The café has an extensive, but basic range of food and we found it very fresh and tasty. The rest of the customers probably has the same thought as it was very busy. This is the second time we have visited and we are opositive it won't be the last
The cafe is located in one place of the finest places of New town. I ordered a latte with salade... The food was of great taste and the service was amiable.. a great to spend time and have great food!!
Booked this as afternoon tea for 8 to celebrate several events within the group.
Everything was ready on our arrival. Service was excellent, nothing was too much trouble to the friendly helpful staff.
The food was first class and although we took our time there was actually cakes left to take away in a box provided by staff.
It was a very pleasant atmosphere, in a superb setting
The Portrait Gallery is one of my favourite places to hang out - beautiful buildings with thought provoking exhibitions. Their cafe provides sustenance in between intense art viewing sessions. We recently had their hot chocolate with marshmallows - very rich and very tasty, their rooibos tea - light and refreshing and their cakes. Their carrot cake is one of the best I've had - very well baked and incredibly tasty. Worth stopping by if you are going to the museums or even if you are just in the area.
Lovely cafe tucked in the portrait cafe on queen street. Cake had a really nice lemony flavour but was slightly drier than I'd like. Really nice!
This café is not only situated in the stunning building of the portrait café, but boasts plentiful seating and delicious food. The main area is light and airy while the back room is cosy and intimate. The food is served cafeteria style with sandwiches, two daily special mains and soup and four 'otttolengi' inspired salads. While the portions may be erring slightly on small they are sufficient - and leave room for the amazing selection of homebaking. Something for everyone here and price's very reasonable (eg. £6 for three salad plate, 5.25 for soup and two salads, 2.50 cakes)
If you are visiting the Scottish National Portrait (or in the area) and feeling hungry don't think twice. I stopped there for a little bite after a long morning of exploring and was rewarded with nice hot chocolate and a delicious slice of chocolate cake.
I have been in here before and left because it was so busy, but happened to catch it on a quiet Sunday afternoon. Impressive array of delicious looking cakes and lunches- plenty vegetarian options. I had to try their scone (banana, pecan and choc chip) which was AMAZING- already@ looking forward to visiting again.
We'd happily visit again for a spot of lunch even if we didn't plan on visiting the gallery, which is saying a lot for the quality of the food.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
The old National Portrait Gallery café was a firm favourite when Caroline and I worked in the East End (this was before the gallery refit), but changed jobs mean that we are rarely around that part of town at lunchtime. We enjoyed the old café’s home-cooked feel and good selection of vegetarian options, putting up with the lack of tables and an obsession with cheese & cream. Last bank holiday Monday, we headed into town to meet a friend off the train, stopping into the portrait gallery café for a quick bite.
The café offers a light and airy space with beautiful tall arches of windows, creating a relaxed space for diners. We sneaked through to the smaller back room where it is a little quieter and the selection of fabulous portraits on the walls gives a bit of a special feeling to the space.
Food is purchased canteen style from the main counter, but the space and the quality of the offering mean that you do not feel you are in a canteen – they are a proper professional restaurant.
We were in for lunch and there were five main food options:
Soup – French onion or tomato (with basil, and other Mediterranean herbs). Caroline loved the onion soup but the tomato was my favourite.
Salads – Mixed bean salad, pasta salad, potato and chive salad, and a crunchy-looking shredded green salad.
Sandwiches/rolls – Ham, brie with walnuts, or pastrami. Each comes on a selection of white or brown rolls, or croissants.
Mains – Vegetable lasagne or chicken stuffed with pesto on dauphinoise potatoes
Desserts – A mixture of tempting options (puddings and tray bakes).
Caroline had chicken with bean salad. Both the chicken and potato dauphinoise were well cooked, with the chicken being raised by the lovely herbal flavouring of the pesto stuffing. While the potato looked a little dry, it was a very good dauphinoise (creamy without being overwhelming). The salad was a lovely mix of beans, potatoes, carrots, celery, tomatoes and cucumbers. It was very lightly seasoned with a hand confident of the tasty combination of good quality ingredients. Caroline prefers a lightly dressed, or even naked salad and this was just right.
After a quick taste of the soup options, I decided to have the tomato & basil soup with a brie sandwich. The soup was delicious: a homemade tomato soup with a good hit of basil and herbs. I am a big fan of tomatoes, and make soup at least once a week, and immediately planned to adjust my own seasoning to be the same as that at the portrait gallery. The sandwich was a crispy sesame roll with cranberry jelly, spinach and walnuts. The brie was fresh creamy, and was the clear flavour with the cranberry jelly adding a light sweetness and the walnut giving crunch and a lovely lingering taste in the mouth.
We had planned to pop back for a pudding, but changed our minds: the food was not only good, it was very filling! There simply wasn’t space for cake.
The Portrait Museum is a popular spot so at peak times there can be queues at the counter, and the main space can become noisy when full. On the other hand, classic combinations of quality ingredients, and a lovely airy dining space, makes this a new favourite lunch spot.
To me, the simple sandwich I ate summed up the ethos of the café: good ingredients, classic combinations that are seasoned and cooked by a sympathetic hand. I would have no hesitation recommending the Portrait gallery to a friend looking for a lunch venue.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Following on from our Google Event we were keen to re-visit the Portrait Gallery to have a closer look at some of the exhibitions. As fate would have it, we received an invite to sample a lunch at the very same gallery, in the appropriately named Cafe Portrait.
We started by admiring the selection of sandwiches and salads, and if that wasn’t enough alliteration there was also a spicy soup thrown in the mix. This was certainly our kind of cafe!
The pastrami sandwich with gherkins peeking out caught my eye, this seemed like the perfect partner to the parsnip and roast garlic soup.
EdinBloggette had a different plan, bruschetta with maximum mushroom, no soup for my cafe compadre though she had her eyes on the Greek salad.
The parsnip soup was super tasty, subtly spiced with a kiss of garlic. The sandwich was a fine choice, the pastrami was top quality and the gherkins added a little crunch and that distinctively sweetly sour taste. It’s was a simple sandwich which relied on the quality of the ingredients, the end result was satisfying and incredibly filling.
Moving on to EdinBloggette’s GIANT lunch…
This salad was enormous, I couldn’t get too involved as there was an over abundance of cucumber (I’ll never understand the appeal of these vegetables) and I’ve never grown accustomed to mushrooms. It’s not all about my experience though, we’re a team of two after all, EdinBloggette was keen to share her verdict:
“ Mmmmmmm! This is my kind of lunch! (EdinBloggette 2014)
The salad was dressed to impress and was lovely and fresh, the portion size was a little more than EdinBloggette could manage – perhaps one bruschetta too many. The toppings of the bruschetta went down a treat, as did the salad, all that remained at the end of our lunch was the base from one bruschetta.
After our lunch we wandered around the gallery, the photography exhibition was by far our favourite, whilst we can appreciate the history of the paintings on other levels it wasn’t really to our taste. Hopefully on our next visit the section of the gallery that was closed off will be displaying some more modern portraits.
This was a start to a great day, it’s a great place to visit for a spot of lunch and one we’d happily repeat next time we’re in the area.
For full review, please visit:
http://www.edinblogger.com/2014/cafe-portrait/
We booked an afternoon tea in advance for our trip to Edinburgh. We had to make the reservation through email, and the process went smoothly. They asked about food allergies and accommodated what they could and explained what they could not. The food was great, the service was great, and we all enjoyed the experience.
We were visiting the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, and popped in for a hot drink after being caught in the rain.
With the pot of tea, we also ordered the two types of scones, including one with fruits. The scones came with butter but not with clotted cream. They were pretty fresh, and a nice size - looked craggy like Ben Nevis. Tastewise, they were okay.
Came here for an afternoon tea with a friend and her baby. Plenty of room to manoeuvre a pram in and around cafe. Allergies and diet requirements were perfectly catered for. Afternoon tea was impressive with 4 savoury items, soup, 2 scones, and 4 sweet treats to try, per person. Bring an appetite! Food was lovely and atmosphere was great. Staff were attentive and accommodating.
A bit of a log jam at tills but staff pleasant enough. Salad fresh, colourful and delicious.
I had the best hot chocolate in Edinburgh here😍😭
You get to enjoy the art gallery with a great space. Best hot chocolate I tasted in my trip and prices are reasonable
Lovely cake and not too busy. Wish they'd either employ more staff to clear tables or establish a self clearing system. Dirty dishes spoil the space.
Lovely place to visit and plenty to see and a nice canteen.
Though a little on the expensive side, high quality cafe food and a very welcoming atmosphere for all. Good for little people as they have entertainment for the galleries you can use (pencils, paper, etc) to keep them distracted!
Food was brilliant and quick although the soup was a bit pricy for what I could see on the cup.
Love this cafe. Fantastic choice of sandwiches and salads for lunch AND a hugely tempting array of delicious cakes.
The best thing about this experience- portrait gallery - was the café. First they gave us a token for the lockers so we didn't need to carry our suitcase with us but then produced the food at the end.
Service was slow until the lady called for reinforcements but then all was great.
I went for jacket potato with cheddar cheese and leek and had salad leaves and beetroot and plum salad divine! Wife had same but parsnip and plum salad. Too heavy on parsnip for me but she loved it. Excellent value.
Beautiful building and art. A trip of history through the ones who lived it. The variety of styles and art period ensures that there's something for everyone.
The cafe is also a great place to sit down and enjoy good food with good tea.
One of my favourite galleries in the city
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