Danish pastry I had with fresh figs was delicious and worth the wait.

Nice cafe on the prom with great views out to sea. Food is decent, not cheapest but not silly prices. Staff training could be improved- the sight of a young waitress serving my coffee over my 2yr old grandsons head was shocking.

Nice little breakfast spot by the sea :) the cafe and cakes were really tasty too!

my mother and I went here and the bacon and ham were cold when we ate. my mother had to wait 25 minutes to get her poached egg on toast when mine came out in about 5, we had tea with our meal but for an entire pot there was only 1 teabag, we asked for another but they charged us another £3.50.

Perfect for a rainy seaside afternoon hot cuppa and cake

A very disappointing visit today. Ordered Club sandwich, chicken was cold with brown bits that I had to cut off. Bacon was also cold and poor quality, very fatty and horrible to eat. Salad was very basic and going brown at the edges, one slice of tomato. Very overpriced for poor quality. After sitting for 15mins I was informed they'd run out of smoothies - one of the reasons I went although very overpriced too. Service is quite slow but staff are generally friendly. Lovely location but I feel very let down today and reluctant to go back again.

Noticeable drop in quality and menu choices, and hike in prices since our last visit. Bit disappointed as this was a must-visit in the past.

Beautiful view of the beach even in the rain. Lovely staff helpful. Tasty fresh produce..

Stopped of gor some cake and coffee. The cake came to the table but had a 20-minute wait for the coffee. The head man was very rude to his customers and stressed. Plus, he overcharged us on our bill. He wasn't happy when we pointed it out to him. Refunded the difference. No apology. Beautiful cafe on Portobello promenade pity this grumpy man spoilt our experience.

Wonderful scones . The exact texture and taste I like . Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. I should have bought more to go (took just one). Good price. Great view on the sea. Less fan of scrambled eggs. Too small for the price .

Very nice atmosphere, perfect for a little stop for coffee and cake. However, the “real” meals tend to be in the expensive price segment. The brunch was a bit small, but the taste was still very good.

Truly adorable restaurant by the sea. Tasty food with GF options. Their menu changes seasonally, so be mindful of that when you're looking it up online. Easily the best coffee in Scotland. It was packed when we went (breakfast on a Friday) and we had to flag down our server to place our order. The food came very quickly and was fresh and delicious.

They have definitely let their standards slip. No wifi is a very restricted menu, and the service left a lot to be desired. We won't be back sadly.

Lovely scone and cuppa by Porty beach....brilliant location so busy. Only downside.....no cream except 'squirty' cream for my scone!! Will still return.

It was a place where I was pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of the staff. The food is delicious, and it's a place where you can have a light meal while looking at the sea.

Beautiful food with a varied and tasty brunch menu, some lovely cakes and traybakes and selection of drinks. Staff were lovely, nothing seemed too much trouble and a wonderful view of the beach and sea. Would highly recommend.

Ordered drink, didn't arrive. Asked waiter when food came, got arsey response that the machine had other people using it and to wait my turn. Drink never came.

Great food and fantastic service. Ishbel was super friendly and gave us recommendations on what to order!

I don't get the hype of this place. I guess, it's the first eating place most people see when getting to the beach following a map from the city (for tourist, this is likely the case) i made a mistake of not turning to my left and checked that there are plenty of places on the other side. Expensive and food is not really tasty. Burnt shakshuka and well done egg for 14 quid! Not really sure If they know how should a shakshuka be cooked. Staff are friendly though but would be nice to eat something nice.

Don't believe the hype, the service is practically non-existent. Once you eventually get inside (not the staff's fault) you enter into a struggle to get anything ordered which you have to wait an eternity for once you do order it. Hugely overpriced and reliant on the location.

Nice location, food ok, service AWFUL. pan-faced staff looking like they'd rather be anywhere but there Host/manager had the worst passive aggressive attitude when simply asked if we come in to order or wait at the table. £60 for brunch for 2 I expect not to be made to feel like I'm a burden on the staff by visiting. I can see by reading down I'm not alone in my experience, sadly.

Nice cakes and coffee. Large portions.

Food good but service very poor taken long time and forgetful of part of order

Over priced and no customer service skills whatsoever, waited longer than reasonable for 2 panini's, when I asked for an update it was clearly my fault for being unreasonable in asking, as the kitchen is "under pressure". They did arrive eventually with a thud and no eye contact.

Service is AWFUL. Waited 15mins outside for a table and were not told until we were sat, that we would have to wait a further 30 minutes for food. Tried to catch a staff member’s attention for 10 minutes and were then told we couldn’t order yet and the wait time was 30 minutes… once ordering?!?! (It wasn’t even that busy). Never experienced such terrible management. Absolute lack of clarity and care about customers, don’t waste your time.

Excellent location. Queue to get in, looked a bit chaotic. Took ages to get served, had to ask after 25 mins, others seemed more fortunate so not sure what was going on. 'Plating up' came the reply and sure enough food did arrive on plates 10 minutes later! £9 for one slice of Bruschetta, £11.50 for a club sandwich which represents poor VFM IMHO. Not many other eating options available though along the beach front.

Very nice by the sea. But a shame not to have fresh seafood in this type of country restaurant. The clothing of some servers could have been cleaner at the start of service at lunchtime. Otherwise nothing to complain about.

This place would be lovely but is let down a bit by the service. I've been in quite a few times and my experience has often been not being greeted or acknowledged. You'd understand if staff were busy serving other customers but often they will chat and banter amongst themselves while you wait for 10 mins for someone to acknowledge you standing there. It's not a case of being understaffed, which you could sympathise with. There's heaps of them, they're just more interested in chatting to each other than interacting with you.

A great café at probably the best location along the beach. They have a range of brunch and sandwiches you can pick. I'm giving 4 stars because the service is very slow. I get the feeling that they take their customers for granted given their location. Overall, it is a really nice place but it could be so much more.

After a second visit, it unfortunately seems like this is the kind of place that simply relies on its location. The service is non-existent! You have to wait for ages to get anything. I had to get up twice to go and find someone so that we could order and also to pay. The coffee as well as the food is really good but I wouldn’t go back because of the frustration experienced with the service. Unfortunate but true!

Visited here around noon today. We had our dog so queuing for picnic bench outside only option. After still waiting for bench 25min later and no obvious certainty about when we might get a table, we asked manager how long after we'd get a table we would then have to wait for food. "Oh possibly a further 25mins". We cut our losses and left. Why when we arrived wasn't it explained that we might have to wait an hour for food? "Oh, but we might be able to serve you quicker"....If there's a risk of having to wait an hour or more, wouldn't it have been common courtesy to be told that up front, to give us a choice of either continuing to wait or go somewhere else? This isn't the first time we've had poor service here. I certainly won't be back.

Excellent spot for brunch/lunch. Great beach views, delicious food and coffee, and friendly service

Great coffee and fantastic cake selection. Brilliant location for sitting and watching the world go by.

Ci abbiamo pranzato una domenica mattina, dopo una lunga e rilassante passeggiata lungo la spiaggia di Portobello. Il locale è molto carino e ben arredato, dispone di tavoli fuori. Cameriera davvero gentilissima. Abbiamo preso una wrap con felafel, una omelette al salmone e una fetta di carrot cake buonissima. Conto nella media.

I don’t recommend if you have plans to get to after… it takes AGES to get served, for food and for the bill. Had to go inside and ask to pay because I couldn’t wait any longer for the bill to arrive! Also.. £12 for two ice coffees… really?

If you don’t like working in service and hotel business please don’t do it! The waiter was horrible She was so rude You should hire more compatible people

A bit disappointed with the service actually, place wasnt full , quite a few inside tables available and had to ask to have our order taken after sitting about 20 minutes. There was 5 of us and 2 of our choices from the menu were unavailable, which was surprising as it was only 12pm. As mine was one of the unavailable, i chose sourdough toast with poached egg, again waiting an age for the food only to be brought 1 small slice of sourdough with 2 small eggs, i would have said something but didnt want to wait another age for the food. Probably wont return which is a shame as Portobello is a beautiful place to visit.

Friendly staff and fast service, excellent sea view, the dishes are very good (a little expensive). A must-see restaurant on this beach.

Perfect Food, nice Staff, great coffee and so much cakes…!

I had a pancake and coffee outside. It was a very pleasant day to be outside. Rather expensive but friendly place. I bought a quiche home and it was superb.

Oh dear. Went for cake and coffee mid afternoon. The very young staff were all congregated around the till making suggestions to each other, We were finally noticed, which was ok as we had time to contemplate which delicious cake to choose. On sitting down, we were given menus; thus far so good. We sat there for 25 mins..... Twice a server approached with another tables food. Other tables claimed their order. No one even looked at us so we couldn't even try and get any attention. After 35 mins we left. Very disappointing.

Summer days outside on a terrace are amazing! Great location with plenty of seating inside too. The broad menu offers delicious options, and the homemade goodies and smoothies are absolutely beautiful. Choosing a cake was tough with so many yummy options. Although the service can be a bit chaotic due to how busy they are, we probably had the best waitress looking after us. Overall, a great experience with every visit. ☀️

Delicious food, beautiful location

Food was good, but the portions were on the small side. The price is ridiculous though. £14 for eggs Benedict and the same for mushrooms/avocado on toast. I don’t understand how that’s justified even with local ingredients.

fab place when the sun is shining and its not too windy . great cakes and yummy hot chocolates

Really relaxing, beautiful spot, quick and kind service

Great food however ridiculous waiting time. We waited an hour after ordering to receive the food.

Freshly made pastries and cakes. Super friendly staff, they were so welcoming. We were going there twice a day. Didn't have something I didn't like

We stopped by this place because they offered a few vegan options that looked good. The view from the tables that are on the promenade is stunning and the indoor sitting area looked very mice as well. The vegan food we tried was very good. We went for the vegan haggis roll, which was actually similar to a burger (I would recommend adding some toppings to it, as otherwise it's a bit dry). We also went for the buddah bowl and the salad, and they were both quite good and healthy; just make sure you ask the server to swap the halloumi for vegan feta cheese. They had some vegan desserts, which looked yummy, but we didn't try them.

Great service nice and cozy place.

Great location, good food and good service.