The Granary — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

I very rarely take the time to write reviews but on this occasion I was so disappointed on so many levels that I felt compelled to write one.

On first appearance The Granary looked very appealing and had a nice atmosphere. The lady that served us was polite and helpful.

I ordered a chicken, spicy pepper with rocket sandwich and asked if I could have granary bread. To my surprise granary bread was not an option even though the place was called The Granary. I then asked for any brown bread and she said she would ask the kitchen. I said if brown bread wasn’t an option then I would choose something else on the menu. Others in the party chose the ham and turkey club sandwich. Two of us added spicy cauliflower soup to our order.

The lunch finally arrived after about a 40 minute wait. My sandwich came with basic toasted white sliced bread and the waitress was really apologetic. She offered to change it but sadly we had limited time as we had a flight to catch so I said I would stick with it.

The sandwich was ok but the soup was not edible. It looked like dish water with little bits floating on the top (my friend said it looked like tea with gone off milk). It was very spicy hot and even though I love spicy even I felt it would be unwise to eat it. There was no sign of any cauliflower… it was literally coloured water.

The club sandwich also came with toasted white sliced bread even though it was meant to be sourdough. Both the turkey and ham were shop bought cheap processed meat and very disappointing. The coleslaw on the side was tasteless.

The waitress ended up giving us a small discount off the bill as an apology but if I were ever in Leith, Edinburgh again I would not return to The Granary as there are so many other places to chose from.

Obviously this was our own personal experience and I see from other reviews that people have really enjoyed their meals. There were four of us and we were all disappointed...

Yeah... well... it's just a bit MEH... Nice interior (lots of rustic timber and stone), good location (right on the Shore front, overlooking the boats) and a decent drink selection. But the staff aren't all that friendly and the food, well, don't bother! I work down at the Shore and wanted to like this place because it is so handy, but it just does not floating my boat! ;) I've eaten here 3 times (I gave them a few chances, hoping it would get better) but the quality of food was either cold/luke warm, cheap or poor quality. The menu is uninspiring and standard pub grub, nothing to get excited about. It's a shame, because if they improved the menu and standards, this place could be really buzzin'! They have a small gig/function space upstairs (they even hold poll dancing classes up there), a mezzanine level for diners and cosy armchairs at the front. In the summer they open the full height windows onto the street, prefect for a sitting in the sun with an ice cool pint. They often host live acoustic sets next to the fire place from Wednesdays-Fridays too. So they are getting there!

I last visited in November 2013, but in recent news, on the 21st December 2013 just before Christmas, a blaze ripped through their kitchen forcing customers and staff to be evacuated. Luckily there were no casualties, but the fire spread to the roof and it took around 30 fire-fighters extinguish the blaze! The kitchen is currently getting repaired and we are yet to hear when they will be re-opening for food, I do hope they improve the food quality at...

Went with my mum for a drink today and ordered a bottle of Prosecco. The blonde manager served us the bottle in the wine cooler on the table and left us to pour our own glasses which we were a bit surprised by. Went to pay the bill at the bar and the barmaid showed me the card machine and asked if I wanted to leave a tip. Selected no since we hadn’t been served properly nor asked if we wanted another drink. Paid by card and after walking out realised that despite selecting “no” they had in fact charged me a 10% tip. Went back in to complain and the waitress told me that it was a discretionary 10% service charge. I told her we clicked no and didn’t want to pay one but she told me this was separate to a tip. I asked for my money back so she had to go get the manager. Her and the manager whispered to each other how silly it was I wanted my money back so I politely told them they can’t ask you if you want to leave a tip and then charge you one regardless of your response. Was again told the till and service charges aren’t aligned so you need to ask not to pay one…I asked if I would’ve been charged double had a clicked yes on the machine and they confirmed I would. All seems very sneaky to me. I am more than happy to pay a tip but not when I’ve not been served and not when I’ve specifically asked not to. Staff need better training and tip system...