The Pantry — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

Trigger warning: RACISM

My partner and I walked in, browsing the menus at the waiting area. The waiter (male, tall and with long hair whom we believe to be the manager) snatched the menus from my hands, and served the couple behind us. An honest mistake maybe, we thought.

We were seated at the back at a cramped table blocked by a wall, and after a while we felt claustrophobic. We requested our server (girl with short cropped dyed hair, bright pink highlights) if we could change to any of the other 3 tables - which were 4 seaters and were currently empty. It was almost 3pm and they close at 4, which is why we asked. She answered that those were saved for groups.

After a while, a (white) couple (with a dog) were brought to one of those tables. The same server with pink hair brought a bowl of water to the dog, and petted him with a smile. Shortly after, another couple (white) were ushered to the second table. We asked our server again whether we could change seats please? She said it’s not available - we asked if there are other seats available elsewhere, and she said she would “let us know”

The final straw came when yet another couple of ladies, white, were welcomed to the final table. The room was now filled with 3 white couples taking up spaces meant for “groups of 4” as they claimed. We asked the manager this time if we could be moved please as we had asked multiple times. I asked him why we couldn’t sit at the tables when they sat other couples there - he got defensive and kept repeating “he wasn’t told anything”.

The two white ladies stood up and said we could have their table. The server and manager (as well as the rest of the staff) avoided us for the rest of our meal. For them it was just another “ridiculous customer” moment in their tough customer service life, but for us, as people of colour who deal with racism on a daily basis, it ruined our day and made us feel worthless, not even comparable to a dog who was treated with more kindness by the lovely server.

If you don’t believe it, click on the one star reviews and you will see that many of them are Asian people. Is it just rude service or veiled racism?...

I liked it.

We really enjoyed our food. I did not expect it to be satisfying because the portions appear small - the sunshine is basically just vegetables, and the USA/eggs benny just has one piece of bread and some toppings. But it was actually surprisingly filling and we did not leave hungry. The flavours were really good in the savoury dishes, but I was a bit disappointed with the matcha french toast - I did not taste any matcha in there at all. But that's absolutely fine, it more than made up for it with the other flavours - the passion fruit, the white chocolate - delicious. I enjoyed the coffee as well. The espresso tasted really good, but I feel like the milk could have been done a bit better. It was too bubbly and too frothy. The interior of the cafe is lovely and very cozy, it has fantastic outside seating, great lighting, and the area is amazing. One of the staff members recommended a nearby location to visit and we had a really great time walking around the scenic streets of Stockbridge. I'm giving it 4 stars because it was not very welcoming. We did not feel welcome on arrival and were rushed to our table, the staff member that greeted us was grumpy and rather rude. Also, we had to wait for quite a long time for someone to come and take our order despite multiple attempts to attract the servers' attention. The menu could use with more vegan options - there were only two or three things that could be made vegan in breakfast and brunch sections by substituting the eggs for some mushrooms. But it's really great for veggie. It was nice for a one time visit and is definitely worth a go, but personally I don't think I'll be coming...

This place may seem charming. And in the right circumstances, it could be! Unfortunately on this visit, it was harrowing.

To start, there is a confusing and annoying queuing system. You scan a QR code to get on the virtual list — we were party of 3 and “third” in the queue at the time and were told it would be a 20-30-minute wait. Nearly 90 minutes later, we still were still not seated. We had to watch at least 3 large tables leave and other parties get sat, and at least 5 two-tops be sat. No, they apparently won’t push two tables together for a party of 3. Nor would they sit our party of 3 at a table for 5. Instead, they sat 4 people and a toddler at that table who had literally just gotten there after we’d been waiting for 85 minutes at that point.

This is a terribly unfair way to treat customers when you don’t take reservations ahead of time. (And there are 6 tables outside, but for some reason they were not sitting people outside on a 18-degree Celsius Sunday in late-June.

We should have cut our losses but didn’t. To make things worse: they serve certain “breakfast” items from 9 am to 12 pm, so at 12:10 pm they could not accommodate the dish I had my heart set on, the “Pantry Fry.” They wouldn’t even check with the kitchen. The food I did order, “The Benedict” was a notch above adequate, which was totally unsatisfying given the overall experience.

In the end: absolute ignorance when it comes to empathy, flexibility, hospitality, and customer care. We came to The Pantry to be happy and left feeling...