Thomas J Walls Coffee in Edinburgh, City of

Popped in to get a quick coffee to start the day and was greeted with lovely customer service and the genuine want to have a conversation as our coffees were being made. The coffee was strong, I got an iced oat latte (no extra charge for the milk! ) and partner got an iced americano. The vibe was something we wanted to go back to but ran out of breakfast slots on our short trip. Will be one of the first places we head to on our next trip to Edinburgh and you should find the time to go too if the menu intrigues you.

The hot chocolate is not strong and light... The iced coffee cup itself is small, so it disappears once you wash it... The scones were ok and it was a cozy space to sit and talk.

Really didn’t enjoy the chai latte very watery and not a nice flavour. The cheese scone was pretty dry and cold would have been better warm. The atmosphere is nice but not overly impressed.

Good food, nice interior. Quite cold tho.

Popped in for a quick americano; but after seeing so many reviews mentioning the scones, I had to try them. Turns out everyone was spot on. The scone with butter and jam is fantastic. Definitely worth getting a coffee and a scone here!

Great tea and pastrie. Cozy area to read, write, or hang out with friends. Only downside was that there wasn't any wifi.

Cozy spot with additional seating in a back room.

Amazing place, cosy, nice. Good food!

Entered the cafe with two children and a buggy, and the staff was very unfriendly right from the start. I had to leave because they could not suggest where to put the buggy.

The coffee is delicious, but the croissants are ordinary

Lovely atmosphere and great selection of food and drinks for breakfast or coffee.

Wonderful and very interesting brunch options. Very nice fruit/veg juice drinks too

Fantastic place. Highly recommend.

Service sucked then wanted a tip on their overpriced take away coffee . If you have a manbun this place is for you .

Very good hot chocolate! Finally a café that has room to sit. The atmosphere is very warm.

Best chia I have had!!! The service was incredible as well! Beautiful open space to sit and enjoy your coffee! Also you better get the almond croissant!!! If you don’t…you’re truly missing out!

Nice place for a cup of coffee with something tasty. Just away from the hustle and bustle of the center so you can relax after a morning of shopping or sightseeing.

Nice Coffe shop, food was lovley but the Staff seemed a but unprofessional, missing napkin and no guidanceto find anything; sugar, milk etc. Coffe and Rolls where fresh and delicious.

I was here a while back and I CANNOT stop thinking about the Guinness cake. The atmosphere was the best of all the coffee spots we tried in the city, electric!

No WiFi, super unfriendly staff, very overpriced

immaculate vibes but no wifi 👎🏻

Decent coffee. Food's a bit of a disappointment, but not terribly so in the way that it can be at any coffee shop. Comfortable seating.

Really nice interior! The staff were nice. Good coffee

Disappointing really. We popped in for a quick coffee. We received a somewhat brusque reception the coffee was expensive and not particularly flavoursome. We didn't eat so can't comment

Cute coffee shop with a lovely menu. Had the bacon egg and avocado roll and it was delicious. Coffee and tea were both good, staff were attentive and prompt even though it was fairly busy morning.

I’m not understanding the negative reviews here! Which are mostly about staff attitude - well, how happy do we expect baristas to be in such an expensive city? Just embrace the boujie vibes and know you’re going to get a good cup of coffee here. Their Guinness cake is delicious too! I was expecting to see this place way higher in the TA rankings 🤔 they have great reviews on Google, as they should. Dog friendly so it’s 5 stars from me 🐾

Great tea and scones, lovely decor, great music and atmosphere. Loved it! We’ll be back. 😁

Lovely ambience and coffee. My wife enjoyed the reading chair!

Early mornings are quiet and relaxing.

Coffee was great, however, the customer service left a lot to be desired, as we were made to feel more of a hindrance than customers. Such a shame as it’s an amazing venue, but sadly I don’t think we’ll be returning.

THIS is the place for scones. Large and fluffy, super fresh and served with a great wodge of blackcurrant jam and creamtastical cream. Also bacon brioche. Yes our jeans feel tighter but what of it?

I recently visited this coffee shop and had a disappointing experience. I ordered a double espresso, but they only served me a single shot. Despite the high price, the quality of the coffee was shockingly poor—it tasted like vinegar. I almost never throw away coffee, especially not when it's this pricey, but I just couldn't finish it. To top it off, they requested a tip even for takeaway orders, which felt a bit much considering the quality. Overall, I can't recommend this place, and I definitely won't be returning.

Great design, imaginative service and delicious

Ask for the hot chocolate with the marshmallow and you won't be disappointed! This place has the best hot chocolate in all of Edinburgh, and the homemade marshmallow melts into creamy goodness in the drink. Perfect for a cold, rainy day. There are also lots of seating if you need a place to rest in between shows if you're here for the Fringe Fest.

Nice coffee but about 15% more expensive than nearby competitors. No WiFi and poor service inside so not the place if you're working on a laptop.

What a wee gem. Beautifully conserved former opticians space, with lovely lighting, wood panels and super inobtrusive background music. So atmospheric, but still so relaxing. Excellent decaf and very good, buttery, scrambled eggs with lovely crisp toasted artisan bread. Nice touch serving with some marmalade on the side; loved that.

Very tasty cake, cold service, horrible Americano.

Decide to stop at this cafe and the coffee was good. Great service, nice and cosy place.

Same expensive menu, same dated decor, same pervading sad atmosphere as ever. Staff sometimes are cheery, depending of who's on duty. The persistence on showing/asking for 10%/ 20% gratuities on the top of expensive charges for what's provided, is definitely not welcomed, or indeed warranted, as the service is patchy. Management could do much much better, but it looks as if they don't want to.

Not the best atmosphere, there was a strange smell for some reason. I only had an americano and it was almost double the price of the coffees I've had in Edinburgh so far. Also I ordered it black and it had some chunks of what looked like cream that had started to clump? Definitely not limescale (and that would also be strange for Scotland), so not sure what happened but I ended up not drinking it.

Worst Coffee in Edinburgh? Possibly. Espresso tasted like luke warm cat piss (undrinkable) and the Americano was bad, but at least hot. Staff unfriendly.

A very nice and quiet place to have a coffee or have breakfast. The toast and coffee are of very good quality. Recommendable.

Super nice place! Great atmosphere and I had a delicious cup of coffee with my professor here! The staff are friendly too <3

We stood at the counter, being completely ignored by the staff. The lady behind the counter even proceeded to lay napkins onto some plates, turning her back to us. We stood there for almost 5 minutes before giving up and walking out.

Comes up as a WiFi cafe but has no internet and the mobile reception sucks - not usable for working

Nipped in here for a soup during a shopping break , staff chatting to themself rather than showing me some service , soup arrived and it was just warm and £6 plus for a bowl . With so much competition near by you would think they would make an effort and get the temperature of a bowl of soup right , it’s a NO return for me .

Had coffee, tea and cake with a friend, but when we'd consumed everything, and were chatting, an unsmiling waitress came over and cleared the table, including the water jug that we'd brought to the table and my friend's non-empty glass of water - I was holding mine - in an obvious signal that she wanted us to leave - even though most of the other tables were empty. So we left, never to return.

Excellent coffee and fresh scones!

Stumbled upon this cozy place, the coffee is very fragrant, aromatic and deliciously smooth. We had an espresso and flat white, both were crafted to perfection. The ambience of the place reminds me of scenes from a movie. Nostalgic, intimate and combination of warm lightings and natural light from the front window is very very dreamy.

Nice scone, good vibe & comfy chairs

This is a pleasant cafe in a venue that retains its historic charm, situated in a stunning area of Edinburgh. Breakfast, scones and pastries were all very nice. Coffee was also nice, although I would of liked it a bit warmer. Staff could of offered a warmer welcome and cheered up a bit, but overall an enjoyable breakfast.

Great place for coffee and brunch! We always come here when we visit Edinburgh!

The barista is very nice, I recommend the asparagus, halloumi & avo sandwich, the coffee is not so strong, which makes it very enjoyable.

The coffee is very good, big cups and a great taste to it. The scones are fantastic, with jam butter and or clotted cream. Wonderful relaxed atmosphere music in the background quiet enough for easy conversation. Can sit outside when weather allows. Not the cheapest, but then quality doesn’t always come cheaply. Overall highly recommended.

this is a really cute and beautifully decorated cafe in the centre of edinburgh. the canned music isn’t too loud, so it’s a great place for conversation. the prices are a touch higher than the edinburgh average, but the portions were generous and the granola was wonderfully filling - i didn’t have a scone but they were HUGE! excellent service as well, friendly and polite. a great place to stop in if you’re visiting the national museum or greyfriar’s kirk

Excellent food, environment and service. 100% recommended. You need to try the fruit scones, delicious!!

coffee was bad, but staff was efficient and polite

Stopped by just to kill 15 minutes, ordered a decaf flat white. To the server's credit it came almost immediately, but it tasted so sour I have to wonder if the milk was even still in date. I didn't have more than a couple sips before giving up. The tables were so cramped together that I felt unable to sit comfortably without pushing into another group, and not one of the available spots was clear of crumbs.

Excellent cafe. Delicious cheese scones.

Ordered 2 sandwiches for take away, took an hour to prepare. They keep saying its being handled but its not even that crowded. Will never go back again to this place

Good, though could have had some sugar with my tea.

The coffee here is expensive, usually cold, and does not merit the reviews the shop currently has. Much better coffee around, and it comes at a cheaper price with better service.

Pleasant cafe to enjoy a latte and read a book. There is a back room with a few tables and a couch that is quiet and cozy.

Manners cost nothing, and staff here don't have them. That's a shame, as this seems like it might be a decent cafe with different staff.

Bread and delicious coffee. The place was nice, the coffee prices a little expensive but the sandwiches were completely worth it. There was little interaction with the staff other than ordering at the inn.

Very good latte!! Nice place to relax!

got a pot of elderflower tea, so i can’t talk to the food, but the cups and teapot were adorable and the atmosphere was very cute!

Quaint little coffee shop we found on our way home from the National Scottish Museum. Everything was very tasty…scone and jam, yogourt and granola and our chai latte and americano. Would recommend.

good food, bad attitude, great atmosphere.

Average service with dubious coffee quality. Inconsistent. Noisy

I just popped in for a coffee. Lovely little cafe, cute on the inside and wasn't too busy when I went in on a Sunday morning. Coffee was nice and service was fairly quick.

Really nice cosy place, cute fireplace. Delicious coffee, mocha is yummy. The mirrors in the women's toilet are really high, good for tall people, but they should have one lower down for shorter people 😁

Service can be bad when busy but coffee is fab

I don’t usually care about the staff behavior but the girl at the counter is so rude it even shocked me. Not even a reply to our hello and obviously has better things to do than take our order. Took way too long to bring over 2 chai latte. Also told us they didn’t serve any food (we came in at 5), but were serving cakes&sweets. Chai latte was pretty good though

Had the most delicious breakfast and chai latte here. The food was generous and so well made. We enjoyed a few coffees too that were great. Defo recommend!

Coffee was lovely. Staff seemed distant and automated, must have been an off day. Ordered food, took forever to arrive, food arrived burnt.

Está bueno porque tiene un horario amplio, algo que no encontrás fácil en Edimburgo. Precios normales.

Great atmosphere to sit drink and chat, recommended.

Lovely coffee shop on a nice setting. Good atmosphere and friendly service. Nice as something a bit different to the chains and novelty in old opticians

Really lovely spot for breakfast. Very friendly staff.

The decor is quite nostalgia. The casual place offer excellent attentive but not intrusive service. The coffee taste is ordinary acceptable. But the food taste really sub-standard. The bread, the soup of the day is just just bearable. Despite of this, it is good place to relax over a coffee in a hustle downtown.

The food was outstanding, I had the Sriracha Benedict, which was very good and the fresh squeezed orange juice. The service was cold and rushed. When asking for anything, they seemed put out and bothered. Understandable if they were busy, but it was slow. Just looking to get back to the conversation with co-workers

Nice Coffee.. not self-service..

Very cool and large space turned cafe. Another warm spot to get out of the rain! Had a latte and mushroom/cheese sandwich which was an amazing huge filling treat. Busy place and with so many folks inside the windows were totally fogged over, so I think someone tried to prop the door open to air it out - but it got very drafty; I had to move tables. No complaints though, there was enough turnover that I found a new seat easily. Yummy!

£4.10 for a small latte is far too much even for Edinburgh especially as it was lukewarm. In fact, it was the second worst I have ever had in Edinburgh. Also, be warned that they don't take cash.

Always have to wait ages for food at the place. Today I had to go before my brunch was ready (35 min wait). They couldn’t refund me immediately - apparently it will take 2 days. Let’s see!!!

Lovely coffee and setting. Good service and a few GF options. Keep in mind - no wifi or plugs though so not a WFH/study friendly cafe.

The staff was so helpful to us! We were looking for bookstores nearby and a staff member came to find us and let us know three local shops to go to :) Lots of smiles as well and it seems like there are many folk who regularly bring their dogs for a morning coffee. Was very calm for a Saturday morning as well. Will be back!

I'm always happy to have coffee here! Nice staff and pet friendly

Don’t know about the brunch, I only go for the insane scones that this place produces. Freshly baked in the morning, they are still warm when they open. They are massive and delicious. First time I went the staff were so cool and friendly, and the second time I went there was a bit of a weird atmosphere, not sure why. But yeah, just reviewing the scones here: best scones in Edinburgh. Their coffee is bangin aswell

The hot chocolate was particularly rich & tasty!

Ich hatte das avocado Brot und einen Cappuccino. Beides war unglaublich lecker. Der Service war auch top & die Einrichtung schön gemütlich. Absolut empfehlenswert :)

Really tasty food, very friendly staff and a nice atmosphere.

Best coffee I’ve had in quite a long time - so much so it compelled me to do a review! Beautiful coffee shop. Great opening times.

Could have been a great place, but the staff is rude..

The best hot chocolate of Edinburgh 🙌🏻

Caffè accogliente che serve un ottimo cappuccino e buoni dolci tipici inglesi. La clientela spazia dagli studenti della vicina università ai passanti di ogni età desiderosi di una bevanda calda, ma non solo, in un posto piacevole e tranquillo. Pagamento solo con carta di credito

Stopped in for a spot of tea and a light lunch on a chilly September day on a visit to Edinburgh. Lovely shop. Had a Moroccan soup that was honestly one of the best soups I’ve ever had!

Good social space. Very quaint environment, preserving the old features and fittings of the optician's that the café is named after. But, as part of the chain of cafes including Kilimanjaro, Project Coffee etc., there is no WiFi.

I enjoyed a very nice flat white with oat milk