The Tolbooth has been here for some time as an eatery in guise or another, but I've never really…read morestepped foot in the place since it stopped being a gift shop (hmm about 10 years ago I think!). So it was high time that this was addressed. I tucked into a serious open sandwich of goats cheese, red pepper and caramelised red onion - and boy, it was good. Underestimating my order, I had opted for the soup and a sandwich option, but it really wasn't necessary (although the carrot and coriander soup was tasty, and had all the hallmarkings of homecooked goodness), I left, stuffed and round as a ball. No room for checking out the homebaking either, probably a good thing - but it leaves me a reason for return, instead.

This is a lovely wee place that has been here for 5 years. It's taken me 2 years to remember to put…read moremy bum in a seat here. It's a shame I waited so long. On a lovely sunny morning with one of the kiddies at nursery we decided to grab brunch outside here. We were greeted by the owner who was lovely to chat to. I ordered the French toast with bacon and my partner the full Scottish. A definite Yum in both our opinions. The coffee was just delicious which I think says a lot about a place. if they take care in the bean they serve as a lot of people order it, it should be your signature. All in all great service delicious food lovely coffee. We'll be back to sample more as they also do a dinner service on a Friday and Saturday night. The menu changes every week which is excellent. I had a look at the previous weekends offerings and there was a lovely variety. 2 courses for £19.50 or 3 courses for £24. Not bad for a freshly cooked locally sourced meal. Give it a whirl.

I have been many times and have never been dissapointed, the ice cream is fantastic and the coffee…read moreand food is very nice.

Amazing! Luca's has a lovely vegan chocolate and cherry ice cream which is to die for! It's so…read morelovely having vegan options that taste absolutely amazing and you don't feel like you're missing out!

If you're in Portobello and don't stop at The Beach House, you're doing life wrong. This place has…read morethe kind of ocean view that makes you rethink your job, your diet, and your decision to ever leave. I ordered the Turkish eggs and a flat white, and honestly, it felt like brunch therapy. Everything was fresh, rich, and way too good for the price. Then I made the mistake of looking at the pastry case. The cookie I "just wanted to try" was gone before I made it back to my seat, and I briefly considered pretending I dropped it so I could justify getting another. The staff are friendly but efficient in that "we actually like working here" way you don't see often. Even when it's busy, the vibe is relaxed, like everyone collectively agreed to stop being in a hurry. If you're looking for a café with great food, a killer view, and cookies that could end relationships, The Beach House is it.

This place was so cute and had a wonderful view of the beach. The food here was fabulous - I got a…read morefalafel toast that was delicious. The tea was also great and the hot cocoa was on another level. The service was great as well - very friendly. Definitely a popular spot but it's a lot bigger than it looks.

Lovely, hidden and quiet place…read more It is often hard to find tables available along the promenade for lunch, but because this is removed from the promenade (by 2 minutes!) you can usually find a table. The customer service is lovely, and the menu offers a varied selection of homemade meals and your typical "comfort food" which is great!

Very friendly, down-to-earth café. All the brunch options you could want--many varieties of a full…read morebreakfast, french toast, croissants, smoothies, as well as a massive lunchtime menu--complete with sandwiches, soups, meat, fish, and a page of daily specials! Everyone in my group was content with our Sunday afternoon experience. The staff were so lovely.

Great double macchiato and barista service! A Portobello jewel indeed…read more WiFi available.

Used to be Tides, which was good. Home made food, baking, etc. Nice atmosphere. Coffee was ok,…read morethe cakes are bought in, synthetic. Service very slow as they process orders as they come in, so if you order a coffee and there are 6 big orders ahead of you, rather than serve the quick coffee you have to wait your turn. For a small place menu is too big, they would do better to offer fewer things and do them better. Would be less stressful for the kitchen and the staff. Very sad to see Tides close. Only thing is its favour is location now.

A nice enough place to stop by for a light snack or refreshment…read more Child friendly with kids play area. Coffee and cake under £4.00 ( they are all bought in) Some cakes said home made but l would have questioned that one. One of the negatives that l had was the walkie talkie's the staff had, the manager was instructing a member of staff to top up the sugar bowls than say it to his face, he was about 10 yards a way. Staff should have clean uniforms daily, this place did not and gave the impression that the aprons where not changed in days as they where filthy.

Popped in here with Michelle B for a post-jog brunch last Sunday. It's a lovely little space and…read morehas some fab art work and jewellery and knick-nacks for sale. Great mixture of seating and tables and a proper turntable and old fashioned vinyl playing in the background. They even encourage you to bring along your own vinyl to play while you're in too, which is a cool idea. All looked and seemed promising enough but the food was not good. I had a bacon roll, made with streaky bacon that was so crispy it fractured into hundreds of tiny pieces when I bit into it. Also the roll was not fresh and they'd tried toasting it to make it better. It just crumbled too. Very disappointing. Lashings of red sauce did nothing to improve the texture or flavour. Michelle opted for a fruit scone. It looked nice but wasn't fresh either. In fact, she said it was soo hard that i she "sconed" me with it, she'd need to take me to A&E. We did tell the chap who served us, in order to give him an opportunity to rectify matters but he just shrugged it off and presented us with the bill. The only redeeming feature was the pot of tea. It was lovely. But it's hard to ruin a pot of tea so I'm not sure how much that goes in his favour. I'd give it another try on another occassion. I'm not ready to write this place off yet. I'm hoping it was just an off day and the food/service will be better on a future visit. It's got a great location with a fab view of the beach/sea so I hope it does improve.

Costa Coffee is the same wherever you go, you go into a costa, you know what to expect, you know…read morethey sell good hot and cold food, you know they sell delicious cakes and you know they sell hot and cold beverages just to your liking, but the staff are always different and today, in the costa at Musselburgh there was a lovely, friendly cheery man who called everyone brother or sister, he made costa different today. Thank you brother.

I usually try to avoid spending too much money at big chains like Costa but needs must. I found…read moremyself waiting for a bus in the freezing cold and there it was, a beacon calling me inside for a warm beverage. This Costa is always bustling and full with A really diverse clientele from the very young to the very old. After this experience however I am unsure why. My coffee fine, and the sweet things counter always tempts me, but for the cost, it really isn't worth it. More to the point my service today was really poor, the staff too busy with their own bickering to provide an even adequate service. The cafe was a mess, with several tables to be cleared. I hope never to be back, but you never know, maybe another day to n the future I will forget this experience and, while waiting for a bus in the cold, the beacon will call to me again.

Excellent lattes, millionaire's shortbread, and service. It is a nice spot to look at the water and…read morepeople watch

Best pizza I've had in Edinburgh, or maybe the world. Highly recommend ordering with extra…read morepepperonis.

Been trying to visit this place for ages - had a good feeling about it. It looked pretty clean for…read morea greasy spoon and I had high hopes for it to be a good plain breakfast joint for those morning after the nights before. Sadly, it is not to be. Now, arguably, the food is fine - perfectly reasonable breakfast. The reason it gets 2 stars is that breakfasts are a flat rate of 5.50 for Full, Scottish and Vegetarian. Again, you would think I would be happy as it serves up something I can eat, but when I have to pay the same price as the other breakfasts but get a fraction of the offering (Vegetarian = full breakfast minus the meat i.e. about half), I have to object. If you charge me the same price, exchange the meat products for a vegetarian offering. I just felt ripped off and when the plate arrived, still hungry when I finished. On the upside, my meat eating breakfast companion wasn't exactly full either. 2 stars as the food wasn't awful and the service is ok but not likely to bother coming back unless the menu is seriously reviewed.

Went into this cafe in the morning as I was in a rush- I wish I didn;t. The smell emanating from…read morethe kitchen was naything but pleasant- the place was literally a greasy spoon. I was handed cutlery which had spoldges of food and who knows what else on it. I asked for it to be "cleaned" but it still came back dirty. I'm not too picky about hygiene but this was utterly beyond the joke. I was also supplied with a cheap paper napkin and ordered a full breakfast. The plate itself was terribly greasy and oily- does this cafe even wash its own dishes? The food was mediorce but not for the ridicuolous price it was demanding for such meagre food. Will definitely not be returning to use more dirty cutlery and eat disgusting oily food. A truly terrible example of a british cafe. However the S Luca cafe a few blocks away is a better choice then this cramped, dingy place.