Thomas J Walls Coffee in Edinburgh, City of

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 😁

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

Service can be bad when busy but coffee is fab

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.

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

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!

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

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

The hot chocolate was particularly rich & tasty!

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

Unusual café setting, it used to be a optician outfit, it has a repetitive and limited assortment of expensive baked cakes. For some reason this coffee shop doesn't have a happy atmosphere, possibly the staid decor.

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..

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

The best hot chocolate of Edinburgh 🙌🏻

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

Café admittedly busy but customers waiting to order were ignored at the counter. Eventually served by a surly member of staff. Had there been a smile and an apology, I wouldn’t be leaving a negative review.

Service poor. Coffee very bland. Croissant stale. There are better places!

Lovely spot with excellent food and coffee.

Poor experience! Food lovely but arrived cold…. They didn’t take well to bring asked to warm up… server returned the food… plonked it on the table without a smile or sorry- indolent and rude. Don’t go there!

Tepid food, complacent staff. Ordered shakshuka - we waited quite a while and my wife’s arrived cold. Mine was tepid. We asked them to heat it up which they did, The you do lady who delivered the reheated food pretty much dropped the dishes on the table. And it was still only marginally warmer. Best avoided !

We walked away from the old town looking for an alternative to the overcrowded tourist traps there, and fell in love with the window still showing the original destination of the shop, an optician. You order at the counter and then wait a little till they serve at your table. We had abo on toast and scones. The former was even better than the latter. Exactly what we needed!

Popped in for a quick coffee. Would’ve loved to have a bite to eat, but the kitchen was already closed. Coffee and (freshly squeezed) juice were good. My daughter had the lemon poppy seed cake - she really enjoyed that and am sure she will order it again when we visit next time. The building has great architecture - very spacious with plenty of seating. The service was friendly. I like that they brought the drinks to our table.

Deliciosos brunch y buena repostería. Las sopas del día son muy sabrosas y tienen opciones vegetarianas. Los sándwiches son buenos pero para mi gusto las rebanadas de pan son muy gruesas. Por cierto, el pan muy bueno.

Visited as I was passing by. Very friendly staff and was made to feel welcome. Excellent service, and lovely lattes. So nice I had 2. Great brownie also.

The atmosphere is lovely. The food and coffee taste delicious. I had a great time there

Eine sympathische Mischung aus Studenten, Touristen und zeitungslesenden Einheimischen in schönem Ambiente. Auch an unseren Scones, Capouchinos und Säften gab es nicht zu bemängeln. Hat uns prima gefallen.

Visited for the first time. Had bacon roll with fried egg and avacado on a brioche toasted roll with coffee and then biggest scone every bought. The scone was lovely. No issues with service it was fine and tables being cleared all the time as well.

Popped in for a sandwich and coffee, lovely decor and atmosphere. Friendly staff, great service.

Very bad coffee. Tried two different ones but had to throw both

Coffee is actually pretty good and their cakes are decent too. However, it's a cold atmosphere in there – it feels very stiff and quite inhospitable. Not the sort of environment you want to dine or drink in. There's no WiFi and when you ask you're given a sharp answer back. Maybe this is intentional as they don't want people to work/study there and with no phone signal to hotspot (not their fault), it leaves most of my visits pointless. Staff are quite rude and don't seem to care much. One pro is there's an accessible entrance and toilet. I'd grab a coffee to take away, personally. Always the satisfying visit here.

Nice coffee, happy service. First visit. Second visit had the Shakshouka which was more like chickpea stew with a poached egg on the side, no taste of any spices. Spinach Benedict was raw rather than wilted spinach so not great.

Nice place to sit and sip tea or coffee.

Sitio agradable. No tuvimos que esperar. Hay variedad de cosas. Lo mejor el brunch. Es una buena manera de empezar el día. Lo único, es un poco caro.

Nice atmosphere but cake was very dry and we waited a long time for a food (just toast!)

Enjoyed a super potato rösti with salmon and hollandaise here today. Coffee was great! No complaints. The vibes here are lovely, original features which give it a calming old time vibe 😀

Visited this afternoon at 1:30ish (Monday 5th June 2023). Staff were extremely rude. Got no eye contact when ordering at the till from waitress. Then when our coffees came and we checked that mine was decaf, the same waitress said we did not say decaf and huffed and puffed then walked off. She seemed to quickly start bad mouthing us to her colleague when back behind the till. She was looking at us and rolling her eyes, as well as pointing at us for her colleague to look over. Her behaviour was uncalled for, nasty and intimidating. She was young and had long red hair. This embarrassed my partner who went red in the face - seeing this really upset me. We were made to feel like trouble makers. Was relieved to leave. AVOID!

Excellent rosti (comes with eggs benedict, smoked salmon and greens) and scones at this place. Long black and flat white are quite good too.

Great atmosphere. Awesome breakfast it felt I was back in Oz but with a Scottish touch. The staff was outstanding .Thank you 🙏🏼 so very much. Ciao 😊

I work in cafes a lot of the time, which means I try a lot of them. And as far as coffee goes, this is one of the best cups in Edinburgh. Fast, and delicious food. Not the best place to work though, I typically come here to read or just reflect on the day. Highly recommend.

Authentic ambiance with great old charm. Welcoming staffs. Nice beverages. Recommended 👍🏼

Lovely place, good coffee, friendly staff and reasonably priced.

Lovely coffee stop to get a warm!

Besides the dirty cups, I found hair in the water!!!!! Disgusting

Quite a splendid decor with lovely wood effect and great lighting. However the server was about as disengaged and disinterested and showing a general lack of will to be doing the job she was doing that it made me very disinclined to offer any gratuity whatsoever. I don't like be asked to pay a tip before I have even tasted the coffee and barely been in the establishment for over a minute. And at £3.80 (ok I had an extra shot) for a mediocre tasting americano I shall not be returning in a mighty hurry. Shame because with good coffee and motivated staff this could be a fun place. It was more resembling a morgue I'm afraid.

Lovely food relaxed atmosphere 😁

Just had a coffee. Very pleasant

Wonderful place to get a cuppa and a snack to wait out the rain. Very friendly and helpful staff

Great coffee and the cakes were incredible! Great selection as well! Nice, quiet and relaxed atmosphere

Bon et abordable: 12£ pour 1 expresso, 1 part de brownie et un egg & avocado roll.

One of my favourite coffee shops in Edinburgh. The coffee is amazing, the staff are kind and attentive and the interior/vibe of the shop is just perfect!

Excellent quality coffee - probably the best I've had.

Didn't get to try the coffee as I already had a few earlier that day. The pea miso soup had some texture and looked green overall, making it a bit unappealing. It came with rye bread which I personally didn't like either. The banana cake on the other hand was amazing, perfect toughness and amazing flavor.

Spent an hour here after a day of sight-seeing. The place was run by a group of ladies and were very welcoming. Lots of places to sit and drink your tea or eat your scones and pastries. The food was decent. Recommended for anyone who want to relax with a book/laptop or a place to rest their legs :)

Always a wonderful place to be, my favourite thing to do on a lazy afternoon in Edinburgh CC is to have a scone and latte at Thomas J Walls. The only thing that could be better is if their scones were as delicious and fresh in the evenings as they've been in the mornings!

Met a friend for coffee to have a quite chat but could hardly hear ourselves for the loud blethering of tables of studnets, mainly all women, out-shouting each other. Lucky them they can afford coffees these days when many students seem to be telling us that the cost of living is hitting them badly. The coffees were fine and the staff pleasant. Do they need ear plugs to do their job?

Try the soup, tasted fantastic and home made. Really good tasting coffee served hot not just warm. Staff very polite with good personalities. Trendy place with a relaxing vibe to it. Would try again. Cakes looked delicious. Plenty of space between tables and not long waiting for food order.

Tasty brunch, drinks mediocre at best (the average was dragged down because of the hot chocolate). Went for brunch with one of my girlfriends and was greeted with a cosy atmosphere and ample seating. Staff were kind, and our orders were brought out promptly. Wonderful location, right next to Bristo Square, and the bacon+egg+avocado rolls were absolutely delicious. However, our drinks were questionable; I ordered a hot chocolate, and it tasted like lukewarm milk with a dash of cocoa powder on the top. My friend enjoyed her mocha, but it was also a tad watery. The drinks were very pretty, but I would only come back here for the brunch (which is quite worth it). Give them a try if you're in the area! Maybe the other drinks are delicious, but don't order the hot chocolate.

Decent coffee shop. Would have received 4 stars if the staff could be consistently friendly. The owners have very kindly raise the prices for the Festival. Be interested to see if they go back down in September. EDIT Prices have gone higher without an appreciable increase in the food quality. A simple Eggs Beni will cost you £10.40. Yes, eggs on bread with bacon and a sauce. There is cheaper, better food available nearby.

I’m Colombian-this is some of the best coffee I’ve ever had. The place inside is breathtakingly beautiful. In my mind this is what every cafe should look like. Everything about it. The walls and the floor and the tables but also the sounds. Came here on a rainy day and the windows were fogged up and I can’t remember the last time I felt this way.

The woman who takes the orders is extremely rude

Great coffee and cake - but not entirely sure about the cake frosting.

Visited here for lunch for the first time several weeks ago. Really cool old building and it was really nice to see all the old features have been retained. Staff were friendly and helpful. Great coffee. Great food. Reasonable prices. Good location to explore the National museum of Scotland and surrounding areas. I would highly recommend

Accueil chaleureux, très sympa, l'ambiance calmement et leur café ma bien réchauffé et la gâteau pas mal 😋

Had a lovely breakfast here recently. The avocado and eggs were delicious. The coffee was also of high quality. Lovely interior and friendly staff.

Very disappointing after paid almost 80pounds. We order a shakshuka sourdough with poached eggs and chickpea soup. Shakshuka looked like chickpea stew and no taste at all... Poached eggs hard as hell and chickpea soup that had more onions than actual chickpeas

What a disastrous brunch to start the last day in scotland with.. the staff is friendly but no idea what they are doing.. nobody checked back on the food served and the food was bad… absoulutely bad 👎🏻 wouldnt recommend to anyone… shakshuka was just a cheapea stew with no flavour and the sourdough was hard as hell… poached eggs were basically hard boiled eggs…. Cheakpea soup was onion soup… we ordered a side of poached eggs and it took 20 mins for the seevice… super slow service….. would think twice even before giving a 1 star reveiw to this place….

It uses former pharmacy's premesies, carefuly preserved. Interiour is absolutely unique. Coffee is quite good.

Unbelievably bad food. The shakshuka was a mixture for undercooked, unseasoned vegetables with burned chorizo. Scrambled eggs almost as overdone as the burnt toast. And upon begin given our drink, we asked which the latte and which was the cappuccino, to which the waitress informed us, "It's basically the same drink, we make them the same way". Very nice interior, but shockingly bad food and student staff who could care less.

Nice cafe in a great setting. Staff were friendly and food was delicious. The bacon, Brie and fig chutney sandwich was great and also huge. Well worth a stop off for lunch.

I was just in town a few days and love cool coffee shops. This was nearly a mile from my hotel, but I made the trek because it looked really interesting. I was not disappointed. Definitely worth going to. Plus the staff were quick and friendly, coffee was superb and the sandwich I had was amazing.

I have always Ioved this place for coffee, but here has gone downhill dramatically. I went in for soup and coffee today. When I asked if they did gluten free bread I was met with an abrupt ‘no’ while the server didn’t make eye contact. I then asked if the soup was GF and got the same response, this time it was just rude. I know from other cafes run by the same company (including Project Coffee, who are endlessly lovely) that their soup almost always is gluten free, so I asked if she was sure as it usually is. She showed me the ingredients list and it was (helpfully she added that they cannot guarantee there is no contamination, which is best practice). One of the servers was then polite and obliging when I later asked to see ingredients for the brownie. (Thank you to woman in the Fila trainers and high pony.) But when the cake and hot chocolate came, from yet another server, I asked if it came with a marshmallow (which it has every other time I’ve been in one of these cafes). She was annoyed, left the table and grumbles ‘well did you ASK for one’ and then returned and plonked it on the table. I was super friendly and polite throughout so the response to my simple and common questions felt really unwarranted. My colleague was horrified and swore she won’t go back. I was embarrassed and just left feeling like a problem. It’s rare that this is the response to a straightforward GF question and they need to do better.

Great for meeting up for a coffee and chat. Not so great for work meetings.

Really cool decor and great coffee. Although the service was really friendly I think another member of staff would help (there were 2 when we visited about 13.30) Definitely be back.

I only got a hot chocolate but I really enjoyed it. The atmosphere was great as well!