Wanderlust Cafe & Bistro in Edinburgh, City of

Excellent food and a wonderful staff and atmosphere! 😊

Myself and my partner were travelling up to the Highlands and ended up in Edinburgh. We parked up and were hungry and wanted to tour the area and grab something to eat. With a quick search we found this independent cafe. Walked in and it was empty but the atmosphere was really nice. My partner being vegan and the selection of vegan food was impressive. We got a vegetarian breakfast and a vegan breakfast which we found quite pricey for £15 each. The food arrived within 10 minutes and was well presented. Unfortunately the taste was just about satisfactory and did not represent the price at all. Baked beans were terrible and cheap and the "fake bacon" was burnt. Rock hard and difficult to bite. Did not fancy a trip to Turkey for teeth so I left the lot on my plate which should tell someone that it wasn't good. For £15 to be served a single tomato, a single toast in triangles, beans. Two mushrooms and one veggie sausage. I say that again. One sausage, was disappointing. To add a compulsory service charge to our bill for mediocre food is just an insult. We were disappointed as we had really high hopes but I should have looked at the recent reviews.

Full Scottish Breakfast and smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict. Both were excellent and very good value!

Cute cafe, the waffle stack was delicious, but the orange juice is actually a mix with pineapple and too thick to drink. The benedict eggs were nice but not runny

We recently had friends over from Dublin and we took them on a morning safari through Holyrood Park and along the Royal Mile. It was almost midday so a touch of brunch was required and we happened upon WonderLust. Nice, bright, cheerie place with a steady flow of customers going in and out. The Full Scottish looked amazing, and I can confirm that the Eggs Benedict was a treat to the senses! Washed down with pot of tea, and utterly delicious freshly squeezed orange juice. Friendly and quick service, and not priced like a city centre tourist trap. Will definitely go back again.

It was great to find somewhere they do tasty gluten free and vegan food. Highly recommend.

Nice people however the kitchen won't scramble eggs or take substitutions

I had the best grilled chicken burger in my life here. Amazing taste and great service. I would definitely recommend.

Lovely place in a great location, unfortunately the food wasn't great . Very disappointed again on the second visit, ordered the 'vegan breakfast waffles' which ended up being - literally - two out-of-the-packet frozen potato waffles for £13. Actually laughed when it came. I understand the high prices considering the location but that's a really poor show. These frozen oven waffles are £1 for a huge pack, at least go for the smiley faces instead, or if you really don't care might as well add Dino nuggets to go with. Staff were lovely and helpful. I've been a couple times actually and I may still go back although I'd only get a coffee and give the food a miss.

Lovely cafe, great service and good food.

This place was on a website for vegans and vegetarians. It was right in the center of everything. We went multiple times in our 6 days in Edinburgh. The service was fantastic. Over the visits we had their tomato soup (my favorite of things I tried), lemon crepe, vegan sausage on a roll, some lattes, some tea, a fruity drink. Next time we are in Edinburgh this place will be on our list.

Unfortunately, although the food was stated to be gluten free, after sitting down a very friendly and apologetic waiter told us that unfortunately the gluten free food wasn’t coeliac friendly. I would suggest removing the gf symbol from an evidently not gluten free menu! (Particularly as it comes up as a gluten free option on google)

Delicious food, lots of vegan and vegetarian options. Really nice staff!

Highly recommended mocha coffee, delicious desserts, very friendly staff

Plenty of vegan options. Nice coffee. Free wifi and charging ports :)

i came here with my mum in july 2024 for breakfast. the menu was so good and we were indecisive so we shared a junior breakfast and the mallow pancakes. the junior breakfast was delish and perfect portion and the mallow pancakes were to die for. staff were so nice and gave us some cool places to explore while visiting. 10/10

Went to Wanderlust cafe very randomly and had the full Scottish breakfast which was SOOOO good! Haggis was the best I’ve tried so far! Service was very friendly too!

Try Stack of Waffles. Best Breakfast ever

Great cafe with vegan options! Good for brunch!

Food was very nice and staff were lovely too. Great place to call for lunch after a visit to Holyrood. They offer all day breakfast, smaller plates and desserts. They also make a great cappuccino

There are definitely better Scottish breakfasts along the mile, but it's good if you're in a pinch. The staff were friendly and the food was hot. I had the homemade lemonade which ended up being a bit disappointing, more like lemon water.

Atmosphere good, staff were friendly enough but the standard of food was bad. I ordered a big Scottish breakfast and the only good thing was the haggis. Baked beans were out of a can, the Scottish sausage was out of a packet from Tesco. The egg was rubbery, toast and bacon and tatties was over done and tasteless. Even the haggis and blood sausage were definitely packet stuff. Very disappointing as our first tasting of Scottish cuisine on day one of our Holiday in Edinburgh. Even I make a better breakfast everyday for my family. My wife ordered the Salmon and this was good and she enjoyed it. Looks like I lucked out. Give the Scottish breakfast a miss.

I basically just bumped into the place and randomly went in. I was in for a big, very nice surprise. For the main course I had something that combined sweet and salty tastes (chicken and waffles, basically), but it was so subtle and so tasty together. Then I had crepe with .. lemon flavour and vanilla? Blew my mind. Fantastic place, and friendly staff.

Welcoming staff, good food, have vegetarian options, was here for lunch.

Very welcoming place with quick and good food and we apologize for the big mess we caused with very helpful staff.

We went for breakfast here, ordered full Scottish breakfast and it was okay. It was a good value for money and it was served fast. Location was also quite good. One thing we noticed was our table wasn’t cleaned properly as it was sticky. Staff were nice. There was a good atmosphere. There was an additional service fee at the end, might have been mentioned in the menu but we didn’t notice it until we were making the payment.

Came in this morning for breakfast upon reading the reviews was excited to try a different spot then what we had been using thus far. I will say it's a cute little place , presentation was beautiful for all the dishes we ordered but once you started eating it that was a different story. I ordered a porridge it was so thick I could use it to plaster my walls. I also ordered the waffle stack. I love a good warm soft waffle just like the next person not something that came pre wrapped and was dry and crumbly. I could go on and on it seemed like every dish had it's own issue, and once I questioned about the waffle the attitude changed completely but made sure they added there tip to the bill. I dont complain ever about food but I'm just trying to help the next consumer make the right choice on where they spend there money.

the vegetarian breakfast was great! service as well ☺️

Very hearty Scottish vegan breakfast alternative. Would return anytime. Highly recommend.

Lækker morgenmad. Vi fik english breakfast og eggs Benedict. Dejligt og hyggeligt sted med super sød og frisk personale.

We had a lovely experience here while resting before our train. The vegan wrap was delicious and we ended up ordering a crepe after which was equally as nice! Our server was very friendly.

One of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had!

Note that the menu has changed and they no longer have gluten free options

the food was good but the service was not. my server was sweet but my friend with several life threatening allergies who was sitting at a nearby table got treated like absolute trash. when she had questions about the menu one of the servers laughed in her face about her allergies and said she didn’t know the answers to the questions, no they couldn’t accommodate her, and no there was no manager there she could ask questions about allergens to. when i heard about this i approached my server who was nice and brought this to her attention, asking her to make sure the other server treats customers with allergies with a little more respect as her behavior was absolutely ridiculous and unprofessional. the waitress overheard and began giving me sass, although i was being respectful while telling her that wasn’t okay. instead she told me my friend gave her attitude and insinuating that asking for the manager was insulting, when really she just wanted to know if she could consume one of the meals without dying. we never got an apology and instead got even more rudeness. on top of that she was short and passive with our other friends who were sitting at other tables. i would never return unless this waitress was not here, she needs a lesson on how to treat customers!

£10 for 2 oat milk latte's. Was told its £4 for the coffee and £1 for oat milk. Hugely above market rate!

A restaurant to eat quickly, the food and average and the service, and very long, but the waitress is nice.

nice and cosy, very helpful and cheerful service, wonderful breakfast

Sitting at this cute breakfast place a little bummed. I know that the food is going to be delicious. However, I picked this spot because I sae that they had a full vegan menu. They no longer have a full vegan menu. Very limited options. When I asked if i could get a potatoe waffle in place of hashbrowns, I was told no, that they dont do substitutions. I should have left as soon as I realized they didnt have the fun menu.

Porridge was more like overnight oats, not creamy, and vegan breakfast quite poor with raw tomatoes and overcooked mushrooms, plus the sausages were the old-fashioned vegetable kind.

The food was delicious and they have options for vegetarians. The staff is very kind. I totally recommend!

No substitutions, nothing gluten free, 15% "customary" fee for a table of 5 or more, a mere 10% for a table of 4 or fewer so split your party into two or more tables, that makes much more sense. The coffees were good, the food was OK (salmon salad was v good) but burger and chips at £15 plus that 15%..... They tried to clear the plates while one of us was still eating, they just wanted us to overpay and go. Anyone manage to challenge that 10-15% fee, please tell me how! It would have been £10-20 pp before that extra 15% took us to over £20 pp. Did I mention the extra 15%? They're right, I would not have tipped that much. Toilets downstairs.

I've been here previously around a year ago, and we ordered the full Scottish breakfast, including lorne lausage and potato scone. We went today and ordered the same breakfast but were missing the items mentioned above, even though it stated them on the menu. Bacon was undercooked as was the haggis, and it was a very cheap sausage. The rest of the breakfast was okay, but not enough to make me return. £38 for two breakfasts and 2 coffees, so slightly on the expensive side, too. Staff were lovely regardless.

Food is just okay. Came for vegan food but not many choices to be had.

Adorable cafe with great coffee beverages and delicious brunch. The staff were so kind and lovely as well. Definitely recommend

Nous avons quasiment goûté tous les plats du Brunch, on a bien apprécié la nourriture, c'était bon, les quantités étaient bien (ni trop, ni pas assez). En revanche l'aimabilité de la serveuse : déplorable. Pas du tout sympa, légérement agacée quand on dit que l'on a encore besoin de quelques minutes pour passer commande, une fois nos assiettes terminées on nous fait comprendre qu'il faut rapidement libérer la table alors qu'il n'y avait absolument pas foule. Et au moment ou arrive l'addition on nous indique 15% supplementaire car nous sommes 06 ... Cela laisse un goût amère et nous a gâché un peu le moment.

Visited on Tuesday for brunch, waitress was lovely. Food was excellent and affordable.

Lovely food and great vegetarian options, I had a full Scottish veggie breakfast. Not the cheapest at £13 but I think as you would expect nowadays especially in a capital city. The staff however were verging on rude, never broke a smile once and pretty much threw the food on the table. The only time they were nice was when they asked us to vacate our table to a smaller one so another group of customers could sit there, we hadn't received our food at that point so we were happy to oblige. They also put a 10% tip on which you can request to remove but a little presumptuous in my opinion.

Visited today 13/11/23 food was amazing. Waitress was lovely to everyone who entered the cafe and was very attentive. She is a credit to the cafe and we will definitely be back the next time we are in Edinburgh

Stopped here for breakfast. Superb cafe. Food was amazing and the staff member on shift was so warm and friendly. I soups thoroughly recommend stopping in for breakfast. I had the breakfast crepe. Yum!

Lovely service and wonderful food. We were enticed by the menu and reasonable prices, and they hit the mark 100%. We will happily be back!

Great breakfast, I loved the haggis there and had possibly my all time fav hash browns.

Had the full Vegan breakfast. Absolutely delicious.

Visited for breakfast as it was close to our hotel. I had mallow pancakes and my husband had the vegetarian Scottish breakfast. Both meals were delicious and very filling. The staff were lovely.

A great coffee, good service and nice food.

Very nice staff and decent food. The price was probably a but higher, but the service is good.

Visited with daughter and grandson. Could not believe the price they charged for 2 pots of tea, one apple juice and 3 slices of apple pie..£32!! Absolutely gobsmacked and will not visit again. Don't understand how they can justify these prices!

Popped in with my daughter and Grandson for 2 pots of tea, an apple juice and three slices of apple pie. Could not believe it when I went to pay..£32!!! I was totally speechless and cannot understand how they can justify charging this amount! I would not recommend at all!! Absolute disgrace!!

The Scottish breakfast was absolutely delicious, and the waffles and bacon were equally delightful.

Had breakfast twice here while in Edinburgh for the weekend, fantastic service and the food was great , it will be our place to go next time we are up there

Vegetarian breakfast was good, but a rip-off. I understand there were lockdowns and you need to cover numerous expenses but the price is really not justified. Especially given the amount of food on the plate. The waitress was very nice and the place was very clean. That's the only reason why I have five stars for the service and four stars in total. I will not be returning since it's expensive.

It's a nice café, but £5 for a cappuccino is criminal

Nice place to have breakfast. Food: 4/5 Their Mallow Pancake’s nice, although the pancake’s quite gooey. The salmon salad is good. Drinks: 5/5 Their Vanilla Iced Latte is good, perfect ratio of milk, coffee, and syrup for my liking. Service: 5/5 The server’s attentive, I don’t know his name. He’s Asian.

Sehr sehr nette Bedienung, ausgezeichnete Mehlspeisen und sehr guter Kaffee. Nur zu empfehlen!

On à déjeuner deux fois avec ma belle famille dans ce petit resto, pas dix milles choix à la carte comme certains (et tant mieux) mais d'excellents produits et du local aussi pour un typique english breakfast! Pas forcément donné sur le prix si vous prenez des boissons avec (environ 150€ pour 6 personnes avec un plat et boissons) mais pas le plus cher que nous ayons goûté et le meilleur pour un petit déjeuner. Très consistant, de quoi tenir jusqu'au soir si vous manger deux fois sur la journée, je recommande les pancakes chocolat ainsi que les oeufs Bénédicte avec avocat et saumon !! Le chocolat Nutella et excellent aussi servis avec les petits chamallows et chantilly.

Des plats de type snack sans grande prétention. Frites surgelées. Sauces industrielles. Le service est chaleureux et sympathique.

I am giving low marks due to a couple of things. We ordered a number of burgers although expensive the burger was good. However if youre going to charge £3 in addition for chips then bring out 10 chips that's a disgrace. In a nutshell the most expensive chips for volume I've brought. Also I am not in favour of going to places where they add a service charge on. For that reason alone I will not revist. You're suppose to get paid a wage for the service you provide and service should be good anyway not just for the fact you're going to add extra on. We need to stop following the America culture before it gets out of hand like it has over there.

The food is great, vegetarian/ vegan options are delicious and the staff is lovely!

The New York Style wrap was delicious. It was the perfect meal for lunch.

Awesome little place for cafe lunch with all you need - great staff, great food served quickly and at a decent price! Highly recommended!

Advertises here as gluten free. Told on arrival absolutely no gluten free options ad they have changed the menu. It's really hare to take as a coeliac that a cafe has actively decided to stop caring about people with allergies. Avoid if you have any yourself.

Nice place but in an inexplicable change, they removed gluten free options from the menu. No longer an option for allergies, backwards step very disappointing attitude.

really nice food and friendly staff

Nice location but the food was mediocre and so so so soooo expensive. I wouldn't recommend

Honestly, the worst breakfast I've had. Way overpriced for what you get. Service was pretty terrible too. Got the worst vibe I've felt in a while, maybe ever. Just seemed like no one wanted to be working there at all at least from my experience. Regardless I stuck around and ordered the full breakfast which was seriously sub-par. One sausage for a start which felt skimpy as it was tiny, the bacon was okay at best, black pudding and haggis were decent enough but that's the only good things to say about it really. "Toast" if you could call it that was horrible it literally was bread on the plate. The place just felt like it was trying to be fancy or snobby but didn't even do that well? I asked if I could change the mushrooms and grilled tomato to just a bit more beans if possible. Was told immediately "we don't do substitutions". Which honestly I've never been told previously given its a breakfast you'd think that's no issue. Apparently it is, got a homemade lemonade, honestly was lemon water at best. The coffee was the only good thing about the place but even then you pay for the coffee plus a pound for any flavouring. Generally 20p but no of course not. My friend who I was with didn't even eat his food really at all. I go up to pay and am told there's an "optional" service charge of 10%. Which I think okay sure but it was already added to the bill so if you don't want too which personally I didn't I'd then have to ask them to remove it which feels for obvious reasons wrong. So all in all I paid £36 for a bad breakfast and a decent coffee with watery lemonade and a junior breakfast my friend didn't even eat for obvious reasons. Safe to say I won't be back and I highly recommend you go elsewhere for whatever you fancy. I don't even write reviews but this just got under my skin. Really didn't enjoy myself and tbh wish I never went.

Great and very nice staff + delicious food

The waffles tasted great but wasn’t a huge fan of the bacon. Reasonably priced and quick service :) breakfast was £13 which was a bit on the higher end but filling overall. Wish there were more mushrooms! 🍄

Une adresse sympa au cœur d’Édimbourg pour un dej avec des produits simples et bien cuisinés. Nous recommandons vivement !

Such a lovely waitress and super speedy service. Veggie breakfast is SOOO tasty and the garlic mushrooms are to die for. Wish I had a bigger stomach!! Thanks Wonderlust

Awesome breakfast!!! The perfect answer to my hangover!!!! The haggis and black pudding was delicious.

We absolutely love it here, friendly staff, and a good brunch menu. We take everyone here.

The best Caesar Wrap I’ve ever had!

The waffles were absolutely amazing and flavourful! However… I wouldn’t order an eggs Benedict from here again to be honest. I found it extremely bland, the eggs were over cooked and the hollandaise didn’t really have much flavour either. 100% recommend for waffles and just about anything else though! Also tips (or service charge whatever you want to call it) are mandatory here as a heads up. Edited to add that although it wasnt “mandatory”, they tell you they add it themselves and ask if it’s okay which puts pressure on you to not say no.

A bottle of tap water had freaking pieces of green mold. Was served the wrong dish (mine was fine, my partner's was wrong). Was given the price with 20% tip without any consent. No thank you. Imagine the food inside if that's the attitude.

Food was okay but a service charge was sneakily added to our bill! Not a good way to treat customers

The best coffee I had in Edinburgh!

Great food, great service, and very clean restrooms! Thank you!!

Very nice little place with a really good breakfast and a lot vegetarian options! The service was irreprochable!

Very nice place. There is a full vegan menu which is very appreciated

Great vegan options very accommodating staff

מדהים!!! הקרפ עם המוצרלה, פסטו ותרד פשוט מושלם! הכי טעים שאכלתי באדינבורו

We went here for breakfast which we loved. It was amazing, even though an item was missing, we weren’t too bothered by that. It was the vegan haggis, it was more to try it as my friend wasn’t sure if they would like it. Their cakes and crepes looked amazing on our visit. We returned at 4:15pm to try the cakes and get a drink before we left, and to find it closed. Even though it said on the door 5pm. The staff looked through the window if they couldn’t be bothered and shut early.

Excellent tea for two and raspberry cheesecake.

Mitarbeiterinnen sind sehr höflich. Das Essen ist sehr lecker auch die Tagessuppe. Vegane Optionen sind vorhanden. Ist kein deutsches Café übrigens trotz des Namens. Preise mittelmäßig.

Lovely friendly cafe, we placed the world's most complicated order but staff were incredibly patient and couldn't do enough to help. Food was delicious and well presented. Really good range of veggie / vegan / gf options. Cafe was spotlessly clean with a lovely atmosphere, can't fault it.

Friendly cosy cafe. Fast service. Great breakfast with good quality ingredients and good coffee and student discount. Can’t fault it.

Cozy and nice. Very friendly staff Delicious pancakes and bagels! For coffee and snack

All the breakfast options you could possibly want - full cooked breakfasts including like for like Veggie and Vegan options, sweet and savory crepes, and lighter options. My Full Vegetarian Breakfast was awesome, really loved the Veggie haggis and the tattie scone. Partner had a junior breakfast, which seemed like a great option if you're less hungry. Music was also on point lots of Taylor Swift- was not expecting to have Hercules and Cyndi Lauper back to back before Beyoncé but was a vibe. Really lovely staff, would come again next time we're in Edinburgh.

Good cafe, portions a little small for the price.

I wandered into this establishment for two reasons: (1) I feel deep wanderlust, so the name seemed like a sign, and (2) I love crepes! I was NOT disappointed. I'm not vegan, but they have vegan options. I got a lemon & sugar crepe, a fresh green juice, a hot chocolate, and a nutella & banana crepe. They tried to tell me it was a lot of food, but that just felt like a challenge. I eat A LOT when I'm traveling and I felt just fine reading my book, sipping on hot cocoa, enjoying the delicious crepes, and the cozy atmosphere of this business. Plus, it was raining outside and it was my first day in Edinburgh, so I was happy to take my time and don't you worry - I finished all of my food and beverages. I highly recommend this business. In fact, I plan to stop by back tomorrow - my last day in the city.

Cozy breakfast cafe. The food was good and the staff were very friendly. Filling portions for reasonable prices.