Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
- Victor Hugo Continental Delicatessen Est 1940 Ltd
The Victor Hugo continental delicatessen was started back in 1940 by a French couple. Now nearing 70 years old, it is owned by me, Alan Thomson. My friendly and knowledgeable staff and I continue to look forward to the further development.
- Cafés
- 26 Melville Terrace
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- EH9 1LP
- 01316 671827
| Opening hours: |
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| Monday - Friday: 8:00 - 22:00 Saturday - Sunday: 8:00 - 20:00 |
| Outdoor seating: |
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| Yes |
| Parking: |
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| Street |
| Dress code: |
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| Casual |
| Reservations: |
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| No |
| Good for people: |
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| Friends |
| Wifi: |
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| None |
| Good food type: |
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| Brunch |
| Alcohol speciality: |
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| Beer/Wine |
| Private parties: |
|---|
| Yes |
| Disabled access: |
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| Yes |
| TV: |
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| None |
| Credit cards accepted: |
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| Yes |
| Vegan: |
|---|
| Yes |
| Price range: |
|---|
| ££ |
31 March 2013
Previous owner posting nasty qypes!
Very sad !
Victor Hugos been on the go Since 1940 still selling great food ....try the wild boar salami brought in from Tuscany ....it is amazing ........the brunches they do are pretty good too ! They have just been awarded a new concession within new hospital and about to open their fourth outlet ...... Judge for yourself .....Pete Irvine 'Scotland the Best ' did ......! Enough said this place is an Edinburgh institution ! 5 stars from me !!!!!
26 October 2012
I felt compelled to write this review based on my experience at the recently opened VH in Portobello. As it is now my local coffee shop I considered going there today to treat my children to a hot chocolate but, based on my first experience I realised I would never want to go there again and would rather walk the extra distance to another coffee shop.
If I were a business owner and people felt this way about my shop then I would want to know why, that's why I'm writing this review.
I was eager to try out the new local cafe when it first opened and convinced my partner to give it a try. We were greeted warmly and took a seat at one of the free tables. The cafe was not busy at this time and there at least 3 members of staff. We spent 5 minutes looking over the menu deciding whet we wanted, I was going to have eggs. The waiting staff must've overheard this and one of them promptly came over to tell us that they were out of eggs but proceeded to tell us what the specials were. I found this funny as it was a Saturday morning and plenty of local businesses sold eggs (surely a Saturday morning essential)! Undeterred I chose something else and waited 5 or so minutes for someone to take my order. I wondered at this time if, perhaps there was no table service but decided that there must be, as I could see no sign and after all, the waitresses were only a few feet away (doing nothing, I might add)! After waiting another 5 minutes a member of staff came over again to tell us that there was no table service and promptly walked the few feet back to the counter beside the other members of staff! My partner was starting to look hungry and unimpressed so we got up, left and within 5 minuted were sitting down to hot food from another local establishment!
Overall I felt that the atmosphere was overly professional and cold. There was no music and no friendly warmth about the place. It would have been no trouble at all for a staff member to ask us what we wanted and at the same time inform us of the no table service policy, especially as it was quiet! I felt perhaps that they had been told to be very strict about it. This resulted in the loss of my service for that day and the indefinite future.
If this were my business I would employ the attitude that a customers satisfaction and overall experience is more important than regulations. I would also put up a little notice in full view saying 'NO TABLE SERVICE' to avoid confusion and embarrassment!
20 October 2012
I have been a customer here for nearly a year now as my on receives ongoing treatment at the sick kids hospital close by. I have never been motivated to write a review of a place before but victor Hugo is so consistently awful each time I go in. The staff are surly at best- I have just been pushed past by a member of staff with plates of food what price does a polite excuse me or at least a smile come at? -, orders frequently incorrect, there is clearly no teamwork or communication between staff, and the food is not even that nice. I hate myself for handing over money to this place but there is little other choice in the location. If there was somewhere offering competition victor Hugo would go out of business.
2 August 2012
I can honestly say that I have only ever had fabulous service here! Food is delish... I'm a huge fan of the tiramisu! People on here really aught to start being more supportive of small, local business!!
15 July 2012
I didn't want to say anything but this seems to have been said by a few people. I'm afraid the staff are just very unfriendly!
14 July 2012
I used to like this place but its really gone downhill, the cupcakes and scones are never fresh , always a bit hard ...I always give benefit of the doubt but bought in morning as well and still hard! staff are unfriendly and seems to be a rapid turnover. Bring back the Victor Hugo ! He was jolly and friendly just what you want from a local deli! not unfriendly staff and cakes you can bounce of the wall. Its really disappointing.
21 July 2011
I’m seriously torn on this one.
First off, as a former restaurant reviewer I’m not usually motivated to write online commentaries, but I feel VHs is worth it. The range and quality of their take-home products is superlative and certainly justifies a visit; however this isn’t what I want to comment upon.
As someone who lives very close by I often come in to enjoy brunch here over the weekend with my friends. Their eggs benedict are the best I’ve yet found in Edinburgh – BUT – and this is the killer – service is appallingly, unacceptably slow.
As I said, I’ve reviewed plenty of restaurants, before which I used to work in them. I understand the pressures faced by staff in a busy, popular deli. However, it seems that VHs exclusively employ young, inexperienced girls who have no idea how to prioritise service tasks. The last time I visited, it was early in the morning. My family and me – a group of 3 – were the only customers ordering breakfast. While we were there around 3 or 4 other customers came in to buy takeaway coffee or food. There were at least 4 members of staff engaged in prep work. We all ordered the same thing – the eggs benedict.
It took nearly three quarters of an hour to arrive, after two promptings, by which time my brother was so late for a crucial appointment he had had to leave. During the time of our wait, staff members were doing non-essential tasks such as arranging cheeses. Furthermore, when the food came, the hollandaise was watery and spilled all over the plate. It had clearly been made in an extreme rush without proper care or attention. This was incredibly annoying, as I’d been boasting about how good the food was as my family got increasingly stressed by the wait.
There is absolutely no way 45 mins is an acceptable wait time when there were plenty of staff members and we were the only customers waiting. Nor is this an exception – in the last six weeks I’d say 20 minutes was the least I’ve waited for a brunch order. VHs is in grave danger of shooting itself in the foot – excellent produce and good cooking is being seriously compromised by ridiculously slow service.
I will say that despite their evident inexperience and slow pace the assistants have always been polite and helpful – they just clearly need to be shown how to manage their workload correctly. I’ve noticed that they’re advertising for a weekend cook currently – good luck to them, if they manage to sort this issue I will certainly be back.
19 May 2011
how bad is this place ? bad ! there has been no review for 7 months and i experienced why ! we are moving on
1 June 2010
The coffee here is really good, alot of love goes into each and every one. I had a roll with prociutto, goats cheese and a really good chilli jam that they sell in store. They also have a great range of deli foods and samples of very nice olive oils and balsamics.
26 September 2010
One of my favorite places in Edinburgh. Great for a weekend brunch. The sandwiches and coffee are some of the best you will find. With a fantastic selection of meats and cheeses you could spend a lot of money and be very happy in there. The service is always excellent even when it is busy. My one ane only dissapointment was with a friend who ordered a croissant...it was pretty poor in comparison to everything else on offer.
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