Empires - Edinburgh, City of

Visited Empires with friends and we all very much enjoyed it. It is BYOB and there is an off-license a few doors up. A warm welcome with excellent food (recommend the kebabs) and setting. Reasonable prices too. Will be back.

Loved it! We were going to go to another restaurant but it was already closing so we decided to give it a try. It’s got a great location, it’s very cozy and the staff is super friendly. Food was really delicious, we went for a 5 mezzr platter but it was so tasty we got another one. We totally recommend it!

I 'm sure my friend will also write a review after our experience tonight. We have both visited this restaurant many times and I have also taken my wife for a meal here. The food is fantastic. Service is very quick. However, tonight we arrived at 750pm and were served quickly. We had 2 bottles of wine with us expecting a relaxing evening of food and chat. The waitress immediately noticed I worked for a local University and asked about opportunities for funded research. I was quite taken aback especially when my friend pointed out that she was asking the same question to the the table next to us. That table left at 8pm leaving us the only table left. When we were eating our meal, the waitress constantly paced back and forth over a 3m distance of wooden flooring asking if we needed anything further. Eventually I asked if there was an issue...did she want us to leave? She replied no she was paid until 11pm but we were the last customers . So obviously we felt under pressure to leave...especially when she asked if we wanted a dessert as we were eating our meze. Our plates were cleared before the last bite reached my esophagus. We wanted to have our second bottle of wine but my friend felt it wasn 't worth the discomfort and I agree. Probably due to the fact that we were asked at 840 if we would mind if the doors were locked. Look on Google.. It 's advertised as closing at 11pm. Love the food but will wait on further reviews before returning.

I have dined at Empires on two previous occasions and enjoyed the food and relaxed atmosphere. However, during my most recent visit, my friend and I were quite disappointed and annoyed by the waitress. She seemed more focused on asking customers for help with her future studies rather than making us feel welcome. Additionally, she kept walking back and forth past our table, staring at us, which made us feel as though we were unwelcome. When my friend asked if the restaurant was closing soon, the waitress informed us that we were the last customers and that she was being paid to stay until 11pm, even though it was only around 8.30pm. It was clear that she just wanted us to leave so she could close up and go home. This experience of poor customer service was unprecedented for me and left us feeling very uncomfortable. As a result, we chose to leave earlier than planned. Needless to say, we did not leave a tip. My suggestion to the restaurant owners would be to hire staff who genuinely care about their customers, regardless of the time. I do not plan on returning to Empires anytime soon.

The restaurant is extremely overpriced for the amount of food you receive. Traditional dishes like hummus lack flavor and are frustratingly portioned... For example, we were given only 5 pitas and a small amount of hummus to share among 7 people. When we asked for more, we were told they would have to check if they had enough for other customers and would charge us extra. On top of that, we were only able to pay with one debit card. Overall, this experience was highly disappointing compared to other mezze restaurants.