Black Sheep Coffee — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

We had just arrived in Scotland with my family, and the very first thing we wanted to do was get something to eat. We all ordered a proper meal, spending quite a fair amount. I’ve got an 18-month-old wee one to feed, so I kindly asked the person at the counter if they could warm up a baby jar. Standing in front of me was, let’s say, a “so-called manager” (seemed to be Pakistani), who brushed me off straight away.

He explained that they couldn’t heat food brought in from outside. Now, I can completely understand that for leftovers or adult meals and so on… but for an 18-month-old bairn who’s just come off a long flight and needs to eat, that felt a bit much. I even suggested they just heat some water so I could warm it myself in a bain-marie, taking any “responsibility” off their shoulders — but that was refused as well.

I honestly can’t see the logic behind refusing to help in such a case. The “manager” even told me there were hygiene and health risks in heating a sealed baby jar, which, as someone who actually runs a food retail store and knows HACCP standards, I can assure you isn’t true in this situation. To me, it just came across as unfriendly and showing no sense of hospitality.

Not exactly the warmest first impression when landing in Scotland. That said, after spending a full week here, I found the rest of the Scottish folk to be truly lovely and welcoming. So I reckon this was just one of those rare bad apples you sometimes get in any workplace — and I just happened to come...

This place obviously doesn’t care very much about the environment… ahead of ordering I especially went to ask whether I would have coffee served in a ceramic cup for sitting in as I’d have used my own cup and my partner’s cup otherwise. I was assured this would be the case and at the screen to order you can also choose what sort of cup you want. So I happily proceeded with my order, assured I could avoid producing waste. To then still have my two coffees served in paper cups was really disappointing to me as this is exactly what I was trying to avoid. As I sat and watched it seemed that all sit in options were served in throw away cups rather than ceramic. Do you want to avoid dishes? Why offer these choices when you’re not actually then attending to the customers preferences? I would appreciate it if customer attempts to do something for the environments were more respected, the cafe did offer the choices it advertises and didn’t just ignore preferences voiced by the customers. Unfortunately I am so annoyed about it that I can’t really enjoy the admittedly delicious coffee...

We ordered 4 strawberry matchas and 2 lattes. The matchas were basically flavoured water – completely tasteless with ZERO strawberry flavour. The lattes? Cold. Not warm, cold. For the prices they charge, this is unacceptable.

To make things worse, when we asked if the pastries were halal, the Indian staff member behind the counter acted like we’d insulted him personally. His attitude was rude and dismissive, which immediately set a negative tone. As paying customers, we asked a simple, respectful question – and were met with hostility.

When we complained about the drinks, instead of listening and trying to fix the issue, he threatened to call security. Seriously? For what – pointing out that your drinks are awful and your attitude worse?

I go to Black Sheep Coffee in Glasgow regularly and have never had anything close to this kind of experience. This branch is a disgrace to the brand.

Terrible drinks, even worse service. Save your money and your patience – go literally...