Grand Cafe

This is a review of their afternoon teaOverall: 3.9/5Let me start with the positives,1. Atmosphere (4/5)1.1 facility & decor (5/5)Their interior design is gorgeous—I absolutely love their upholstered couches/seats, those were my favorite part. I also love the high-ceiling, mezzanine design and the marble columns, that always makes a room feels grand a spacious. The wood paneling and lights are also beautiful.1.2 Tableware (3/5)Thats’s where I have to subtract a star from the atmosphere. For a supposedly fancy place, their tea set was disappointing. The tea cup was an €8 illy cup with its red square logo on it (aren’t they a coffee company?). And the wrong filter was used for the teapot, so that the lid wasn’t properly closed. And the teapot was absolutely sizzling all over when it came up, including the handle, I almost burned myself (wish the waiter could have warned me.) And instead of a proper cloth napkin, we only got a paper napkin (which i used to help me pour my tea.)Also, their glass cup looked cloudy (I’m sure it was just old with stains and not dirty—still, one would expect better from a place that looks like this. See the picture attached.)The faucet at the bathroom was also unfortunately one of those that tries to boil you alive and whose temperature can’t be changed. I do appreciate the proper hand towels though.1.3 Music I hope the soundtrack could have been more “posh”, to match the decor, or at least better than what they played.2. Service (3.7)Friendly. And my food and tea came very quick. They did kind of seem to forget about me after the beginning though. I’m waiting for someone to come by so I can ask for my bill as I’m writing this. (Update: I guess they thought I already paid a deposit when I booked my afternoon tea. However, I actually just walked in. Maybe that’s why no one came to give me my bill.)(Incidentally, while this is not very food-critic of me, their male staff members were all so hot for no reason.)Food (3.8/5)The €32.95* we paid we more for the ambiance, I suppose. It was pretty standard afternoon tea stuff: finger sandwiches, scones, and sweet and savory stuff. I did, however, very much enjoyed their mushroom tart (at least that’s what I think it was.) The sweet treats were not bad but not remarkable as well. The scones weren’t obviously warm/freshly baked when they came out. While they did rise nicely and is crunchy/crumbly on the outside, the inside felt a little too dense.*for some reason, I thought the afternoon tea was €60 while I was waiting for my bill, which made my review a little more critical. Turned out it was half the price, which makes it all very reasonable. It’s not a bad deal to enjoy a fancy environment like this with a this price tag.

Absolutely stunning place to have a coffee, eat some lunch and catch up. Especially before train journey as its very close. Felt bit uncomfortable at the beginning as I only had few drinks - coffee and Pepsi but after husband joined me we got few more drinks and lunch didn't feel as uncomfortable. Had trouble catching staffs eye to get served. After getting first drink. Trying to order lunch was difficult for this reason. But food was lovely.

This is a review for their afternoon tea.Went there with big group of friends (13). Food was nice and the building is lovely and stunning. However, the service was terrible. Took them very long to get our drinks order and then it took them a while to deliver them. Second round of drinks was worse, ordered a flat white and I'm sure it took them over 20 mins. Not sure if I'd go back if I'm honest. Took them a long time to deliver drinks, plates, food every time we asked for something and the place was not fully booked.

Well wonderful place inside. however the service…we ask twice for desert menu , after we got we waited another 30 min for the waiter, so we decided to leave it.Also they limit you to the time as they very busy but the staff is very slow.. not sure why they charge service charge…Very disappointed as if you charge high price for the food and drinks you expecting to be treated in a better way.Sea bass 26 pounds and extremely salty chickpea the offer with a steak is good!Large mussels is a joke 15£ for a tiny portion.That’s what I mean for a posh and fine dining I don’t mind to pay if the whole experience is worth it.

Nearly didn't come here because of a bad review we read. So glad we did. Food was great we had the great offer of steak and wine for two, plenty of food to offer for two people and absolutely gorgeous in taste cannot fault the food one bit nor the service. Our servers were fantastic we had a girl to start off with who advise us (not being from the area) a local cocktail bar sorry didn't get her name but she deserves some recognition and also we had Callum who was lovely and polite and so attentive to our table. Such an amazing experience and from someone who works in the industry very hard to find. Worth the visit and tbf decently priced too!

I recently dined at Grand Café during my visit to Edinburgh. The food was passable, but not particularly remarkable. However, what was truly disappointing was the service. The staff were friendly, but unfortunately, the service was quite slow. I had to wait for my gin and tonic for 15 minutes, and it seemed as though it was only prepared after I took the initiative to approach the bartender myself and request it.Furthermore, I found it quite disheartening to see that a 10% service charge was automatically included in the prices. Given the slow service I experienced, it was hard to see how this additional charge was justified. I believe that service charges should reflect the quality of service provided, and in this case, it simply didn't match up.Overall, my experience at Grand Café was far from perfect, leading me to give it a rating of 2 out of 5. If you plan to visit, I would advise managing expectations when it comes to service speed, especially considering the automatically included service charge.

The Grand Cafe in Edinburgh exceeded all expectations, earning a solid five-star rating. Madeline's exceptional service added a personal and attentive touch to our dining experience. The sophisticated ambiance and diverse, delectable menu made for an unforgettable evening. What truly elevated the atmosphere was the magical live music, creating a harmonious backdrop that further enriched the overall experience. Highly recommended for those seeking a perfect blend of exquisite cuisine and enchanting entertainment.

Wonderful architectural interior and Christmas decor. Food was OK but considering the price they charged, my expectations were towards a proper cafe/restaurant (food and service) rather than a casual cafe type. I ordered artisan bread (from the nibbles section) and sea bass (from the mains section) for lunch. I did not expect to have 6 pieces of triangular bread, all toasted, on a plate served as a starter". I could not finish all the bread

We were seated in the bar area which was fine as we didn’t book.I ordered a Rum & Raisin cocktail (my fav so I know what to expect) what I received was a warm shot of rum in a glass that had just been rinsed with water. I had to put ice cubes from my water into the cocktail but it still was not drinkable for a £13.50 cocktail I was very disappointed . I’ll share two pictures one is of the Grand Cafe £13.50 cocktail and one is of a different restaurant at £11 I’ll let you decided which one should have been of high value. Extremely poor.Our olives were given to another table, the waiter apologised and we watch our fellow diners gobble up our olives whilst we waited for ours to arrive.We had to ask for more drinks, we had to ask for condiments, we had to ask for the bill, we waited with coats and hats on for the bill, I then had to stand up to draw attention that I wanted to pay the £95 bill that was not worth that price at all and pay £8.70 service charge….. what service? The restaurant was not busy.We eat in some very nice restaurants being foodies and Grand Cafe disappointed in every way possible.The atmosphere was the only saviour with the lovely piano and singing.The staff were polite and friendly but at £95 for two mains, two drinks and some olives I would at least expect to be asked if I wanted any condiments with my main, any more drinks? Dessert menu? Was everything ok with the cocktail seeing as it hadn’t been touch. Nope nothing.Trigger warning for the picture of the Rib-eye steak which was full of thick fat.

It has the most beautiful interior and the food was insanely good. It is not cheap, but you wouldn't expect it from a place like this anyways.Everything was perfect!