Alby's Southside — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

Had a quick stop here one Saturday lunchtime. I had a positive experience at the Leith store so I expected similar at this facility. I was in town and I was trying to place an order but unfortunately the earliest I could get wasn’t until another 1 hour away and I was only 15 mins away from the shop. I decided to chance my luck and go early. Thankfully the lady that served me was lovely and able to make me an order earlier so I didn’t have to wait very long. The only criticism, I have the online ordering system. Theres 1 booking slot every 15 mins which I feel is very low and explains why I wasn’t able to book any sooner. Maybe 4-5 orders per slot would be manageable and improve customer experience. The shop itself is small and right close to the meadows. Theres on street parking but can be difficult to get a space, luckily I squeezed into one opposite the store. As it’s pretty central there are plenty of bus routes. Inside there is some seating (maybe housing 15 max). To the right they sell some merchandise and kitchen supplies. I bought some extra virgin olive oil (yet to try). The woman that served me was very pleasant and welcoming. She even gave me a little background on how she started her business which is always nice to hear. I went with a chicken sandwich, prawn toast & cheese toastie. The sandwiches are made with focaccia bread. The bread is freshly made, soft and delicious. I feel that a good bread enhances a sandwich considerably and this was no different. I can’t remember the sandwich filling, apart from it being chicken, but I do know it was scrumptious. The sauce was awesome and it was a massive portion. The cheese toastie had other fillings which, again, I can’t remember, but it was enjoyable. Although, I would have liked it more if I hadn’t had the sandwich. The toastie was thick and very filling so once I finished it I was intimated by the prawn toast but I rolled up my sleeves and got it done. It was my first time having prawn toast. It was nice but maybe not my favourite. Overall, if you are looking for a top quality lunch/sandwich this is your place. Unless you’ve got the bucks, you’d be short of pocket if you came here regularly but I’d recommend coming here now and again. Quite a unique shop...

I got the same item (pork souvlaki twice) in 2 diff times, one takeaway another dine in

The first time I had it I took away and it was cold, which was weird because I had it 2 mins after taking away

Even dining in, the focaccia was not very crispy at all and quite hard to tear apart. Pork could have been more tender, although the combination of the other ingredients were good

Maybe if it weren't so hyped I wouldn't be so disappointed, but many panini's have much crispier breads.

The hot chocolate was decent, the chocolate itself was good but this was too milky overall, less chocolatey. Still a comforting option tho

The portion is annoying tho. It's too big for one to finish comfortably, and too small to...

I went here with my partner on the weekend and we shared the pork belly and brown shrimp sandwich. It was big enough to share for a light lunch so was already pleased about that. And then I tasted that first bite....

This honestly might be the best sandwich I ever had in my life. Top three at the bare minimum. And I have eaten a lot of good sandwiches. I was slightly apprehensive about the coriander and mint, but it combined with the pork belly for an incredible flavour. The meat was well cooked and juicy, the ciabatta was soft on the inside but had a nice crunch on the top, the flavours were fantastic. 10/10 sandwich. The staff were also helpful and friendly. Definitely gonna be...