Cafe Cockburn

I almost never leave reviews, but I felt I had to because I felt so ripped off here. I'm a local and had time to kill before work so I popped in for lunch. The staff were friendly and the service was quick, but I got the smallest piece of avocado toast I've ever seen for a tenner. I'm still hungry. I sort of knew it would be a mistake to go somewhere touristy but now I know I definitely won't be back. There are nicer places on Cockburn Street, never mind the rest of the Old Town.

Visited this quirky-looking cafe on Cockburn St with my daughter. The waitress behind the counter was pleasant and directed us to a choice of tables. My daughter wanted an iced tea, but this wasn't available (no syrup apparently) but they were able to do an iced latte. I ordered tea and a slice of coffee and walnut cake. I couldn't quite believe that this all came to £12.60. I think the tea was £3.55 which means the latte and cake came to £9.05. I thought to myself this cake had better be good. It wasn't. It was as dry as dust and hard as a brick. Clearly, it had been sitting out on the counter all day. We couldn't eat it. No one seemed interested in whether or not our food was ok. As we sat with our drinks, we observed the counter. The staff seemed more interested in cleaning the kitchen area than on any interaction with the customers. The older women was quite brusque, and when two Asian ladies left the cafe to sit at a table outside, after they had ordered, I could hear the staff make a disparaging comment about them, calling them rude. They then went on to slag off German tourists as being very rude. All this we could hear and we really felt they should keep their opinions private. My advice is to avoid this place. It's overpriced and customer service is poor. Quality of food doesn't appear to be great either. I think they will probably entice unsuspecting tourists in. We will not be back.

I have to be honest with everyone, I ordered the avocado eggs benedict. It took a while to come out and when it finally did, the eggs were extremely overcooked. The only positive aspect was that the staff were kind when I asked for a replacement because who wants eggs benedict with hard eggs? Definitely not me! The prices are on the higher side for what you receive, and overall, I didn't find the food to be anything special. I believe there are better places to spend your money.

We paid £42.50 for an average meal of toasties, one cooked breakfast, and 2 soft drinks. Another time, we spent £23 on 4 coffees, a piece of velvet cake, and a traybake. Unfortunately, we won't be returning as the food was simply average.

The café is lovely, with a cozy atmosphere and beautiful decor. The staff is very friendly. The coffee was good, but the toast and bagel were over-toasted and lacked filling, making them dry and not very flavorful. There are plenty of other nice cafes on the same street.