Café Andaluz

Went there last night with my girls for our annual Christmas secret santa exchange. First time there so didn’t really know what to expect. The place is deceptively big as a nice Spanish feel décor and accommodates for small to big groups. Really like that we could hang our coats on hangers next to our table. The Service was friendly and prompt with easy on the eye Spanish waiters! Good choices on the menu with deal as low as 3 tapas for £12. One of my friend was worried 3 wouldn’t be enough to fill her up but out of the 6 of us we all felt full and satisfied after 3 and she never really managed to eat the 4^th one. Word of advice, as much as all tapas sound tempting and mouth-​watering order gradually you can always ask for more if you still hungry! We drank yummy mojitos and raspberry mojitos and ended our meal with white chocolate and caramel cheesecakes which everyone loved. I would certainly go back there again, it seems family friendly as lots of families took their kids there the only downside was that being so popular it was very noisy in the restaurant. The food was nice though not all was to my taste hence 4 stars.

Definitely one of my favourite tapas places in Edinburgh. Consistently good food & good service. I was going to say it beats the chains hands down til I discovered it is also chain when I checked out some of the other reviews. It certainly doesn’t feel like it. Kudos to the staff.
«Tipsy tapas Tuesday» here used to be a monthly staple of my Embra life with some great friends, great food & good wine.
Highly recommend the gambas pil-​pil & the pork cheeks. The butafara negra is one of the nicest ways ever to eat black pudding. Pollo rebodzado is also very tasty.
The OH also loves this place so will definitely be popping in for dinner the next time I’m back in town.
Oh & don’t forget to round off the evening with a wee liqueur coffee :)

After walking several miles in the damp and cold evening we were in much need of sustenance. Someone had recommended this place to us, and I’m glad they did!
The waiters recommend three dishes per person, which is more than sufficient. Nine tapas dishes later we were full and delighted.
Particular highlights for me were the aubergine couscous and the patatas bravas (you can’t really go wrong with these guys).
Of course we had to try dessert: crème brûlée was crunchy and creamy perfection, the white chocolate caramel cheesecake, well the ingredients speak for themselves. Bliss!
Quick service, gorgeous food and a pleasant ambience earns this place five stars. Great job!

Came here a few weeks ago on a Saturday at the start of the Edinburgh fringe with my friend.
I was last here years ago with a big group of work mates and always found the place buzzing.
We booked an early evening dinner on line through 5pm and had an hour and a half time slot, which was more than enough as we were heading to a show after.
Food was really good, decent sized portions and a huge menu to choose from, something for everyone. We chose 4 dishes between us which was plenty for the two of us :)
My only major gripe was the disappointing service we recieved :(
We waited 15mins to attract a waiter for our drinks order, he ran off really quickly :(
And then a further 15mins before i got another’s attention to get my food order in.
I understand that at this time of year it can be really busy but there’s nothing worse as a customer, than being ignored. There seemed to be plenty off staff on that night too.
On the upside they have a really good pre-​theatre deal .
Monday — Friday 12 — 6.30
3 tapas for £11.95, which is great value for money.
I think this a fab place to go for a group night out, when you’re not in a rush, the atmosphere is always great and the place is jumping. Will like to come be back «out with the fringe» to give it another whirl and see how it compares.

After accidentally making a reservation at their Glasgow location, the staff was very friendly and able to get us a table quickly. Overall, good service.
As far as food, this restaurant had great options on the menu and a great deal for 3 tapas. There is something for everyone on the menu. We had a group of 5 and everyone walked away completely happy with what they got. The sangria was good as well. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a nice, yummy meal in Edinburgh!

Got this place recommended by a friend who told me her husband ‘hates’ restaurants, except for this one. Had to go check out what makes this one so special…
We sat near the entrance, which is a mistake I just keep making draft-​wise. But we were happy to have a spot without having made a reservation.
The raspberry daiquiri was a yummy start!
We shared 5 tapas and a crème brûlée as dessert.
The highlight tapas were the cod pieces and the goat cheese with marmelade. The rest also yummy, cant wait to go back to try others!
For me personally what blew me away and makes me give this restaurant 5 stars is that when I asked what dishes have no onion (as I am sensitive to those) they actually had a NO ONION menu!!! And the chef came out asking if traces would bother me. Wow! Ok to have this for gluten or nut allergies, but they have a whole range of menus for different diets available! I have never seen this anywhere and was in heaven!
This restaurant is high on my ‘to go back to’ list, and I could say for up til now my favorite one that I have tried in Edinburgh!

We stopped here for dinner. Service was friendly and helpful. Lived in southern Spain for 2 years and I had the best sangria at Café Andaluz since leaving Spain. We had an assortment of tapas. The pork cheeks are always a favorite and the garlic shrimp were delicious. We were so full, there wasn’t room for dessert!

Café Andaluz never fails to delight; the food is divine, the setting is wonderfully atmospheric (the décor has Moroccan influences in my opinion, which makes it all the more beautifully decadent) The wine selection is just right; not too large to be overwhelming but a really great assortment (the sparkling pink cava is a personal favourite and served in those lovely wee champagne glasses, not flutes) and the service is both friendly and efficient, but you never feel rushed.
They offer a discounted lunchtime/​pre-​theatre menu or 20% snapfax discount on an already reasonably priced menu too, so it was a great but affordable treat when I was a student and even more so now. I bring everyone I know to this restaurant and they all insist on coming back time and time again.
If you have a healthy appetite order the bread basket with olives and balsamic/​olive oil to pick over as you read the menu, it really gets you in the mood for that true Spanish experience. For the main event I recommend the pork cheeks (the meat just melts in your mouth) the honeyed chicken, the black pudding and apple chutney, the scallops and the goats cheese and marmalade. But you really can’t go wrong with anything you try.
If you’ve done it right you’ll probably be too full for dessert but you simply have to squeeze in a Bomba Catalana from the coffee menu, it’s like nothing you have ever tasted before. Just heavenly!
I hope my review helps and you enjoy Café Andaluz as much as I have over the years.
Lauren x

I have been going to Café Andaluz in Edinburgh for years and have always really enjoyed the tapas here. To be honest, I prefer these tapas to the ones that I have when in Spain. Building is beautiful inside, and the service is consistent and friendly. Highly recommend!

Very good Spanish tapas restaurant with competitive prices, altogether superior to La Tasca.
Located in central Edinburgh, Café Andaluz offers a welcome alternative to the La Tasca chain. I went there for dinner in July 2014 and picked a selection of 4 tapas: Solomillo con Setas, Pollo Rebozado con Miel, Salmón con Espacias, and Carne de Res Picante.
The salmon and the beef were very nice indeed, but all four dishes were freshly prepared and of good quality. I would recommend all of them. The food seemed less streamlined than the one at La Tasca. The salmon had a nice bite, and the beef was a little spicy and characterful. See my photos.
Although the place was packed when I visited (and it usually is even on weeknights, so make a reservation to avoid disappointment), the dishes were served rather quickly. The service there is friendly and efficient.
Spanish restaurants routinely offer only a small selection of beers, usually lagers, and Café Andaluz is no different. So, basically, go for San Miguel. If you want a nice real ale afterwards, the huge JDW The Standing Order is close by.
Atmosphere and décor at Café Andaluz are pleasant indeed, and the place is certainly recommendable even for larger groups, advance booking provided.

This place is great. Conveniently located on the busy George Street, it is a large place bristling with chatter in a relaxed and informal dining setting.
The staff, not many of whom were Spanish were very efficient, friendly and attentive.
But on to the menu. A good choice of wines but a limited range able to be purchased by the glass. Spanish beer is also available.
The food is excellent. Three tapas dishes would probably be perfect per person but they were so tasty I snuck in a fourth!
The patatas bravas was standard, the battered cod pieces were beautifully laced with paprika. Braised Pig cheeks were utterly sublime but the best of all was black pudding with an onion and apple chutney.
No room left for pudding — I left a happy man!
Two top tips. They give you chilled tap water with your wine as the food arrives hotter than the surface of the sun. Order one or two dishes only, then get a menu and order some more. Unlike many other tapas chains you can order a dish at a time here so relax and savour Spain

Very busy tapas restaurant. The food was very good. My favorite dish was the fried chicken with honey! It was perfectly sweet and salty. Yum :)

Came here for our work Christmas night out.
Was an extremely busy Saturday night but the service was excellent. Our food came out quickly and was absolutely delicious. The scallops and prawns were my favourites!
Treated ourselves to dessert and it was definitely worth it. Very rich chocolate and creamy cheesecake to choose from and both were tasty.
We forgot to pick up our receipt for our expenses but when we phoned them the next day they could not have been nicer or more helpful. The lady was friendly and got us a copy of the invoice no bother. All in all a great experience and would return for sure.

Warm and welcoming, and the staff v helpful and friendly. Whether you are having a meal, or just a welcome hot drink, its a lovely place to be.

I’m up and down when it comes to tapas. Mainly, as I think the quality can match that feeling all too often. Café Andaluz is a reasonable tapas restaurant in the centre of Edinburgh which delivers decent enough tapas. We had a time limit on the table, and, being a large party, had little confidence that we would make it outdue to the sheer number, but at no time were we ushered out the door by staff, which is always a positive for me.
Most of us opted for the budget friendly £15 for 3 tapas and a dessert (little known fact! You can exchange the dessert for a fourth tapas dish). I tried:
* salmon with the fennel & mint relish — the salmon was pleasant, and the relish nice and fennelly, but the other flavours seemed to be overwhelmed by it, which was a shame
* patatas bravas — better than others I have had recently, tasty tomato sauce and garlic dressing had me trying to clean the plate
* chickpea and sweet potato salad — served warm, which was a bonus! A surprise, and a different option for the vegetarian inclined
* Beetroot, seville orange, goats cheese & green bean salad — again, one flavour dominated (cheese) that the subtler earthy beetroot and fruitiness of the beetroot disappeared into the far, far, distance
* Gambas pil pil — hot, garlicky shellfish — nothing should go wrong with this dish, and it certainly didn’t go wrong here
For dessert, I finished off with a deconstructed raspberry pavlova, a little fresh raspberry light, but had all the right balance of flavours for me.
Overall, the menu came across a lot more flavoursome than what was presented, and there were a few of us looking at each other, and some of the portions as to — where is it? Nonetheless, 3 tapas and a dessert was just about filling enough for all of us (please note, for those who counted — I noted ‘tasted’, as you know, I have a wandering fork) but if you do have a lighter appetite, it may be worth stretching to 4.

Up until a few months ago, my knowledge of tapas was all theoretical. As part of one of the classes I was supporting in this year we were learning all about Spanish culture and food, was a big part of the culture.
As a treat to the class, we went on a field trip to Café Andaluz and we all tried two dishes each from the tapas menu.
Upon walking in you enter into a little corridor, almost like walking into your parents house, and we were very quickly greeted by a member of star and shown to our reserved table, there were jugs of juices and water on the table within moments of us being seated and then we were given time to assess the menu. And what a menu, obviously it is all traditional Spanish cuisine, and most of the young people went for the safe options such as the albondigas and the tortilla, I was desperate to try good calamares and was not disappointed by them, but the star of the show was my plate of Scallops.
I’ve never eaten scallops before and so was not sure what was about to happen, but from the first bite, I knew I was on to a good thing, up until this point we had all shared a little of each thing, but the more expensive things were only eaten by the person who had put up the money for them, to keep it fair, and I have never been happier, because I couldn’t have shared my scallops, even if I’d wanted to. Frankly three was not enough.
The only downside to the day was the fact that although we were in a Spanish restaurant, we could not order in Spanish, even though the young people tried really hard to do so. The waiter serving us was French, the other waiter was Italian I believe, and then another waitress was another nationality. It made for a fun conversation with each of them, when our young people tried there hardest to talk to them in Spanish, to be told I don’t speak Spanish but I can speak English if that helps?
Such a good day, and my only qualm is that I haven’t been back yet, although this time, I might just have to have a glass of wine with my meal.

I love tapas. No, I love LOVE tapas, but I wasn’t exactly swept off my feet by Café Andaluz.
I had the goats cheese with marmalade (ok), the calamari (ok) and the spicy lamb meatballs (quite nice). I didn’t feel like the food was really made with passion which is imperative for a good, authentic tapas experience. Possibly because it is a chain and it was rather busy. It was a fairly dear lunch deal at three tapas for £11.95 per person, but I suppose that’s reasonable for a George Street location.
The interior is quite charming. I loved the Spanish fares and the round tiled tables (which are plentiful — it’s quite large inside). The location is handy and because it is tapas, it might be alright to come back with a large group for a birthday or a farewell type do.

Have been several time with different types of people — business colleagues, friends, family etc — and every time have really enjoyed myself.
It’s a big restaurant, always seems busy but always able to cope with the hustle and bustle.
Last night came with family. We had about two dishes per person which was just about right for a meal but we weren’t stuffed (which is good!)
My particular favourites were pigs cheeks and gambas pil pil — highly recommend.
Defo worth going to — would probably book to make sure you get a table and I think would work with a group as you can order lots and lots of dishes to share. :)

Café Andaluz is a perfectly respectable place to stop for a bite when you’re on George St and want to fill your belly and have a long chat over some sangria.
It’s not exactly going to win any culinary awards, and the scale of the place can make you feel a bit like you’re being churned through a system, but the food is perfectly acceptable and the staff don’t seem to mind when you stretch a few tapas over a loooooooong lunch.

Love, love, love this place!
So far this is the best tapas experience I’ve had… and it was in Edinburgh. So, way to go Café Andaluz!
We *gorged* ourselves on a truly decadent meal that I’d have to rattle my brain to remember every single thing we ordered. but everything was delicious and we all walked away stuffed to the brim. It all tasted authentic. Authentic Spanish food. In Edinburgh! Holy crap! As an extra sign of it, I spotted several tables of Spanish people surrounding us, chattering away in their native tongue. The chorizo was extra delicious, which is the first thing I always gauge the yummy-​factor on in a Spanish restaurant. I remember the paella was very tasty as well.
The wine was great, the food was magnificent, it was really my most memorable meal I think I had in the country. and for a pretty fair price. The service was wonderful, too. I’d really recommend it.