Edinburgh Reviews

Local reviews of places, sights and attractions

  • Businesses
  • Entertainment
  • Festival
  • Food
  • Shopping
  • Travel
  • Et Al
You are here: Home / Food and Drink / A review of Passey’s, a cafe bar and bistro in Portobello

A review of Passey’s, a cafe bar and bistro in Portobello

March 31, 2022 by Andrew Girdwood Leave a Comment

It’s about a 90-minute walk from my Granton hideaway to Passey’s in Portobello and then the same back, unless I take a different route away from the coast, as that adds significantly to it.

A review of Passey's

I know because I’ve done the walk several times, often just to go to Passey’s, and I’ll do it again.

My first trip to Passey’s was because someone stole their rainbow Pride flag from outside. If there’s an expression “No good deed goes unpunished, ” I wanted to find the opposite and lend my meagre support to a bullied local business. I’m glad I did.

Passey’s Food

The domain and website is Passey’s Coffee Company. I’ve bought a bag of coffee here, and it was tasty. But Passey’s is a small restaurant as far as I’m concerned. I think they say cafe bar and bistro.

You can get booze here, but I wouldn’t call it a bar.

So, I’m sticking with indie restaurant, and I’m going to talk about the food because it’s amazing.

  • The starters are amazing.
  • The main courses are amazing.
  • The deserts are amazing.
  • Check the specials board. Why? It’s amazing.

I think you might have to struggle to get me through the doors of a place I considered too posh. I’d expect the food to be good, but I’d worry about snooty service and portion size. Passey’s is the opposite of pretentious; they’re so friendly here, and the food is (amazing) of the quality I’d expect at a posh star-chasing restaurant, but I’ve never once had reason to complain about the portions.

Don’t get me wrong; I wish I had more of it, but that’s because it’s (amazing) so tasty. The meals here are generous and precisely the gastro-event to take friends to, enjoy together and have long enough, but not too long, to catch up around while the food lasts.

It’s a range of food too. I’ve had Asian dishes, and I’ve had British. I’ve had gumbo, so what’s that? Cajun. I think gumbo is Cajun.

A review of Passey's

Menu rotation isn’t science I’ve cracked, and I’m not sure how or when Passey’s does it but to err on caution, I’d recommend checking online before turning up. I think there’s a non-trivial chance that if you’ve not been for a while, your favourite dish from last time will have shuffled off to wait for its return at a future date.

What’s been constant at Passey’s has been the quality and the quantity. Look, both are important to me. I never feel skimped when I visit this Portobello eatery, and that’s undoubtedly the perfect combination with good food?

I think Passey’s serves food they’d want to eat themselves.

Atmosphere and Service

Quick and friendly but not rushed and in-your-face. Perfect.

Portobello is a weird place. I lived there for a year and soaked up the community, but it’s also introspective. For example, check out the Facebook community, and you’ll see a lot of posts from people who want to park their car precisely where they want or moaning about traffic. You’ll also see people thanking others for random acts of kindness and some lovely neighbourhood ideas. Passey’s is the good side of Portobello.

There are about a half-dozen tables in the high street-facing restaurant (or gastropub, bistro, eatery), and they staff accordingly. There’s perhaps a touch of nostalgia, just shy of ye olde worlde, but the furniture is wooden and solid. This is a building you can retreat to in a storm. D&D games could, and should, be played here.

A review of Passey's

In my experience, you’ll be greeted (once I even had the door opened for me while I was still popping my mask on outside), and quickly shown to your table.

Oh! And book! If the date is important; you know, like the weekend, I recommend booking. It can get busy, but I’ve never seen it overcrowded, not before or after the re-ordering of the tables.

I think you could take large families to Passey’s but not a coach of people. Could you take two large families or three? Perhaps, I’d speak to the owners first to see if tables could be shuffled around and if the kitchen is big enough.

Overall

I’m a fan. Passey’s is… amazing. I hope I’ve made that clear. It’s also in Portobello, which is a surmountable challenge for me, and probably keeps my wallet protected from too many repeat visits.

A review of Passey's

While the service is great, I’m sorry/pleased to say; it’s the food that’s the hero for me. It’s always so impressive. I can’t imagine being anything less than wowed with a Passey’s visit. It’s a dangerously high bar they’ve set.

A review of Passey’s

Andrew Girdwood

Food
Drink
Value for Money
Atmosphere
COVID-19 Safety

Summary

A fantastic small restaurant on Portobello high street that’s reason enough to visit Edinburgh’s seaside town. The food is incredible, staff friendly and the venue warm and fun. And they do coffee.

4.5

Share this:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Related

Filed Under: Food and Drink Tagged With: Coffee, portobello, pubs

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About Us

  • » We're not influencers,
  • » We're boots on the ground,
  • » We're opinionated,
  • » ... and we're friendly.
  • » You can sponsor the blog/socials.

 

Tip Jar

We fund this site a little differently and one way is through tips.

 

Features

  • Solo eating in Edinburgh
  • Edinburgh Christmas
  • Edinburgh Festival
  • Edinburgh Authors
  • Edinburgh Broadband
  • How to submit a review
  • Contact Us

Instagram

Girdy checking out Herringbone in Goldenache after it's @buzzworkslife refurb. It's looking great and tasting amazing.
Girdy (aka Andrew) celebrated St Andrews Day and @Sabzi_2021, a great Ferry Road restaurant, finally getting their 9 o'clock licence by having the Haggis Paneer Kofta. How's that for a fusion? Success and success!
Girdy can happily confirm that @fortitudecoffee's new Abbey Mount location is just as good as York Place: fewer steps, more places to rest your feet and great coffee.
Girdy & Birdy were feeling festive as they enjoyed a ride on the #Forth1BigWheel as part of their Christmas night out! #EdinburghChristmas #EdinburghChristmasMarket #edinburgh @edinburghschristmas
We went up the #Forth1BigWheel and managed to time our descent with the scream-making flyer behind the #ScottMonument. Doesn't it look like an #uap?
After touring the #CastleOfLight the other day, Girdy and Birdy popped into @august37burgers for tasty burgers, friendly service and warmth! Do you know how the venue got its name?

Recent Reviews

  • A Review of Castle of Light: Magic and Mystery
  • Review: The Crumbleologist, a street food crumble bar
  • Competition: The Augmentors – a young adult steampunk adventure
  • Spotlight: The team at Rosslyn Associates
  • Review: Maki & Ramen, Fountainbridge
  • Girdy & Birdy Review: Foresters Guild, Portobello
  • Review: Just the Tonic comedy night – Milton Jones

Follow on Twitter

My Tweets

About us

  • » Contact
  • » PR, media & us

Ads & Deals

  • » Sponsorship Deals

Copyright © 2023 — Edinburgh Reviews • All rights reserved.