Starbucks, 1 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh

I hate myself. No really, I do. I KNOW I shouldn't like Starbucks coffee; I know they are an evil empire; I read No Logo and I was shocked and appalled, and the next day I went and ordered a latte. I am a bad person.

However, while the standard of the coffee is generally, well, standard, with Starbucks being the McDonalds of the hot beverage world, the quality of the particular coffee shops can vary wildly (and in a very short geographical ...
...Edinburgh, with the Princes Street branch being huge, airy, and commanding a wonderful view out onto Edinburgh Castle. Palmerston Place has little chance of competing with that - the problem is, with this in mind, it really doesn't seem to be trying.

The coffee is the same, and the snacks and nibbles (and waffles) are all lined up the way they should be. But from the moment you walk in this feels shabby. The carpet looks worn, and ... more

I hate myself. No really, I do. I KNOW I shouldn't like Starbucks coffee; I know they are an evil empire; I read No Logo and I was shocked and appalled, and the next day I went and ordered a latte. I am a bad person.

However, while the standard of the coffee is generally, well, standard, with Starbucks being the McDonalds of the hot beverage world, the quality of the particular coffee shops can vary wildly (and in a very short geographical area given their market-flooding tactics). This is remarkably evident in Edinburgh, with the Princes Street branch being huge, airy, and commanding a wonderful view out onto Edinburgh Castle. Palmerston Place has little chance of competing with that - the problem is, with this in mind, it really doesn't seem to be trying.

The coffee is the same, and the snacks and nibbles (and waffles) are all lined up the way they should be. But from the moment you walk in this feels shabby. The carpet looks worn, and unswept of the day's dropped pickings. Head through to the room to the left of the counter and it feels like a student flat, with tables and chairs haphazardly placed on a tired looking purple carpet. And the same lack of general housekeeping is still evident.

There are even problems with the counter where you get your coffee, with a large pillar getting in your way as you make your way down the production line, and after the size of Princes Street this just feels enclosed, claustrophobic even.

The two stars awarded are purely for the coffee, which I tend to take away now. If I want to sit in I head further down the street to a local Beanscene. It just feels more relaxed and homely - a sad indictment on the Palmerston Place Starbucks given the company once marketed itself as a home from home. 

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