The Terrace Cafe in Edinburgh, City of

Very disappointing, used to be a great place to visit but dismayed now, will never revisit. Grumpy service, £8.50 for a rather stale roll supposedly garden vegetables and pickled mushroom filling but the filling was a few meagre strands of veg. shavings, two tiny shavings of the promised pickled mushroom, no butter either. Similar high price for a claimed “croquet monsieut“ with green Béchamel sauce. Contained some ham and cheese but no sauce. Not as described and not OK especially at this premium price. Have to agree with the scores of other bad reviews. The Royal Botanical Gardens are letting themselves and their visitors lm, sadly. What did they change, it used to be great. Lovely surroundings but no point in visiting this cafe. Well below par.

We were gifted an Afternoon Tea for Two at The Terrace as a Christmas present, but didn’t get around to using it until June. Although we’re frequent visitors to The Botanics it had been quite a while since I’d been in The Terrace Cafe. The layout and seating has changed significantly, and for the better in my opinion. We were shown to our table and given a list of teas and coffees to choose from. I went for an Earl Grey and Brian opted for a fruit tea. A spicy vegetarian soup starter was bought in small flower pots, together with stand filled with rolls, falafel, savoury and fruit scones, and a selection of cakes. Butter, jams and cream were on separate plates. The quality of the food was great, and the staff came back several times to ensure we had all that we needed. We felt the relaxed ambience of the cafe, added to the afternoon. So much so that we discussed gifting this experience to other family members at some point in the future.

£8.60 for coffee and a scone with butter. Nothing exceptional and grossly overpriced. Suspect they are geared up to fleece tourists. Won’t be back as better more affordable cafes close by.

I ordered a flat white coffee and scone Sunday 12th May 2024 at your upstairs cafe and was given a small device that I was told would tell me (not sure 'how' at the time) my coffee was ready. Two other ladies on the next table ordered the same thing in front of me. I waited over 10-12 minutes for the coffee and was told it would be a further few minutes - when I asked how long taht would be - the server said about 5 minutes. I sat down and waited again for about another 6 or 7 minutes. By which time I had given up on my scone and coffee and departed. The two ladies suffered the same delays. I reported this to the man on the Information Desk so that he was aware of my complaint. Surely this is very unreasonable, and did actually put me off being at the Gardens having travelled over an hour to get there. The girls behind the serving counter were very rushed with the coffee machine so I imaged there were others in a similar position. This surely is not a difficult thing to sort out - suggest you visit the National Portrait Gallery who are generally very busy and they organise themselves.

We had to wait half an hour for four hot drinks and the order was wrong when it did finally arrive. Tables, floor and toilets were all filthy.

I used to go to the Terrace Cafe a lot when I lived in Stockbridge and have been back a few times since. There used to be quite a long queue at the serving area, often due to hold ups in customers getting hot drinks. More recently they introduced a bleeper system so that you could be seated and are bleeped when your drink is ready. This makes getting seated much quicker and, if you don’t want tea or coffee etc, that is a big bonus, however, all this has done is shift the problem for those who have paid for hot drinks. You are left sitting at your table for quite a long time. If you have bought a cake to go with your coffee, for example, you may find that you have picked away at it so that there is little or none of it left by the time the coffee is ready. I ordered, from a very pleasant young woman at 14.10 and sat down waiting, it was after 14.35 before my coffee was ready!! The cafe was only moderately busy and there was no problem getting a seat indoors or out. In the short term they really should warn you about the length of wait and for future they should have another barista on each shift and/or train the existing ones to be a bit more lively about it. The atmosphere behind the counter seemed to be rather laissez faire; nobody looked like they were at all concerned about the length of time they were keeping customers waiting. This was not a one off, everybody I have mentioned this to has had a similar experience.

Went for lunch. It seemed there were very few savoury options available. The only savoury vegan option available was a soup and on asking if the bread was vegan, the server simply said " I don't know". I asked him to check ( they have a sign to ask staff about any allergens" and he said " I suppose so". After glancing at the allergen book he gave up on that and instead asked a member of staff who confirmed the bread was vegan. So one ginger beer with no glass, one soup with dry bread ( no margarine) came to just over £8. The soup tasted quite nice, so giving this 2 stars as I didn't go away completely hungry. For the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens to do so little to support more animal friendly and sustainable lifestyles in their cafe it is disappointing to say the least. It is one of the few places I would have expected to make more effort.

We've been coming to this place for years and it's changed a few times. It's now run by Heritage Portfolio which is owned by Sodexo. I'm saying this because it explains the appalling service we received. We came in for a coffee and were surprised and disappointed by the lack of choice - sandwiches and cake essentially. You used to get proper hot food but that's gone. We ended up ordering a sandwich, a scone and two coffees. The staff seemed to suffer from a lack of training, I think the person who served us was brand new to the job. However, the food came and then we were given a little card and told that it would buzz when the coffee was ready. We sat down (no problem finding a seat) and started to eat the sandwich, slowly. After about 10 minutes the buzzer went off. Unfortunately it was a mistake and our coffees weren't ready. But it was clear the coffees hadn't even been started even although we had ordered them 20 minutes earlier. It was shambolic. When the coffees eventually arrived, they were served up in chipped mugs. I quite liked the sandwich, although it was a bit dry. The scone was OK and the coffees were fine. But the service was appalling in every respect - no apologies for the lateness of coffees, no apology for the chipped cups. The technology sucks and doesn't work.

The coffee and scone we ordered were very good but we had to wait 20 minutes to place our order and a further 10 to be served with our coffee. The two members of staff were very pleasant but one till and one coffee machine are not sufficient. There are lots of seats, inside and out and many were empty because it took so long to be served. I am not sure it is appropriate to only take cards and no cash. Although this was not a problem for us, it might be for others. Since COVID most cafes we go to take cash again.

Had coffee and over priced cake very small not worth the money think the guy picked the smallest one! Asked for extra hot cappuccinos got just 2 warm ones!

Friend gifted me a voucher for afternoon tea for two so my wife and I went along. Lovely to walk through the Autmumnal Botanic Gardens and the Terrace is nicely set amongst the trees of said garden. We have been there many times over mnay years with kids, family and friends, The food was always a bit basic and not great coffee but it has been refurbished and looked very nice. We went mid-week so it was quiet. The staff were very welcoming and friendly and gave us a choice of tables to use. Very quick coming back with hot drinks as well. The afternoon tea was very nice with three tiers on the tiered cake stand starting with one with fresh, hot soup, smoked trout rolls, mini quiches and one other savoury brioche. The second two kinds of scones, plum jam and cream while the top one was a delicious selection of chocolate fudge cake and 3 other sweet treats. Could not finish everything but they provided paper bags to bring leftovers home. One of us asked for a pot of earl grey and it was a treat to have iy come in a proper pot with actual tea leaves and not bags. Overall a very nice experience with attentive and friendly staff. Bonus 'conversation' and wave from a baby at the table across from us.

The Terrace Cafe has some really nice features like upholstered seats and couches inside and some very sturdya external seating. We were only there for some respite from tyhe heat and had ice creams.

Slow service, food choice extremely limited and overpriced... £5.75 for a bagel with a thin slice of emmenthal and two slivers of tomato! Outside, had to have my tray handy to deter the two resident herring gulls from repeatedly landing on the table. Customers asking for the location of cutlery were spoken to abruptly by a staff member frustrated by the endless queue and, presumably, repetition of the same question. Not good enough. This used to be an excellent cafe with a good range of wholesome food choices, efficiently delivered. The reorganization has rendered it soulless.

This is quite the worst experience I have had in any cafe/restaurant, call it what you will, in a very long time. Look back my profile and see that I can see the positives in most situations and rarely judge harshly. This place is the exception. The 2 stars are for the counter service which was very good and the haggis sausage roll which was also very good. And that wraps up the positives. A child’s box with 2 tiny and completely stale ciabatta rolls with a scraping of margarine, 1 with a slice of ham & the other with a dried out slice of cheese, a tiny plastic container of grapes, a square of cake not even the size of a matchbox,and a carton of apple juice. £5. A very average scone, cup of coffee and glass of wine - total £24. Sorry The Terrace. If you think any of this is justifiable or reasonable, I would have to disagree and will vote with my feet and not return. Nor would I ever advise anyone to visit. To put it bluntly. You have a hard neck!

We booked a table without any problems and a vegan relative was well catered for. The service was prompt and the staff member was very attentive. Our 'bird cage' food dispensers were ideal and the pastry chef came through and explained in detail what the various food items were. A menu had pictoral representations of each 'course' and the food was delicious and more was provided than we could eat. We had water supplied and extras which were incuded in the very reasonable set price for each person. No pressure to leave after a set time unlike some restaurants.

I like to come to this cafe with a lady I care for. Since the last time I came my lady’s illness has deteriorated and behaviour can be very unpredictable, and is a falls risk. When I placed my order I asked if someone could possibly bring the order to my table as I also had a wheelchair with me and couldn’t carry the tray. The girl said yes no problem. I went to the table, they waited till I was sat down then started shouting to collect it, after a while I had to leave my lady and go and collect the tray with cakes as drinks still weren’t ready. Then I heard continuous shouting to collect drinks so I had to leave lady again ( who was starting to get agitated) and go back and forth to collect drinks. I explained that I had asked for someone to help me and I was rudely replied ‘it’s collection only’ to which I explained of my lady’s condition, was given another excuse. In the meantime tables that had been booked were getting first rate table service. My lady became extremely frustrated and we ended up having to leave, my lady not even drinking her drink or finishing her cake. I am appalled by the attitude of the staff especially the person shouting for people to collect there orders. It’s such a lovely place but the customer service was shocking.

This cafe has been nicely renovated and could be so nice BUT it is badly let down by the staff. one person doing hot drinks and she was chatting on her phone and even disappeared for a while, 2 staff at till and massive queue building up. Much better service at the also newly renovated Gateway cafe.

Rude staff devoid of common sense. Totally overpriced, rolls were stale and almost unchewable. Such a nice renovation, consider renovating your customer service team as today’s visit was unacceptable. Further action will be take for discrimination also.

This cafe has so much potential. The views are fab and there’s a lot of outside space....however the staff could certainly do with some customer service training, even the basic pleasantries are non existent and they cost nothing. Food is vastly overpriced and choice limited. My main gripe however is why oh why are the toilets and change areas closed. I have been in many cafes recently and the facilities are available. This cafe in particular is frequented by young mums with young children, toilet facilities are therefore an absolute must. There are toilets down in the main building but you can’t up and leave everything to run down the hill with a child who suddenly needs the toilet. Think about your customer dynamic and their needs - a toilet is NOT too much to expect.

This coffee shop looks nice from outside, but it doesn’t seem to be very well organised when you enter inside. Three people behind the till and you still wait 20-25 minutes to get drinks only. Some people in front of me gave up and left, but I had to order mine, as it wasn’t only for me.The Covid measures in the Garden are all in place, but I didn’t like the Terrace Café’s ones. I ordered tea. The guy who was making the tea -Ian, didn't wear gloves. He would make various drinks, touch here and there. Touch the shelves, touch the coffee equipment, touch steamer, touch the milk pot, touch the milk, touch different things, maybe the bin bag before that, who knows what else? Then, he would open the tea and take the tea bag in his hand, but he wouldn’t place it into a cup immediately. He would keep it into his sweaty palm while he was doing something else with the same hand. I do appreciate the efforts of serving people in this time, but the hygiene wasn’t the best.I asked for unopened tea pack and hot water, but he refused and gave me the one he already made. I asked for unopened one again, as I couldn’t drink the one “he made”. The man became angry as I didn’t take the first tea. He started making noice through the equipment, hitting the metal milk pot onto the shelf in a noisier way to show he wasn’t happy. He only gave me half hot water for the tea. I needed to wait for another drink, but it was very unpleasant.Because of the way the guy served me, the tea was bitter and I didn’t enjoy it. If I go to the garden next time, I will carry my own thermos, so I don’t have to experience queues and a dirty hands tea bag service.If it is Covid times and you have distance dots on the floor, giving an unopened tea is a small logical thing you could offer, too. Basic hygiene rules.This was my first and last time in the Botanic Garden café.

Un rollo de jamón y queso para 5. 50 - ¿de verdad? ! ! Podría ser una idea (a) contratar a un miembro adicional del personal durante los períodos pico para aliviar las largas colas y (ser) etiquetar la tarifa que se ofrece junto con los precios. Todos después de una lista tenían que preguntarle al pobre y asediado soltero de servicio cuál era la elección de la lista antes de que él también tuviera que lidiar con la parte de abogado de la operación, obtener los datos de contacto y luego pedir una cantidad exorbitante de dinero al franco en esta etapa, apostadores desconcertados, gruñones pero resignados. ¡Haz un picnic, es mucho más rápido y solo puedes culparte a ti mismo si no lo disfrutas!

Desafortunadamente, el restaurante Gateway estaba cerrado (¡no hay actualizaciones en Google!), Así que terminé aquí. La encantadora dama detrás del mostrador me dio un consejo sobre cómo usar correctamente mi máscara facial mientras esperaba en la caja. Muy educado y agradable. Gran vista desde la zona de asientos.

As we had anticipated that the Hogmanay Street Party wouldn't be the best option for our age bracket, we made reservations 3 months in advance for the New Year’s Eve party at the Royal Botanical Gardens Terrace Café for 19:30. The taxi took us to the West Gate on Arboretum Place. We waited at the gate for ½ hr until being ushered into a main building where guests were being divided up between the restaurant party (the fancier, more expensive, 5-course one...) and the Terrace Cafe party (more casual dress, STG 75 per person, 3-course one). We walked along a dimly lit path to the festively decorated Terrace Café, where we were graciously met by friendly hosts with a glass of mulled wine and promptly escorted to table #3 (one of about 8) where we were later joined by two lovely couples. Dinner consisted of a rich Scottish soup, sumptuous haggis with neeps and tatties, and a lovely caramel cake for dessert served with coffee or tea. It was a no-frills evening, with a cosy, unpretentious atmosphere that involved a DJ playing an international mix of mostly oldies and a fun dance floor. At 23:55, we were led outside to the edge of their garden with a glass of champagne in hand, all bundled up, to toast in the New Year against the backdrop of an elaborate firework display above Edinburgh Castle. We then left and caught the first taxi we managed to hail down at the West Gate. For such a busy evening, a 5 min wait for a taxi was miraculous. What a great way to welcome in the new year!

This review is primarily based on outstanding service and warmth of welcome. I didn’t catch the name of our waitress but she mentioned she did massage therapy. SO thank you for making such an effort and for creating such a positive experience in a very lush setting in the Botanical gardens

Do you hate food? Someone who’s idea of food is simply fuel for the body and no more? If so, the Terrace cafe could be the place for you, an ideal setting to take your worst enemy or to ensure the person you’re coupled with leaves you.A thin slice of some type of lemon cake with icing will set you back £4.95, and by thin, I mean marginally thicker than a slice of Prosciutto; given the size of the cake, it must be about £130 for the whole thing.Ordered a jacket potato with Italian Chicken.The Italian Chicken came out of a tub that was stored in a very cold fridge, chicken, chopped olives in a tomato pasatta, no herbs.This ice cold filling was put inside the jacket potato.The potato was actually raw in parts, it was a large spud but there were bits that were still solid, I don't mean firm as though a microwaved spud, unlike a fluffy spud you'd get from an oven, but actually raw potato.I could had taken this back, I very much wanted to, but I was sat at a table with my young daughter who requires a wheel chair, and did not want to leave her alone at the table, and maneuvering a wheel chair and a tray of food was very tricky, so just left the raw parts.Also, when paying £6.90 for this part raw spud with a bit of salad, I gave £20 and only got change for £10, I had to remind the cashier that I gave her £20, thankfully I was aware, thankfully I wasn't half asleep and just threw the change in my wallet.

The room is very pleasant with views of the garden; the waiting staff were pleasant and helpful but the food was limited in choice, extremely slow to arrive, and almost unbeatable.I ordered the Scottish breakfast and my wife wanted coffee and (gluten-free) cake. The waitress was very helpful and, after consulting the kitchen, told us that the only gluten free options were desserts: a meringue nest or a brownie. We ordered the meringue nest. The coffee was ok and arrived quickly but the food took about half an hour to arrive and wasn’t very pleasant. The breakfast was extremely dry, and the meringue nest looked like 4 small supermarket meringues arranged around a dollop of creamy gloop. My wife refused to eat it and they didn’t charge us for it. I ate most of the breakfast because I was starving but it was the least pleasant breakfast I’ve had for some time.

We partly walked round the delightful gardens and then fancied a bite to eat.We ordered the self service soup/sandwich deal and had intended to choose two different soups.However we were told that there would be a ten minute wait for the second soup so both opted for the courgette and fennel soup.Not a combination we'd had before (the reason why we'd thought to have an alternative) but no need to worry it was delicious.The friendly server invited us to take our pick of a good choice of different bread slices to accompany the soup; the tasty filling sandwiches chosen from a reasonable selection meant that we were only just able to finish everything off.The remainder of our abridged tour of the gardens meant we'd had a very nice 3 hours in the gardens.We were blessed with a sunny afternoon and sat outside on the picnic benches.Arriving for lunch just before 2pm we didn't have any issues getting served or finding a table.A robin alighted on the adjoining bench seat which was a pretty sight and more welcome than the gull and her chirping baby off-spring that was wandering around - though without bothering customers. (I've heard too many stories about fish and chip thefts in coastal resorts so was a little wary at first)We plan to visit the glasshouse in the future and if the timings are right we will certainly return.

Había visitado el invernadero, así que decidí quedarme a almorzar.A pesar de una oferta de comida, todavía era muy caro (2 x sopa, 2 x sándwiches, 2 x agua era más de 17).El servicio fue lento. La cola se dividió con la gente que intentaba adelantarse a la comida caliente para el café que terminó en un desastre descontento.La comida estaba bien de calidad.Asientos de jardín de metal tipo mesas y sillas.Aseo limpio pero con lo que parecía el secador de manos más ineficaz de la historia.No recomendaría este lugar; ¡Haga un picnic y disfrute del aire fresco!

Mi esposo y yo planeamos tomar el té de la tarde ayer cuando visitamos los Jardines Botánicos por primera vez. A la llegada a las 2. 00 pm nos llevó a una mesa una joven camarera. Ella nos dio los menús y dijo que nuestro pedido se tomaría en la mesa.Nos convertimos en otros clientes que llegaron después de que otro personal de servicio tomara sus pedidos.A las 2 . 20 pm llevamos nuestros menús a la zona de recepción y dijimos que nos íbamos porque nadie había venido a tomar nuestro pedido. Cuando volvimos a mirar hacia el restaurante, pudimos ver a nuestra camarera de pie conversando con uno de sus colegas.No es una buena primera impresión.

Visité después de un paseo por los encantadores jardines y al tomar un descanso del Festival Fringe. El café estaba muy ocupado y el servicio era lento. Las tablas también necesitaban ser despejadas.

A jacket potato filled with wall plaster goo(a.k.a mixed cheese). This jacket potato was well passed its sell by date; proudly grown and discovered in the fossilised peat bog perhaps. Awful.The fruit on display, especially the apples, were probably okay in the summer of 2014; so a bit long in the tooth now on the 14 June 2019. Go to TESCO's and replenish the fruit basket in your own time. The cheese pickle ploughman sandwich was dry and tough to swallow. A torture. Even the birds on the terrace avoided the wreckage of our meal. Expensive at 26 pounds, and a hugely disappointing lunch. With a largely captive audience here enjoying the beautiful gardens, this level of service would be better under the plough. Airport vending machines provide more cleanliness and taste.

Todos los sándwiches y envolturas no veganos. Nada etiquetado como vegano. El personal tiene que irse y preguntar. No es imposible encontrar una solución. Un ambiente agradable, aparentemente contemporáneo, con esta anomalía cada vez más extraña.

¡Esta fue una visita de regreso para el café de la mañana después de una experiencia anterior menos que buena! Esta vez teníamos deliciosos bollos con nuestros cafés de sabor completo, y también pedimos el almuerzo de picnic de un niño. Todo fue de un alto nivel, lo que ha restaurado nuestra fe en este café. Pudimos comer afuera en un día soleado, lo que contribuyó a la calidad de la experiencia. Cualquier visita a estos maravillosos Jardines Botánicos no está realmente completa sin una visita a uno de los tres cafés en el lugar. No es barato, pero la entrada a los jardines es gratuita. Definitivamente lo recomendaría.

What a disappointing experience after enjoying the wonderful Tapestry Exhibition. Poor service, waiting, soup almost cold by the time we were served and we had to wait forever, again, for our coffee which ended up not being what we ordered.

Stopped there for a coffee nothing really special about it except that’s its in the garden however if you need a quick take away coffee it’s a quiet little stop during a walk around the botanical garden .

On most occasions we visit the superb Royal Botanic Garden we drop in past this cafe in the garden for coffee/ tea and cakes and there are good choices and service

Had a nice lunch with my Mum, had jacket potatoes, mine with tuna mayonnaise and the other with chicken and bacon mayonnaise, both of which came with a side salad, we also had coffee and cake. The cost is typical for an attraction in the centre of Edinburgh. The staff were friendly and helpful, bringing our coffees over to our table. The cafe isn't big, so expect it can get really busy during peak periods.

Es un tanto trágico que estos hermosos jardines en el centro de Edimburgo permitan que esta horrible cafetería se venda. Es demasiado caro Muchos lugares en Edimburgo lo son, sin embargo, eso habría estado bien si la comida hubiera sido comestible. Una opción de 2 sopas, ambas enlatadas, y ambas horribles. Costo, 4. 95. Nuevamente, eso está bien para la sopa que alguien ha tomado un tiempo, lo hizo ese día, y tiene algo de sabor y valor nutricional. Esto fue horrible. No tenía sabor ni olor, y de hecho creo que incluso puede haber sido diluido un poco. Por favor, deja de vender sopa si esto es lo mejor que puedes hacer. Mi esposa tenía un sandwich empacado y dijo que estaba bien. Supongo que esto es comprado en un servicio de catering. Las personas en la mesa junto a nosotros habían horneado papas que parecían haber sido lanzadas 20 pies en el aire y se les permitió aterrizar en el plato, luego se las sirvió con un poco de queso plástico rallado y una ensalada de hojas. De nuevo, para esto. Para un restaurante que tenga un lugar tan hermoso y una base de clientes cautivos, servir comida como esta es vergonzoso. Volveré a visitar los jardines, muchas veces espero, pero la próxima vez me llevaré un picnic.

Realmente debería ser mejor que esto. Su ubicación es magnífica, pero qué decepción. La verdad es que era una hora muy concurrida pero mesas disponibles. Sin estallar, derrames en la mesa, cara y caótico son palabras que nos ocurrio. Teteras son inútiles prefiriendo a compartir el té con la mesa. Similar con leche.

Enjoyed a delightful al fresco lunch at this very reasonably priced cafe in the grounds of the Edinburgh Royal Botanical Gardens. Excellent quiche. Hot and cold food available, two soup options, jacket potatoes. Indoor and outdoor season. A pretty patio area. Tables with umbrellas.

Am Ende unserer Erkundung des Botanischen Gartens landeten wir im Terrace Cafe. Trotz Mittagszeit gab es ausreichend Platz, sowohl drinnen als auch draußen. Wenn man sich für draußen entscheidet, sollte man auf die (z.T. recht großen) Möwen aufpassen, die direkt an (und auf) den Tisch kommen.

Beautiful place to sit outside on a nice sunny day. Often very busy tho and expect to queue in a very frustrating way, like in a school canteen without the bullying.

Cafetería con comida muy pobre muy pobre. No puedo culpar al personal estaba haciendo lo mejor de una mala situación incluso parecían avergonzados de vergüenza y de los precios de la comida y estándar. El diseño de la cafetería es tan horrible. La distribución es una auténtica broma que diseñó este desastre de un café! ? .

Vinimos aquí para el almuerzo, pero salimos como nos dimos cuenta de que tienen un muy limitado y sobre la selección razonable. Distribución es espantosa. No volvería. Trae tu propia comida.

shame. Could be such a nice litlle cafe. But no. Whoever designed this layout?! This layout is awful and chotic! clearly not designed for a busy place.. Food is about three times the price else where and very poor. bring your own lunch. sandwich and wagon wheel and dairylea dunkers! a sandwich here will be almost a £5 with zero filling. should just knock the place down and have a burger van instead

The food was nice and the soup a reasonable price. £6.95 for a baked potato was overpriced though. The staff were smiley and friendly but the layout is chaotic. People were milling around unsure where to go. There is a large almost empty area with snacks at one side with all the cooked food, soups and salads crammed into the other side.

Para este servicio razonablemente rápida café concurrido con una gran variedad hot potato y el extraño plato de pasta. Envasada y bebidas de lata y el típico café de la máquina. Un montón de sillas afuera en un buen día y aseos en el café

We visited here as two adults and 2 children on the Halloween trail. The trail conveniently ends at the terrace cafe where you hand in your booklet and get a treat of a cookie.

Quiche had been frozen & defrosted. Horrible, watery & bland! Come on there is hundreds of high quality bakeries in Edinburgh you could buy from!

Es una pena que el maravilloso Royal Botanic Gardens tienen un café horrible.

Ee stopped for coffee and beverages after walking through the royal botanical garden. Nothing fancy but good hthat it is there. Geets needing rest and thirst neded drinks.

Good setting next to Inverleith House with sitting out side under parasols, and separate wee stall for ice creams. Baked potatoes are fabulous but every filling had mayonnaise and if you're on a fat free diet then bit tricky, but tried to pick out the...

A menudo se da el caso de que cuando hay una clientela cautiva, la calidad tiende a me decepcionó. Teniendo en cuenta que los gastos generales debe ser bastante baja cuando las instalaciones son propiedad de la RBG, los precios son bastante altos. Los bocadillos eran caros y no había ninguno sin mayonesa en ellos. La mayonesa en sí era viejo o barato hecho con aceite, ya que tenía un sabor claramente saturado. También la ubicación del gabinete de sándwich en la entrada significa que usted tiene que volver al principio una vez que haya consultado el menú y optar por decir sopa y un bocadillo. La sopa es casera y el puerro y patata sabrosa. Creo que voy a hacer un picnic la próxima vez y espero que el sol brilla.

Mesas encantador en el interior y al aire libre para comida durante todo el día mientras visitaba el enorme, y gratis, Royal Botanic Gardens.

Visitado durante las vacaciones de Semana Santa con niños. Estaba muy ocupado y escaso. Limpiado mi propia mesa con papel higiénico. Comida insulsa y poco interesante, sándwich era cuatro pulgadas de pan de jamón que contiene un sienten molestadas. Habría sido mejor usando como una esponja para limpiar la mesa. La mujer en la mesa de al lado había pedido una papa al horno, que parecían niños encantadores y el procedió a mirar a cada respirar ella tomó, habiendo sido decepcionados con su 'sosa 'wiches. Tampoco tuve que hacer cola o dejar, así que nos marchamos. . . hambre!

Visited with 1 year old and 3 year old. It is expensive for a start, I wasn't offered any assistance to carry tray with hot drink/snacks on while trying to juggle 1 year old and walking with 3 year old (they could learn from John Lewis café for customer service experience). Having got outside and turned around to get buggy with 1 year old in a seagull had pinched the scone - I mentioned this to the staff member, not necessarily expecting that they would replace - but on the off-chance they would be sympathetic - but not so, just told it was my problem! It seems a shame that the RBGE have to get Sodexo to run their café ventures.

No sé que pasa este café pero son de ordeñar el público. Evitar a toda costa! ! ! £1 por una pequeña vía láctea £1 por un pequeño desfile ridículo. Precios panecillo. Los turistas deben ser impactado estos precios.

I regularly visit the Botanic gardens. Just wanted a hot drink and cake so thought I would try Terrace Cafe rather than John Hope restaurant as I though it might be cheaper. Unfortunately the selection of cakes/ drinks is poor and over priced! 2.80 for a basic hot chocolate and then and extra 60p for cream and marshmallows! It's not even a nice cafe! Untidy, bland and full of noisy children. Toilets are dirty. I wouldn't not go here again.

I met a friend for a quick lunch. Staff unhelpful, sandwiches not labelled or priced so you didn't know what the fillin was. Overpriced and not very nice.

I visited recently with family and two small children and whilst the recent renovation of the café looks great, nothing else was! Good selection for the kids pick your own lunch box. Only a 'lick' of filling on the sandwich'sTasteless Cobbs biscuits, why do you still sell these?Waited a long time to be served soup and a roll, even though we were the only people waiting, several staff milling around but not really doing anything. they didn't seem to be set up for lunch despite it being 12 noonStaff serving themselves, rather than us!!Good coffee.Bad service layout of the collect coffee and payment area.outside picnic tables not wheelchair friendly at all, bring back some moveable seatingI and my family are great fans of these gardens and the work they do, but RBGE really needs to re think their catering contractors/operation. We do not mind paying these 'captive audience' prices if good food and service is offered.Sorry to say but these issues are very much letting down the rest of the team at this beautiful, internationally renowned visitor attraction

I bought 2 sandwiches and two drinks it came to £15.00. The queue to pay was horrendous, the hot meal queue was in the middle of the queue so you ended up waiting for them to be served before you could move along, you pay for the drinks then get them at the end, very unorganised.They do have a captive audience the place was packed lots of seating outside and a wonderful view but I would go elsewhere for a drink.

Stopped in at lunchtime but found it expensive and so opted for a cheese scone. This was not the freshest and had very, very little taste of cheese. The coffee was nice, though. The lady on the til was efficient but not what I'd call friendly. Even when I smiled and said thank you she remained very glum looking. Nice outdoor seating available though.

Why was this cafe closed for so long to achieve so little? The queue design is plain daft: you pay somewhere in the middle of the line and then choose your coffee. And why the huge hike in prices? 2 'cheapo' coffees and two scones over £10. The Botanics merits better.

The view is spectacular but I would avoid this cafe like the plague. Ridiculous prices for very average food. I Remember it being much better value, take a picnic!

The most expensive cafeteria I've ever eaten in. The hotraveling food was bland. The Green beans were rubbery. The bread used in the sandwiches was dry, hard and old. And best of all we paid well over twice what you would pay in any other cafe.

We ate here as a matter of convenience, opting for sandwich, crisps and drinks. A the food was fine, but what got me was, there was a huge line for the till and a supervisor saw this as the opportunity to tell the till operator to re-fill the trays leaving the till unattended for a few minutes??? Why did she not do it herself, considering how busy the till operator was? Shoddy management skills indeed.

This is a great place for a reasonably priced lunch in the gardens. I had a lovely soup with veggie sandwich .... and my little lad enjoyed the lunch box. I found the service to be good, the place is clean and the toilets are good. Lots of choice too .... again with veggie options. Excellent! Will visit here again!

The service and food was good despite how busy the cafe was. Highly recommend visiting located in beautiful grounds. I will be back at the end of the month. Thank you

I visited The Terrace Cafe on Sunday 19 October 2015 accompanied by my husband, 2 sons, their partners and my baby granddaughter. I sat outside with the baby while the others went in to buy coffees and snacks. They all came out complaining of the poor service they had received and extremely expensive beverages and snacks they had been sold. My husband bought a baked potato with cheese which came with a soggy 'salad' consisting of large chunks of tasteless tomatoes and a pasta salad with kidney beans which we had to take back when we discovered little grey pieces of meat mixed into the pasta, having assumed it that it was suitable for vegetarians with no meat included.This was replaced with another potato and tomato salad but no further choice of salad although the cost originally included 2 salads.The energy bars and coffees are way over-priced and as another reviewer has mentioned we are a captive audience.

A self service overpriced noisy messy cafe which takes advantage of the captive audience and 'no picnics' policy

The kind of place you visit because it supports a valued institution (the Royal Botanical Gardens) and wish you hadn't bothered. Food is expensive, poorly presented and served by staff who know you have no choice. In Britain tea is generally made with boiling water; not at the Terrace. I don't think we'll be back

On a sunny afternoon we met for a sunny casual lunch. My friend was pleased enough with their choice but mine of a roast beef sandwich was awful. The white bread was a bit hard on one side, something I only discovered when I got to second sandwich. It was spread with something resembling emulsion paint, had pale, wet meat inside with a slice of token tomato and was both soggy and tasteless. Why didn't I complain? Because it wasn't paid for by me and I didn't want to be rude. At £4, this was pretty disgraceful.

Our visit here wasn't the best. Whilst the food was very good there are a number of items I feel need looking at. First of all, the queing system was shambolic, with people unsure which queue for food/cakes to stand in; due to two people faffing around and zealously guarding 'their' spot the queue snaked out of the door. This also could be helped by having more than one person serving at that section. The serving staff might care not to just to bark the bill at you; please and thank you are appreciated by customers. I'm polite, I would expect it reciprocated. The constant banging of the door into the service area was pretty loud and annoying.Finally, it's lovely that there is a children's play area but could parents/carers please show some responsibility and not let children jump around in front of people carrying trays of hot drinks. I'm becoming increasingly tired of playing the 'avoid the little darling' game. It's a cafe, not a creche, so please behave accordingly. They may well be the centre of your universe but not everyone else's.

Had a spot of lunch while walking round the gardens a self service restaurant in the middle of The Botanic Gardens.With a selection of sandwiches and drinks there is a very good selection for children as far as hot food goes pizza and a veggie bake were on offer with the usual teas and coffees. If you are a member you get 10 percent off with your card. lots of outdoor seating on a good day and toilets on the premises in good condition Sandwiches were £4.00 but quite substantial

I have been served by Omar and I am still in shock how terrible was the coffee and especially the way how he treated us. Plus he had zero skills on coffee making. Only plus is the food which was okay.

First visit to the Royal Botanical Gardens - absolutely great!! NOT great was a wedge of "bone-dry" focaccio (little or no butter) + VERY sparse filling of chicken + couple of small pieces of limp lettuce - cost about £5!! To eat - go outside (at main entrance) cross the road and have a hot-dog + fab Italian ice-cream at "The Gatehouse Cafe" (large mobile).

If you are visiting the Botanics in Edinburgh. this is a reasonably pleasant 'cake and coffee stop'. On a dry day there is seating outside at picnic tables. Coffee was good, although not a great selection of cakes, and prices are average to high (£2.25 for a cup cake, and £4.25 for coffee cake). The cafe is self service, but was reasonably quick when we visited. What I don't understand (and something I have experienced on several occasions) is the inconsiderate parking of prams and buggies around the picnic tables, which effectively excludes 'others' from sitting down. These tables can comfortably seat 8 adults plus, but invariably are 'privately' occupied by one adult plus child/infant(s) and large, strategically placed, buggy(ies) - and believe me, some of these adults know EXACTLY what they are doing. The proprietors need to provide a 'pram park' nearby, but away from the tables, and ensure ALL patrons can 'share' the outside seating. Otherwise, okay.

The set up here is a bit like a motorway cafe you stand in a line and pick what you want and then pay, Great out side eating area in good weather, inside there is a small play area for the kids

Went to The Terrace for lunch while at the Botanic Gardens, have been two or three times before. Food fine, but what draws my attention is the lack of cleanliness of the floor especially in the corners. My thoughts are if that is the attention given to important areas seen by the public, what are behind the scenes like. Maybe I am wrong, but worth a thought.

A stroll round the Botanic Gardens isn't complete without a visit to the Terrace. Friendly helpful staff, a lovely outside courtyard with views to the castle, a children's play area inside and scrumptious scones and cakes. A great day out!

Nice enough pit stop for afternoon tea in the centre of the gardens on a cold damp day Lots of people had the same idea so very busy - staff were friendly though the service area was a bit disorganised Fruit scones were divine - though the shortbread could've been buttery

Main cash register did not work, so no itemised receipt. "Fresh" sandwiches were not fresh. Fish and peas overcooked, chips good. Soup good. Good outdoor setting. Pigeon droppings on bench. A change of franchisee would seem to be required.

Terrace cafe provides nice coffee and desert, the place is too noisy as there a lot of kids around but overall it is a good option to shelter from the rain

We just about managed to enter and order before closing. It was the best meal we had in Edinburgh!Looks fresh, clean and more than palatable. Fresh juices were also on offer.

This is a self service cafe in the middle of the Botanic Gardens. (The previous review talks of lingering over food and wine and great service- this seems unlikely!)There are lots of wooden picnic tables outside and therefore this is a nice location on a sunny day.I was disappointed with my sandwich. I could only find white bread for my choice of filling, which was tuna and sweetcorn. The mayonnaise seemed to have congealed into fatty lumps which was unpleasant. I ate it due to hunger but did not enjoy it. The coffee was just ok and the cake was fine.The cafe also serves hot food at lunch time.If you're at the Botanics and want to sit outside this is a good location, but don't expect too much from the food. There are two others cafes at the Botanics, one at each entrance.

We lingered four hours over a superb food and wine tasting menu that was inspired. The service was impeccable; we were made most welcome and comfortable.