The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant in Edinburgh, City of

Had the mushroom buttery and couldn’t recommend it more! Staff were friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive. Beautiful atmosphere!

Our first visit to Edinburgh for some time,and our first journey on the tram from Leith to the National Gallery and lunch at one of our favourite places. Bustling,but efficient and friendly service. The fish and chips looked yummy,with crispy batter and well cooked chips,while my Cullen Skink was a meal in itself as the menu says.Sadly no room for a pudding! Great to see the high standards being maintained. We will return! Also,congratulations to Cavaliere Victor. Well deserved.

The afternoon tea service was terrific. The baked goods/sandwiches were succulent and the tea was just right. The service was even better—Morgan was fantastic.

Had lunch here before visiting the Lavery exhibition. It was busy but welcoming. Our server Adam was friendly and very efficient. Food was great although I couldn’t finish my open sandwich. All in all a lovely experience.

After a lovely vist to National gallery we decided on lunch. What a wonderful restaurant. Staff so kind . Impeccable manners . We chose Cullen Skink with soda bread. Simply delicious! A sure delight!! Bravo to the chef! Finished off our meal with vanilla ice cream and empire biscuits. Heaven!!! Must give a very big thankyou to Rachel. So polite, kind, very knowledgeable with the menus. A fine example of excellent customer service. Many thanks.

esteban is a legend so nice so polite and really funny and the food was banging too. also orlando was really nice aswell thanks lads xo

Always a lovely meal must be the best fish and chips with amazing mushy peas delicious. A lovely place to people watch on a sunny day. Staff were all excellent 👌

The sunny terrace of this upmarket Scottish cafe looks right down Prince’s street gardens, incorporating the gorgeous Edinburgh sky line. The food, specifically the Scottish Mackerel salad, was the best fresh Mackerel I’ve ever tasted. Set off perfectly with fennel shavings and dill mayo. We had a very smiley welcome on the terrace from Holly, in fact all the staff were really helpful despite it being a busy lunchtime service Highly recommended.

Such a lovely cafe in the middle of the park. We sat outside and drank our coffee. Holly was charming. Will recommend to friends.

High quality food and personalised service. A most enjoyable family lunch. Every attention was conveyed by the staff waiting at the table. Many thanks to the chef.

Great breakfast, friendly waitress. Promptly served and everything cooked well. All this with a great view of the park. Worth the money. Only one criticism. There is only one ‘brown sauce’. If it ain’t HP it ain’t brown sauce.

Popped in this afternoon and treated myself to some delicious food, drinks, coffee & a cake. Shout out to my server Ben for his diligent service and putting up with all my requests, will be back.

Quick friendly service of life-saving coffee (with shortbread buttons) and scones after a tour of the gallery. Not too busy

Popped into this cafe for a spot of lunch after recommendation. Didn’t disappoint! Service was flawless as were the fish and chips!

We always enjoy your time at the The Scottish Cafe, beautiful view! Big portions of delicious fish and chips! And the Cullen which are our favourites! The staff are very welcoming and attentive. Credit to Adam for looking after us . Will surely be back!!

I frequently come back to The Scottish Cafe as I know I’ll be well fed and receive excellent service. I great spot to visit for a a generous lunch, accompanied with cake if you can manage. I always recommend!

We come here once or twice a month for lunch. The three adults always enjoy the excellent food which has sufficient range to cater for different appetites. One visit one of us will just have soup, another the - excellent- hake and the third the open sandwich. The next visit the permutations will vary. It’s always good and often better than good. But what I really want to praise is the atmosphere and service. We come with my small grandson and we are always made to feel at home and welcome. The attention to detail the adults service receives is excellent (that word again) whilst they make us feel welcome with the little one. So many other ‘up market’ establishments make you feel like a problem if you have a little one with you. I would like to thank everyone for every visit (today we were well looked after by Adam). See you soon Luff Faimly

A real tourist trap. We had: Shared starter - the haggis balls Then 2 main courses of Cullen Skink (which was really what most of us would describe as a bowl of soup but described as a main course on menu) with one piece of dry bread (no butter) One soft drink and one small glass of white wine No coffee or dessert Price £60.18 Apart from that the place looks like a works cafeteria and not something that should be attached to the Scottish National Gallery. Depending on where you sit, you can just about see the Castle. In other words, don't go there and be ripped off. Plenty of fine restaurants in Edinburgh with better and cheaper food.

Excellent food, friendly staff and stunning scenery, conveniently located in the center, with fair prices and a fabulous selection.

The food was delicious, the service was very quick, and the waiters were nice. What else could you ask for? Great experience overall, I would 100% recommend

Great friendly service from staff, particularly Ava who was very attentive, checking in on me throughout my meal and seemed very genuine when asking how everything was. With service like this I will definitely return again!

I had Afternoon Tea with my Mum as part of her Christmas Present. The food was wonderful, particularly the scones, and the petit fours were the perfect sweet treat to end on (so filling I took a small box of the treats home!). Our server Rebecca was lovely and attentive. Will need to come back with my partner for more sweet treats!

I popped in with my husband and kids for lunch and food was delicious especially Cullen Skink. Our waitress Ava was fantastic, she was so attentive even though place was really busy as it was Saturday. We will definitely be back soon!

The perfect spot for lunch on a rainy Febuary day. The service ( thank you Adam ) and food were great. We both chose fish based dishes that were cooked and presented really well.

It's the little things! Love the location and quality of food here. Atmosphere is always buzzing. I have issue with the service. On arrival ( half hour early for my booking) 1+- but accomodated without problem), I was led to a lovely table with fabulous view. I was offered water which I was appreciative of, not so nice after it was poured into a glass that must have been two minutes out the washer. Resulted in tepid glass of water. The waiter then approached my table to take my order with both arms loaded with dirty dishes from the table next door. Course he couldn't write down my order and course the wrong beverage turned up. The food was delicious and the wine really worked well with it. I just missed the attention to detail - close but found wanting for me. Will still return.

Jamie manager so efficient & friendly the best one can hope for took me to table with fine view over Gardens Lovely Tasty Soup quality pleasant other staff Quality Experience

Have been coming here for years, usually a relaxed environment to catch up with friends and family. Food and drinks are decent enough, but was surprised to be told they 'needed the table back' when the place was far from full and the lunchtime service...

Visited for a burns night. Service was good, attentive and friendly. Ceilidh was a lot of fun. Food was awful. Embarrassing for the cost. Soup (carrot and coriander) was not what was advertised at time of booking. Haggis was slices (like fried breakfast haggis) and...

It was a mixed experience - staff and setting great though service not speedy but that was ok as we were there to chat . Some dishes delicious but scullen skink portions were not even , one person got very little and the bread was...

Went to meet a family friend. Service great, we had cappuccino, tea and a cheesy scone with cream cheese and chives. Delicious.

Celeriac soup was unbelievably bland, it desperately needed salt and fat, cream or butter, and a good stock. It had the vicious consistency of thin wallpaper paste. The sprouts with pistachios, roasted roots and bean purée, were however delicious, if also a little under seasoned....

Great views, food and service. Our server, Jamie, was attentive and friendly throughout. We had afternoon tea to start off our Christmas and it did not disappoint.

Popped in to the cafe and were immediately shown to a table. We decided what we wanted to eat and drink but no one came to take our order. We waited for 25 minutes and were just go8ng to leave when we finally managed to...

Our visit was for the Christmas markets and the gallery. We were so glad to have stayed for lunch at The Scottish Restaurant. The food was delicious - I had a buttery. For those amongst us not aware, that is like a rich, flat, croissant...

Great food, nice Coffee and amazing service. Our server Owen was a delight, professional and very welcoming.

Service was very pleasant and efficient, and food most enjoyable (pastrami open sandwich.) Overall experience spoiled by background music, which was barely discernable, but just loud enough to allow disjointed snippets to be heard through the general noisy chatter. It added nothing to the general...

After a visit to the superb recently-opened new Scottish galleries, lunch at the Cafe was the cherry on the cake. Although very busy on a Monday lunchtime, staff promptly seated us and service was attentive, efficient and friendly throughout. Food was served surprisingly promptly too....

The service was efficient and the staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful, which contributed greatly to a most enjoyable day at the Gallery. In particular Andy went above and beyond to be of service.

I visited for lunch on a very stormy Edinburgh day. The restaurant was very busy but it didn't take long to be taken to a table - just me dining. Staff were polite and very efficient although, like a lot of places these days, they...

The restaurant is on the lower floor of the National Gallery with views out into Princes Street garden at the heart of Edinburgh. The staff are welcoming and there seem to be a lot of them. It’s slightly surprising then that service is a little...

Jamie and the staff at The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant made our visit amazing. We had tea to celebrate a birthday. I would return again in a second.

A great place for a relaxing lunch. The food was well presented and tasty. Our server, Owen, was extremely attentive and good humoured .

Superb service by Owen at a busy time. Chatty, efficient, welcoming. Food was great although rather a long wait.

Owen was fantastic, quick, courteous, and the berry scone with cream and tea was delicious and a great price. I wanted tea and a scone and found just what I wanted. They had savory options too. The view from the grand windows was fantastic. I...

Owen was our fantastic host and waiter Fantastic place and atmosphere Excellent food selection Speedy and attentive service

Always lovely. The cream scone is the best. Nice ambience and a welcome break from shopping! Owen was great.

Food was great today and the staff were so lovely, in particular Jamie who couldn't have been more friendly and helpful! We'll be back.

La carta a priori no pinta mal, pero cuando llegó lo pedido vimos que algo fallaba en cocina. La crema...

After a pleasurable but tiring gallery visit we took the opportunity to have lunch at Contini in the art gallery. Beautiful open view of the city and a very comfortable seat. Our server was Jamie who did a very efficient job of seeing to our...

Came with some friends this afternoon for a light lunch - we felt very lucky to be able to enjoy the last of the summer sun out on your lovely terrace. I had the Cullen skink, which was delicious, and very filling.

This was the perfect spot for a nice lunch if you are at or near the Scottish National Gallery. The staff was lovely and my server Jamie was an absolute delight. He was attentive and very nice. The food here was very good and the...

Lovely decor and prompt service. The menu was different but limited. I enjoyed my meal, although it was very large for a “light bite”. I did find it very expensive. This put us off ordering desserts.

I came with my partner, the food was really nice and the staff were really friendly and attentive. It was very busy but a buzzing atmosphere. The location is the best thing about it, stunning views.

The food was fine but the really disappointing thing was the refusal to take a Northern Ireland bank note, even when it was pointed out that it specifically states on the banknote that it is ‘sterling’. Very poor, will not return.

Lovely location - central but peaceful with lovely views of the Scott Monument and lots of greenery. Food was good and service delightful, especially given Sophia had to keep braving the downpour to bring us cutlery, water etc as we ate underneath an umbrella in...

At the gallery to see the Grayson Perry expo so popped in for a spot of lunch. Food was great and the service, Halley, was fantastic, defo recommend for lunch.

Disappointing lunch today. Visited several years ago and enjoyed lunch, but today it was poor. Tasteless soup (both of us have never added so much seasoning to anything in our lives, but it remained largely tasteless!). Accompanying cheese scone was very dry and we suspect...

Usually love this place but food was cold when it arrived not helped by a no cutlery situation . Went to find someone and requested condiments also . Took a while as the poached eggs congealed on a cold buttery and we watched cutleryless. Arrival...

Such a great all round experience! The staff, food and setting were just wonderful. My family loved it so much we came back for tea the next day and the tea and cakes were fantastic!

The best place to enjoy a sunny day in Edinburgh. Great food, atmosphere and Sophia was a great waitress! Definitely a must stop while in the city to slow down and enjoy the day.

Great food, restaurant and staff. Sophia was lovely and extremely friendly - thank you for a lovely experience!

Came in for a quick lunch on my way to the gallery. Vegan so wasn’t expecting much, but had a lovely vegan risotto and cake for dessert. My server Dora was excellent!

Very nice lunch at reasonable prices. Great view outside. Very good service. Locattion very convenient to museum and Castle.

Excellent location on a beautiful day. The food in this restaurant was well prepared, nicely presented and excellent value at the price. A special mention to the staff who were welcoming, accommodating and efficient. A special mention to Meryn who dealt with a potentially difficult...

Excellent start to finish. Order taking promptly by very friendly staff. Highly recommend. Will go back soon.

I thoroughly enjoyed the seasonal set lunch, which used seasonal ingredients and was so delicious. The set lunch wasnt just haggis and neeps, when i was there. I am from Melbourne Australia and this was easily the best meal I had on my trip. I...

Spent a few days in Edinburgh with the family and spotted the reviews on this place and decided to try it. It was a great choice, with very friendly staff, good food, and reasonable prices for central Edinburgh.

Lovely restaurant in the Scottish National Gallery with lovely views of the gardens . We were looked after by a waitress called Dora. Friendly attentive service

Didn't plan stopping here but the rain was so heavy we sought refuge, glad we did. Lovely lunch, full breakfast for my daughter and fish and chips for me. Very good quality and big portions. The staff were lovely, even though it was busy, shout...

Came here with with my friends on a busy afternoon, the terrace was full unfortunately but we were given a nice window table inside with an amazing view. The food was exceptional! I had the Cullen skink and both my friends had the fish and...

Called in gor lunch. Food was fine, but had an issue with how the bill was presented. When the bill was brought over and it was explained that they added a 10% tip but would remove it it if requested. WTF? Pretty cheeky to make...

Friendly service. Restaurant was busy but we were kept well advised of delays. Abbie was attentive and efficient.

I booked a table for lunch here today. The welcoming staff (a nice young Northern American woman) found me a table near the window. We ordered the set lunch (spinach/pea/ham) soup and the sea trout main. We asked for water twice and then on a...

The ambiance of this place is lovely. It is bright and inviting, but the service was mediocre. It was perfunctory. I didn't feel like a guest here, but a obligation. The menu sounded wonderful. It described everything so nicely, but in the end, my ham...

Never tire of this place. Vibrant restaurant with a touch of continental atmosphere. Seating inside and outside (weather permitting) overlooking the Princes Street Gardens. Lunch consisted of their homemade pea soup with 2 scones with one smothered in sour cream mousse and the other in...

Was feeling happy and relaxed until I entered this place this afternoon. £19 for 2 hot beverages, a cake and a scone. Overpriced for a start. The scone was dry as a bone. When I mentioned this to the waiter, he was totally unapologetic and...

A wonderful day spent on the new terrace, enjoying the Edinburgh sun while it lasts. My friend and I frequently come back here as they offer great food and fantastic service. Although busy and under pressure, the team coped very well and we felt looked...

Nous sommes venus prendre le petit déjeuner. C’était somme toute assez banal, et l’ambiance n’était pas au rendez-vous. Assez décevant

Great spot for the most delicious bacon roll that you will ever taste. Smoky taste from the chargrill is amazing & the 4 rashers of bacon are served on a massive Italian roll. One between us is enough, it’s so huge. Love it now that...

Popped in here after visiting the galleries killing time prior to a Sunday afternoon concert at the Usher Hall. Staff were great and we were well looked after despite the place being busy. Loads of outside seating (possibly augmented during Covid and kept on) though...

Went in with a friend to submit our dissertations and have some lunch, and was blown away by both the service and food! I had the blue stilton 'butterfly' which was absolutely delicious and a generous portion, whilst my friend enjoyed the mushroom focaccia, which...

The lovely Lauren gave us a great table with a beautiful view. Ava and Violetta were our smiley servers who brought our scrumptious salmon. Dora, Grace and Alba all added to our lovely lunch. The only thing that could have improved our experience is the...

Visited on a Saturday morning. We all had the Scottish breakfast with tea and fresh orange juice. The meal was excellent. Well cooked, prepared and tasty. The staff were both friendly and efficient. Would definitely recommend the cafe.

Underneath the Scottish National Gallery. We had to queue but not for long. Ordered a ham sarni and my god what a sarni it was. So big I could'nt finish it. Not cheap, but good service and great view of the park and castle.

A light lunch of lentil cake with an amazing salad and fresh mint tea Will definitely be back Service by Orlando efficient and charming

The macaroni cheese with cauliflower was superb (tasty cheese sauce and perfectly cooked pasta) as was the smooth rich Cullen skink. A bottle of red was reasonably priced. We shared a light fluffy orange cake and the coffee was excellent (nice touch with mini shortbread...

Visited on Tuesday the 20th of December got 1 black coffee 1 hot chocolate 1 scone 1 empire biscuit I. Total it cost £18.60 Really wasn't that good tbh definitely can't recommend to normal Edinburgh people cheaper and better cafes within walking distance

What a fantastic and delicious festive set lunch this was. Literally every mouthful was amazing. Do not bother with any other restaurant at Christmas just eat here. The produce is clearly of excellent quality (mostly local and organic) and the chefs obviously know what they’re...

The staff were happy to let us share a brunch. We each had a sausage, two slices of bacon, an organic poached egg on sourdough, a tomato, mushrooms, a slice of black pudding and one of haggis, all delicious, for £18. We could not have...

Frequently have lunch here when in Edinburgh and always when visiting the Xmas Market. This visit had a number of disappointments. The automatic 10% gratuity added to the bill is a bit cheeky, if people want to leave a tip they should be free to...

Good atmosphere, fast service, good menu, food quality average. The location is stunning looking on to Princes St gardens and the fabulous Scott Monument. It is spacious and very clean

One always gets a good feeling when met in a friendly and professional manner by the front of house staff. After waiting a minute or two we were shown to our table. Drinks were delivered swiftly by what appeared to be a well run machine....

We’re visiting from Southern California and looking for a good breakfast place with great coffee and comfortable atmosphere, and boy did we find it. From the excellent food, coffee, and service to the view of Princes Street Gardens, this was the perfect place for us!

We wanted a couple of coffees before our visit to the nearby gallery. Ordered and waited 15 minutes. It wasn’t overly busy and plenty of staff working. Just gave up and walked out.

Popped in for coffee No skimmed milk. Ordered toast which I had to ask for again when didn't arrive with coffee. Toast almost burnt Would think twice before visiting again

Ok the prices are hefty - over 8 quid for tea and a cake but the little Banana and Almond cake with caramelised almonds on top is a thing of beauty and delicious.An upmarket environment to sit in (or on the outside terrace in better...

This place is awesome. It’s comfortable, colorful and a lovely view over a park. The breakfast is food at its best. The eggs Royal with fantastic salmon on that pastry were so scrumptious. The Scottish breakfast had of those very fresh farm eggs, good haggis...

Nice place before or after visiting the Scottish National Gallery. Nicely situated with great views. Extensive European style menu. Good service but a little expensive.

Decided to have some lunch here after a visit to the impressionist exhibition in the gallery. The restaurant was quite busy as it was about 1.15. We were given a table by the door which was ok but a bit annoying when people would come...

A group of us went into the restaurant before visiting an exhibition. On our way in we told the staff that we only wanted a coffee. The staff insisted that we all sit at the same table when 2-3 smaller ones would have been fine....