Boxcar Coffee & Yard — Restaurant in Aberdeen City

We went on bank holiday Monday for lunch, kids and my husband cycled and I drove and met them there as have a small baby also. It is in a lovely and handy location just off the deeside way at cults. There was a queue for ordering so assumed there would be a wait for food but were not informed of how long by staff. Only 2 staff on and there was a sign informing us staff were in training also. Staff seemed quite stressed with volume of customers and orders. Menu is very varied but too varied and they had run out of lots of things including tuna and eggs. we ordered 2 kids boxes, a toastie a wrap and an iced coffee total price was around £30. Kids were getting very hungry and restless and around the 30 minute mark after ordering we were called over and informed there was no ham to make their sandwiches with. I initially asked for a refund but then the staff offered to switch to bacon which I accepted as kids were starving. They enjoyed their bacon sandwiches, eventually my husbands hummus and roast pepper toastie was ready and then my sweet chilli chicken wrap, decent portion and good amount of salad and crisps with them too, food average nothing exciting, iced coffee was also ok. This could be a really great place to stop for lunch if staffing was better managed, surely a sunny bank holiday Monday would be expected to be busy. I noticed a wee while after we ordered an extra staff member joined and the wait for orders was reduced, but if he had been there earlier then there would not have been such a long wait for previous orders. I noticed a few customers asked for refunds due to prolonged waits. The staff did seem to be trying their best but they were clearly under stress and if they were in training it seemed like a baptism by fire! So my suggestion would be to: plan staffing accordingly eg if weekend/ bank holiday increase amount of people working and ensure they are confident and fully trained. And reduce amount of menu options as it is good to have options but having too many options can make things harder for staff particularly if supplies run out. Not sure I would return after our experience or maybe would stop for a coffee and a biscuit, but I don’t think I could risk a 40 minute wait for lunch with...

My partner and I arrived at lunchtime (12:35) on a Sunday, and were told they were already out of wraps, chicken and bacon. As the veggie options are limited, I asked for one of their vegetarian burrito fillings in a toastie (southwestern veggie burrito with hash browns, veggie sausage, egg, Pico de galo, southwestern sauce and roast peppers)

My partner ordered the hummus and roast pepper toastie with falafel added, on brown bread.

Once we had paid and sat down, we were told there was no hummus, and would he accept pesto instead, which he agreed to.

When the food arrived, his was a falafel and pesto toastie with no peppers, on white bread. Not what he ordered at all.

Mine was an entirely different meal. When my partner went up to ask what it was (I'm vegetarian and it had sausages in) he was told that it was veggie sausages but they didn't have Pico de gallo so they just made a regular veggie burrito toastie instead, without asking or informing me. It was missing half the items! They offered a portion of roast peppers, however, that was already missing from my partner's meal.

As replacements weren't offered and we were too hungry to wait till the end of our walk home, it was about half eaten, so of course I wouldn't ask for a refund at that point. But I would strongly suggest others are careful as there were no efforts to rectify the mistakes after having already paid.

2 toasties and 2 cans of juice...

Visited boxcar after admiring the menu one day as I passed. Lots of variety on the menu and I love the location and seating area. Unfortunately the male staff member that was working made us feel like we were inconveniencing his day. We both ordered breakfast rolls, and my partner asked for ketchup on his. They accidentally put hot sauce on it which my partner realised on biting in to it. We are all human and everyone makes mistakes but he was unable to eat it so went up to the desk to ask for a replacement. He was ignored for the first few minutes and then eventually after he explained the guy said "it's because they look the same. They are both red". No apology. He did replace the breakfast roll for him but his customer service skills seem to be lacking. A smile and basic manners...