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    Mama Said

    2.9 (15 reviews)
    ModerateTobacco Shops, Grocery
    Open 8:00 am - 8:00 pm

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    Mark W.

    I'm going to be basically banging the same metaphorical drum as all of the previous reveiwers, so I'll keep it to the point. Yes, the shop front is bright purple. And with a name like this, you'd think that it would stock a good range of posh snacks, maybe with some organic things thrown in here and there? Um, not quite. It's basically a standard newsagents with maybe 4 or 5 more product lines that could fit with its name. Credit where it's due, this place did make me want to come in and have a look, with the cheery outside and well-lit and arranged interior. I think they should make sure that the products offered match the name, to ensure that people like us Yelpers are not left wanting.

    Em C.

    Mama Said have painted their shop fronting a vibrant purple, and it looked zany cool enough that I deluded myself it would be a quirky deli. I was so wrong. I walked in expecting it to be exotic and diverse - it was a tarted up newsagents! They had a wee selection of Hershey's and some Bombay Mix, but I can get all that crap from my local corner store in Glasgow to be honest. They had some nice selection of nuts but the dream ends when you see Fabreeze on a shelf at the back of the store. Their strengths lie with their drinks collection - some exotic fruit juice and enough alcohol to keep you going if you're hurried and picking up a bottle. Their fruit looks fresh and they do have some small continental offerings. But don't let the cute fronting deceive you like it did me - it's only one step up from our average grocery store. The cheap popcorn and blah selection of chocolate can be bought pretty much everywhere these days. Given the prime area it's located, they could do so much better than this. I went in for deli food and came out with detergent. Rubbish.

    Shop front
    Tanya L.

    This is a wee new health food and snack shop on the Canongate lower half of the Royal Mile. They have fresh fruit outside and basic staples for locals like milk, and they also have healthy snacks for the tourists in need of yogurt-cover raisin, chocolate-covered nuts, and healthy muesli bars. It has tourists prices but is a handy place since it fills a gap in the healthy snack market for the Old Town (a bit more healthy and specialised than Tesco and Sainsburys).

    I'm in agreement with the previous reviewers when it comes to Mama Said; the funky name and the cool exterior made me cross the street just to see what was on offer. But I was very disappointed when I found out it was a newsagents! Who calls a newsagents something like that? I can understand 'Smith and Sons' or something, but there is no call for the quirky name. In fact, I am really quite enraged about it haha! It lures you in like the Child-catcher with it's promises of loveliness and when you get inside, it's the same kind of shop I go to every morning for a pint of milk. Bore. Do not be fooled fellow shoppers!

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    6 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Best place for gifts for all the family. Easy and convenient, they accept Apple Pay or any American credit card.

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    Supermarket

    Supermarket

    4.0(2 reviews)
    0.1 miOld Town, Royal Mile
    £

    Nestled in amongst all the tourist tat on The Royal Mile, Supermarket is what it says it is... a…read morevery small supermarket. Rather than selling purely Scottish items, it's more of a British supermarket as it stocks solely British produce. Walkers crisps, Marmite, HP, Heinz, Pot Noodles, Tetley teabags etc. It's really cool and it mad me realise how much I love all of the above items. When I was living in Germany I couldn't get any of the above things and boy, I missed them so badly. I don't even like Pot Noodles but I found myself craving a Chicken and Mushroom probably just because I couldn't get one. I came home for Christmas and went back with a suitcase full of Walker Crisps. I need my crisps, I usually eat about five bags a day, I know that's terrible but I actually couldn't survive without crisps. Unfortunately, when I moved away I realised that Britain is the only country in the world where crisps are a HUGE thing, the only flavour of crisps available to me in Germany were Paprika... not great. Interesting for tourists to see various condiments and other food produce that us Brit's just can't get enough of.

    It was a Sunday evening, nothing else around was open, and that's how I ended up here. By the time…read moreI'd reached the back of the shop, the owner was in a shouting match with someone at the counter and if I thought I could have managed a quick escape then, I'd have done that, but I had a suspicion that he'd call me out on not buying anything. The shelves weren't particularly well-stocked that evening. It might have been the time of day, day of the week, who knows. I picked up a couple of things and headed to the front where the owner proceeded to shout at me about Scottish independence (this was before the vote). After I paid, I said "Thank you" and he picked up on my accent immediately. "Which of the f***ing colonies are you from?" he asked. "Oklahoma," I responded. He went on ranting about politics and I somehow managed to exit the store without incurring any more of his wrath.

    Marks and Spencer

    Marks and Spencer

    3.9(11 reviews)
    0.1 miOld Town
    ££

    This Marks and Spencer Simply Food location is in a good location, inside Edinburgh Waverley…read moreStation, so it can be a useful stop to grab a quick to-go food or drink item before getting on a train, or essentials while passing through the station or city centre, with the larger, main Marks and Spencer store on Princess Street nearby shutting rather early at 7 pm, the fact this store is open until 10 pm adds a couple of hours to get essentials in the evening. The store is reasonably small, and the stock isn't great, I wasn't able to find the particular type of milk I was looking for but was able to seek a reasonable alternative. The checkout area was straightforward and easy, with a staff member on hand to help at the many self-service checkouts, it is disappointing that this store does not support Marks and Spencer's mobile scanning and payment, which would be particularly useful, due to being a travel location, where shoppers would want to get in and out quickly to catch a train. 3* - The location and service are both good, while the stock is the bare minimum and could be better, but still one of the better places to get a small selection of groceries in the evening compared to alternatives nearby.

    When you're cold and wet and you have a 4 hour long train ride ahead of you... The last thing you…read morecan think about is WHERE TO GET DINNER... Which is how I ended up at Marks & Spencer's... I was anticipating just getting a premade salad and then adding cans of fish to the leafy greens but I was PLEASANTLY surprised to find that they offered pre-grilled/poached/cooked meats and fun anti-pasti toppings! I grabbed a clean, and huge, bowl of mixed greens that also included radish, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and large leaves of romaine lettuce... And then I also selected a package of plain poached salmon and a package of lemon her grilled salmon (2 fillets per package)... On top of that I also got some marinated artichoke hearts and more cherry tomatoes... Hey what else am I going to do on the train, right? Well, even though I wasn't all that hungry when our train finally left the station, I still chowed down, finishing every little bit. The amount of food I could certainly could have fed four people, but ha, not when my chompers are in the picture! I wound up finishing this meal in about 25 minutes and I have to say, it did help the train ride go by a bit faster! (Or maybe it was thanks to the rather entertaining drunk people?)... Any who... A lot of people don't realize that a GROCERY STORE can offer just as fast, if not faster, FAST FOODS than say... The Burger King next door... And might I add 80000x healthier?!? I highly recommend you get CREATIVE with your dining options! Oh and BY THE WAY... Fiancé got 2 portions of marinated and grilled chicken and he didn't put a stink at all, in fact, I do believe he quite liked what he got. Perhaps he's FINALLY REALIZING my BRILLIANCE when it comes to "fast food"?! Well, maybe not but I can only hope! LOL. PS: don't forget to ask for utensils if you plan on eating the food right away... PSS: I'm not a smoked fish fan, but there is a hint of smokiness on the salmon... Which can easily be hidden by adding a little salt (grab some salt packets from Burger King if you're a salt lover like myself!)

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    Marks and Spencer
    Marks and Spencer
    Marks and Spencer

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    Scottish Grocer

    Scottish Grocer

    3.6(5 reviews)
    0.2 miRoyal Mile, Old Town

    It's the best and onle wee cornershop worth thinking about if you at the cannongate, calton area,…read morehotels like the travel lodge and premier inn are less than 5min away. Everything's reasonably priced considering you'd have to walk a lot further to get the same groceries this place sells. Staff are wonderfully people, feels like a wee family community shop for me and my partner. The guys are great for a chat or laugh too.... open on a sunday too. They can sometimes get stuff in for you if your a regular and like a particular brand etc. Stephen & Dee. We'd be lost without this wee shop, it's away from the hustle and bustle of the bridges.

    Because of its location in one of the best retail spots in town you know in advance that this place…read moreis not going to be knocking out unbelievable deals from every possible piece of shelf on offer. As it is the prices are fairly dear, but that is really to be expected. One area that is a bit confusing is the price labelling and it can be fairly confusing in terms of working out how much each item costs and this can be a bit of a challenge. When the shop is busy you hardly want to be asking the shop keeper how much everything costs every twenty seconds. Despite all this, I do come to this shop every time I'm in the area and in need of a quick drink or bite to eat as it is the most accessible outlet in the area. It doesn't offer anything special, but it does get the job done.

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    Scottish Grocer

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    Mama Said - tobaccoshops - Updated May 2026

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