The Tea Rooms At Edinburgh Castle — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

Extremely Disappointing Experience – A Sad Decline

We had a truly horrible experience at this restaurant, a stark and sad contrast to the beautiful visit my wife and I had back in 2009. Back then, the food, service, and atmosphere left such a warm impression that we were genuinely excited to return after many years. Unfortunately, it has gone completely downhill.

From the moment we arrived, we were met with hostility and sheer unprofessionalism by the young woman in charge of seating. Despite several visibly empty tables, she made it unnecessarily difficult to seat us. When we offered to wait for a table to be cleaned, she refused to let us wait inside and insisted we go outside into the cold. Worse still, she said that if the table became available while we were outside, she would simply give it to whoever walked in next — no call, no consideration. It was completely illogical and frankly, it felt personal. It is hard not to suspect bias at play, especially given how suddenly accommodating the supervisor became once we raised the issue. He immediately understood the absurdity of the situation and seated us within minutes. That stark difference in response was very telling.

While seated, we observed that this same staff member was suddenly able to seat guests every five minutes — tables were becoming miraculously available. What had changed? We could not help but feel that something more than bad management was at play.

Things did not improve. We requested water when we placed our order. Over the course of an hour, we reminded the staff four or five times, and it never arrived. When we mentioned this to the manager while paying, we were met with a dismissive and clearly false excuse: “We did not know.”

This visit felt like a betrayal of what was once a genuinely special place. We left cold, disappointed, and disheartened. Never again. We will not be returning and would strongly advise others to...

I recently visited Edinburgh castle and I went to "The TeaRooms at Edinburgh castle" with my wife and daughter and unfortunately, our experience left much to be desired. Upon arrival, we were hoping to enjoy a pleasant afternoon tea, but instead, we were met with blatant discrimination.

Despite being the first customers to arrive, the waitress informed us that there were no available tables. However, moments later, a British couple walked in, and without hesitation, the waitress offered to find them a table. It was evident that our ethnicity played a role in her decision-making process, which was deeply disappointing and unacceptable.

As a customer, I value equality and fair treatment for all individuals, regardless of their background. Discrimination has no place in any establishment, and it's disheartening to encounter such behavior in a supposedly welcoming environment.

I urge "The TeaRooms at Edinburgh castle" to take immediate action to address and prevent instances of discrimination within their establishment. Every customer deserves to be treated with respect and fairness, regardless of their race or ethnicity.

I hope that by sharing my experience, "The TeaRooms at Edinburgh castle" will take the necessary steps to ensure that all customers are treated equally and that incidents like these are not repeated...

I really wanted this to be nice but it was, disappointed. The scones were cold, only about a tablespoon of clotted cream. The sandwiches were plain. The desserts were good but simple ( despite having fancy names). Nothing was delicious, everything was just okay taste wise. The service was well meaning but ultimately unprofessional. The server was flustered, and if kimda had a teanage work experience feel. Example include, statements such as they were having a hard day, that they had a terrible memory, had forgotten how to talk, counting then sighing when we said one of the teas had been forgotten, not explaining what the dishes are when placing them on the table, not knowing what teas where available but there a lot. We had a bit of a wait, which we did not mind, and as such they asked if we would like free proscoo. When I thanked them and said yes, she was then confirmed if all of us really wanted it and counted out the glasses making me feel slightly embassed for agreeing. I am sure that non of this came from malice, but from immaturity and inexperience which I did not expect. Further if the food had been amazing I don't think we would have noticed service. All in all it makes me a little sick to my stomach the money I spent ( 7 persons ) for this, what I expected to be an...