Café Rouge - Edinburgh

Catching up on an a review of an early morning breakfast in Edinburgh, back in August of this year. As just mentioned, this was an early morning stop before taking on a long day of seeing the sites and touring Edinburgh Castle(which was incredibly amazing!! . Cafe Rouge is a nice touch of Frances in the downtown area of Edinburgh. The ambience is bright and quite cheerful. I enjoyed a traditional breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, tomato, mushrooms and a side oh baked beans perfect! The coffee is amazing fresh and served piping hot the way it should be. The service was very good, didn't notice our server much, but she had everything covered well done. Great way to start a busy day. Definitely a must do if you are in the area!

We ended up going twice during Hogmanay, as a number of restaurants were surprisingly closed. The first time was good; we all ordered almost the identical items the second time and it was clearly a less talented chef. So three stars instead of four due to the inconsistency.

This very traditionally French looking establishment has been a sturdy feature on the Edinburgh cafe/restaurant scene for a good while now. I've been here a number of times over my Edinburgh residing years, and it's always been pretty consistently good, and I really have nothing to complain about as far as the food goes. Cafe Rouge seems to have had the same faithful, tried and tested menu favourites for a while, and it delivers them well. I can personally recommend the classic Caesar salad, rib-eye steak baguette, and any of the steaks on the grill menu, as traditional French fare is what this place does best. Larger than the norm outside seating area for sunny day basking too, nice for a breakfast coffee plus pastry, and the inside is pretty spacious too, so you'll never be too pushed to get a table. I don't think Cafe Rouge is the trendiest, most exciting place you could attend in Edinburgh, but it's definitely reliably decent and very conveniently located.

It speaks volumes for a place by how busy it is, and Cafe Rouge is always very busy. You have to book there's no question about that. But it's a brilliant place. Their food is delicious, I especially love their steak sandwiches (they do a male and female version) and their smoked salmon salad. The only thing I would say is their coke is served in TINY glasses, I had to ask for 3 top ups. The table comes with a jug of water though, so it's not a big problem. The service is brilliant too when my cousin still hadn't arrived they took away his pre ordered steak and chips and kept it on heat for him, providing fresh chips. It's the little touches eh!

The menu is okay, but the service is mediocre. The cafe is a bit off the main roads, so quite quiet. There's a lot of seating inside and some direct outside at the road.