Caffe Centro

Totally sick of the slick ever pervasive global chains and was looking for something with more character. This place was spot on with very nice coffee but what really sold it for me was the staff and the relaxed atmosphere. Definitely will be back.

I went here for dinner with the girls on a Groupon voucher for 4 people. It is definitely a café rather than a restaurant and it has a plain slightly worn around the edges décor.
I had a calzone, which they kindly made vegetarian for me as there were no veggie calzoni on the menu. it was nice. I also tried my friends pizza which was also nice. We had a glass of white wine each which was pleasant.
3 star rating is about as good as I can rate it. Clean and pleasant but not amazing and not the best veggie options or information on ingredients.

Came in to Caffe Centro because it was close and it is on the way to the station. Being well before lunchtime, I was only after a coffee, so made my way to a comfy looking table to check Unilocal reviews on this Italian styled eatery.
On reading Tanja’s quotes on the heavenly pancakes I was hooked, so placed an order. Looking around the caffe it has a distinct European quality about it, clean well presented seating and staff very friendly good. A short time later… Oh my, you need to go and try the combo of pancakes (yes six small ones), maple syrup, honey, fresh cream were solidly devine, and mouth meltingly good, Thanks Tanja.
As I gazed around, on the walls hung street scene pictures of some cosmopolitan city, And looking around the caffe it almost has a distinct European quality about it clean, well presented seating and staff very friendly.
My new found spring clean is to try as many green teas in as many places as possible the city can offer me in a week. That really got off to a great start at Brew Lab, the presentation of fresh looking leaves in a transparent pot, but here was a small portion of tea in a bag. I suppose you can’t have it both ways — great food, hmm not so good tea.
Challenge accepted… but I need to check other reviews first.

Mmnnnn… In reading everyone else’s review I don’t know if I’m being harsh or not but I’m not a fan of this place. I’ve been in a couple of times recently. Once for coffee and cake which was an «ok» experience. Central location, but there are so many other nicer places nearby you can go for a fabulous coffee in a nicer setting. Plus I found the squoosh of canned cream next to my bit of lemon drizzle cake a bit cheap and it coloured my perception of their Italian home baking.
Next visit was for food during the festival, primarily cause we walked past and the folk I was with said we should go in as they couldn’t be bothered trying to find anywhere else that would take 6. It wouldn’t have ever been on my list of places to eat Italian food in Edinburgh however I’m happy to go with the flow on occasion as I’m hoping to be surprised. I wasn’t. Pasta was overcooked (an offence in Italy!!) and the sauce wasn’t all that. Weird tasting meatballs, kinda tasted like they were frozen from Costco. Nothing authentic about this place in my mind apart from the Italian waiter. The place had a slightly grubby look to it which might have been down to the huge amount of tourist traffic in and out for the festival, but still… No toilet paper in the ladies either. Grump.
So cannot recommend. But as I say, I might just be more harsh than others :)

After my less than stella pancake experience yesterday I was losing hope for the Edinburgh pancake scene.
Then a friend suggested Caffe Centro as her go-​to pancake emporium of choice.
So, girding my loins, I set off and was rewarded with the best pancakes yet.
I only wish they had more variety of batter and toppings. But this is an Italian café and not IHoP so that can be forgiven.
They also do a mutha*quack*ing Breakfast Calzone.
I WILL BE BACK FOR YOU BREAKFAST CALZONE!

Lovely pancakes — they literally melt in your mouth.
Interior: Black and white floors and furniture, typically Italian style
Outside: You are able to sit outside in the summer!
Food: Excellent and lots of choice. Its Italian food and the Gnocchi are awesome. They offer pizza, pasta, desserts — I could not stop looking at the menu. It all sounded so delicious. Hmmm
Desserts: Plenty of ice cream choices and good ice cream too.
Personell: Quick and Efficient
Location: Very central; George street

Caffe Centro is a very nice Italian café on George Street. It is often packed on lunch time, which is no surprise since their food is pretty good. You can get anything from soups, sandwiches and salads to pastas and pizzas. Or if you are an early bird you can get a good breafast as well.
However, I had my eyes set on some dessert as I had just had lunch elsewhere.
I wanted to cry from delight as I scanned their dessert menu when I saw that banana split was on the menu. I love it, it’s simple but delicious IF done correctly.
N.B. there are some establishments in Edinburgh that include canned fruit in banana split which is just wrong, wrong, wrong…
I am glad to confirm that Caffe Centro knows how to do a banana split properly. My bowl consisted of banana, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce (see picture). That’s all that is needed. And it was amazing :)
Next time I might try one of their other desserts as there was plenty of choice.

Summary: Nice for coffee and a panini, try somewhere else for dinner
Detail: I’ve been here twice now. The first time was for a coffee and snack a few months’ ago after shopping, and that was great– good coffee and excellent value panini with salad etc. Service is quick and friendly.
The second was for dinner, and we weren’t too impressed. We ordered the olive appetiser expecting some of those nice herby olives in oil you usually get, but what turned up was the cheapest possible olives from brine on iceberg lettuce– not impressed. We both had pizza for mains, but they were nowhere near as nice as you’d get in other places in Edinburgh– for example Prezzo or even Pizza Express. Mine had tons of cheese, but little in the way of tasty herbs etc, and the other was apparently disappointing as well. Desserts were pretty good– I had the lemon sorbet.
So– good for a stop and a nibble, not so good for an evening out.

Just a quick stop coffee but would love to come back and sample more after checking the menu. Latte, nice and strong. So often they are too milky for me but this is tickling my taste buds with a nice caffeine kick! Expresso for the boy, nice and strong and so good he had a double!

Nice little Italian café on George Street. The food was good with the exception of the bread that came with my tomato soup being a bit stale. There’s outdoor seating in the rear, which I found a quite nice and a peaceful place to enjoy my cappuccino on a breezy summer day. The atmosphere inside the café is contemporary and cosy with large pictures of Italy on the walls.
I found the staff to be very friendly and welcoming. The menu consists of classic Italian food and treats. Totally worth stopping in for a coffee or food.
Oh, and free WiFi is a plus!

Strangely overlooked on George Street, this little café cum Italian restaurant is a gem. I think it is under new management, as the staff definitely aren’t as friendly as before, but it still has a good little atmosphere. I have popped in for both a quick coffee and a pastry (which are excellent by the way) and for a full meal and have to say I have been impressed with both.
The staff are lovely (less so now but I might have just caught them on a bad day) and immediately make you feel really at home. The menu is pretty standard Italian, but the quality of food is excellent. Feeling a bit like Jeff Vader I went for the Penne Arrabbiatta which was really good. Normally I don’t go for pasta and tomato-​y sauces because I feel like I can make them at home, but I couldn’t face a pizza, and this was really flavoursome. I have had the pizzas other times, and the buffalo mozzarella is great on them; I had the Calabrese, which was also really good.
The prices are quite pricey, (about £9 for pasta and pasta on average) but the food is really good and it is in the centre of George Street to be fair. Because of this it can be a bit too busy, as it is not very big it fills up quickly so make sure you get in early. Apart from that though it is one of the better Italian restaurants in the centre of town