Southern Cross Cafe Reviews Summary

Location

Pros:

• "Best thing about this place is that it's within walking distance of the train station."
• "Only 300 metres away towards the bottom of the royal mile is a lovely tea room with beautiful cakes and teas which are very nicely priced."
• "Situated on Cockburn Street and just off the Royal Mile, this cafe has pleasant interiors."
• "A great little café just a stone's throw away from Waverley station."
• "Southern Cross Café is located in the heart of Edinburgh's Old Town at 63a Cockburn Street."
• "The café's location is next door to Edinburgh Waverley station and a stone's throw from main attractions such as the Scottish Parliament Building and the National Museum of Scotland."
• "Only a few minutes away from the castle and waverley train station so ideal if waiting for a train or mooching around the variety of shops on the street."

Cons:

• "It's a bit of a tourist trap though."
• "The place was packed and I had to wait for a table for breakfast."
• "It took a very long time to be seated even though no one else was waiting and staff members walked past us many times and seemed to avoid us."
• "Quite a busy cafe(it’s in a prime location) so do expect to wait for a table."
• "Hard to get in and out of the shop due to the line of people wanting coffee."
• "There were no tables when we arrived so we ordered and sat outside to wait for people to leave."
• "We were informed 30 minutes later that they were out of blueberry pancakes."

Service

Pros:

• "Service was good but a tad slow."
• "The server was really friendly and played with our children so they had a blast."
• "Staff are so cute and Manager even played with someone kid to cheer him up!"
• "Great staff that are very friendly and attentive!"
• "The staff are all super friendly, you feel so welcome the moment you come in the door."
• "The staff are very friendly and accommodating."
• "All the staff are very welcoming, polite and always smiling."

Cons:

• "It took us a bit longer time for us to take a place and also to order."
• "Service was kind of slow and it seemed short staffed."
• "Not the greatest service."
• "Inattentive staff too busy having their iced coffees with whip cream."
• "Many customers weren’t serviced but had to leave."
• "Service was poor. We ordered 2 coffees and 2 breakfasts."
• "Service was awful, our waitress was very stand offish and staff looked bored and uninterested."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "The soup, chicken and cheese quesadillas."
• "Cheese & Tomato Croissant which was very tasty."
• "The cakes are really tasty, just like home made cakes should taste."
• "Scotch breakfast is as good as you’ll find, blueberry stackers (pancakes) are outstanding."
• "Food was superb."
• "Salmon was fresh."
• "The food is definitely tasty though!"

Cons:

• "The Eggs Benedict desperately needed some spices. The hollandaise was bland and heavily relied on the chives to give it flavor. The muffin at the bottom was very dry, and hard to cut through."
• "Serious egos from the girls working here."
• "After so many good reviews this was rather disappointing."
• "The Scottish breakfast... could have been hotter."
• "The bbq chicken wrap was heavy on the bbq sauce overpowering the chicken and brie."
• "The pancakes were very hard and I couldn’t cut them."
• "The egg and bread came out cold."

Atmosphere

Pros:

• "Lovely bright and welcoming cafe in the centre of Edinburgh."
• "Nice surrounding went b4 lockdown and had to return this year."
• "The atmosphere is relaxing, perfect for a Sunday."
• "Interior is an eye candy!"
• "The food was decent and the atmosphere was pleasant."
• "Lovely friendly staff and a nice atmosphere makes this a wonderful spot for a light lunch as you wander down the Royal Mile."
• "Cool café with a good vibe."

Cons:

• "So UNORGANIZED, sorry to say that."
• "It was also a little bit cold in the cafe."
• "The back room feels a little cramped and the staff kept coming back to check on everyone."
• "A bit much noise from the guests upstairs (seated right under)."
• "There's a bit of a draft, though few places in Edinburgh don't have one."
• "Felt like a game of musical chairs as we were always sure to annoy somebody."
• "Made us feel unwelcomed and like a nuisance as we were rushed through our meal."

Value

Pros:

• "A bit pricey though for a breakfast as it came to £30 all in."
• "The waffle is so amazing, with 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream at only 3.85, it's a steal."
• "One of the best breakfast we had in Edinburgh!"
• "Prices are reasonable given location."
• "Pricing was reasonable not too cheap not too expensive either."
• "Pretty reasonably priced considering the location, so rest assured that this isn't a tourist trap!"
• "It wasn’t too expensive either (especially for the location)."

Cons:

• "£3.45 for an unimpressive take away flat white."
• "I found it a bit expensive."
• "Extremely expensive, try instead eggs benedict in The booking office is twice cheaper and better."
• "Upon paying we were charged a 10% service fee which was not indicated anywhere."
• "Too overpriced and very small portions."
• "4.50 per slice is far too expensive. Dearest we have ever paid anywhere."
• "Overpriced!"