A quick word of warning, to get to this lovely traditional tea room, you will have to either climb up a LOT of steep steps or go up in a dodgy old lift. I usually take the stairs because the lift is a bit of a faff and you have to get a staff member to come and operate it for you.
Once you get up to the café level, you are met with a charmingly decorated dining room, amazing views across Princes Street Gardens to the High Street and great Scottish food. When we first walked in, the place was quite empty and we were guaranteed a seat because there were only 2 other people dining at the time.
As the waitress showed us to our table and gave us our menus, I decided to have a slice of the gorgeous looking red velvet cake and a glass of Irn Bru. While we waited for the food to arrive, I visited the toilets, which were up some more steep steps. (UGH!!!!) This time the steps were spiralling up, which made the journey even more exhausting. However, the toilets were clean and functional with hot water, soap and plenty of paper towels.
When I got back, the food had arrived and I tucked in. The cake was very filling and delicious. The cream filling is what made it amazing. The Irn Bru was as traditional as always. The waitress checked back on us after about 5 minutes to see how we were doing and of course, there was nothing but praise back to her.
Once we got the bill it was a tad pricey but it was worth it for the first class food, service and surroundings. I was slightly disappointed that we didn't get to sit by the ginormous bay windows overlooking Princes Street but we still had a pretty good view as we were seated in the row of tables behind the window.
The stairs put me off going here slightly but that doesn't really matter because I will be back to try one of their delightful looking scones! read more