This was the first place we ate at on our trip to Edinburgh and it took immense self control to continue to try new restaurants and not just return here. I had a delicious Caesar salad that hit the spot and had the most amazing, toasty hamburger bun croutons. I also had a delicious apple cocktail that was so fantastic and so unique. My husband has the Caesar salad sandwich which was also delicious. The vibes were also just amazing here. It was so cute and cozy here and they had quite an extensive drink and food menu along with some weekday drinks! read more

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Really delicious spot. Visited from the US and of course got the Scottish breakfast-sausage was delicious, beans as well. The red Bennie hollandaise sauce was so good. The pie was really hearty and had a great flavor. Service was great and the ambiance was filled with great music. Came around noon and it wasn't that busy. Recommend to any tourists and locals! read more

Lovely bar, 8-10 craft beers on tap and full menu ranging from brunch to dinner. Friendly staff and good service. The burger was a bit small for the bun, well done but tasty. Fish and chips were good, not memorable. It's a cool wine bar feel. read more

Red Squirrel - Bar - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Stopped to have dinner at this place, enjoyed the menu variety,, ordered couple of appetizers: highland fish cakes and fiery fried halloumi. Both were good. Although the highland fish cakes are more of a local delicacy and acquired taste. read more

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Stopped in for brunch and got the full Scott breakfast. It did not disappoint. Everything tasted great. A nice way to try haggis for the first time. They had a nice selection of local beers as well. read more

Red Squirrel - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Decent spot service was good. Friendly drinks and food came all at once. I can't say the food was stellar. Poor cut of meat with the steak and frites. The soup of the day was parsnip and well knew what I ordered guess I don't like parsnip soups. Fish cakes were great. It's clean and nice pub. I'd go again for starters and a pint. read more

Let's start by saying this is one of the top 20% restaurants in Edinburgh (1,021 of 5,412 places to eat)! I laughed. But... Service: Good. It was busy, and they were unstaffed. Thanks for working hard. Food: I got chicken and waffles. It was sweet. I swear there was toffee pieces, but the menus were gone. Drinks: decent bloody Mary with a slightly spicy edge. read more

Red Squirrel - Chicken and waffles - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Cozy restaurant/bar. They serve an all-day breakfast. Unfortunately for my friend and I, on the day we arrived, they had not received their egg shipment that morning. So we decided to choose the chicken and waffles for breakfast The chicken was perfectly cooked. Seared and then flash fried to get a brilliant crispy edge. The waffles were full, crsp with a hint of mix spice and bits of toffee. The bloody Mary was surprisingly spicey for Scottish cuisine. But very enjoyable. I really loved the cucumber garnish. Like every place else, they are lightly staffed. But they are very friendly and professional. My only disappointment was the run-on eggs. read more

Red Squirrel - Chicken and waffles with Maple syrup. - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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Stopped in for dinner on a rainy weekday night around 8pm and found the place to ourselves; the staff were nice enough, though pretty slow given there was no one else in the restaurant but us (we would have ordered more/stayed longer if the staff had been a little more available). We both ordered from the burger menu: my partner had the Falafel (which had beetroot, spiced yoghurt, and rocket). I ordered the Veggie Haggis (which had smoked cheddar, balsamic onion chutney, tomato, and beer mustard mayo). Mine was far better than his was: lots of bold flavors that all complemented one another -- admittedly, it fell apart quite a bit as I was eating it in, and in the end ditched most of the bread (you have ONE JOB bread, and that's to hold it all together for everyone else, sheeeeesh). His sandwich was rather dry and bland. The chips that came with our meals were very nice, but we regret not going with the parmesan and truffle ones instead. I do genuinely know we'll come back because there are quite a few vegetarian options on the menu, including breakfast choices, and overall it's got a great atmosphere! read more

Red Squirrel - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

My colleagues took me out for lunch since I was working on Thanksgiving for the first time in my life. The space was pretty empty for lunch with a pub-like feel that serves food. I did notice some good lunch deals with selected dishes at only £12 for two. The risotto was included in this deal, which some of my colleagues got. If I were to come back for lunch, this is a solid pick. Instead, I opted for the Red Squirrel Burger with a drink (£12 for Early Squirrel weekdays 12-5pm). The burger itself was pretty standard with the onion chutney that stood out the most in flavor. The burger also came with fries and a house pickle, which was rather shriveled and sad. The fries were good; thin and crispy. Overall, a-okay spot for some food. The 2 for £12 lunch deal is probably what makes this place worth the visit though. read more

Red Squirrel - Red Squirrel Burger. - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Food was excellent as was the service. And the ambiance perfect for our afternoon stop. Friendly staff and we felt right at home.

I read about this place in a Scotland travel guide and the Yelp reviews were also compelling. It was recommended as a good place for vegetarian haggis. We stopped in here on a Thursday afternoon around 1400. We were promptly seated and served waters. They have plenty of beer on tap here and I selected a local one. Of course I opted for the vegetarian haggis (£9.95). It comes out like a burger topped with smoked cheddar and chili jam. It was a little dry but very good. The chips were what made it though. Crisp and fresh. Yum. I would love to give this place one more star, but the server was slow and we never did get a refill of water. I probably would have ordered another beer too if he had been more attentive. Overall it's a great place and I'm sad I can't try their brunch. read more

Red Squirrel - The veggie haggis - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

A fabulous gastro pub near the Edinburgh Castle. It is brighter than most pubs so it was an okay choice for lunch & definately a proper dinner spot. I love the menu here bc of the variety of omni and vegetarian options. I ordered the vegetarian haggis burger which had a tomato jam and Scottish cheese. It was delicious and very filling. My fiance ordered a steak sandwich and he said it was very good. They had several local whiskey and gin drinks to try. read more

Red Squirrel - Veggie burger made with vegetarian haggis. Fell apart a little but it was filling and very tastey. - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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Food is good bar food. Club sandwich was flavorful and haggis app was good. Burger wasn't great, just not enough flavor but overall it was a good bar experience. Staff was very attentive and did a good job. read more

Better than average food. Great waitstaff and really cool interior. Good mix of pub comfort and added upscale vibe. It would be great if the restaurant could keep smokers out of the entry way as the smoke gets blown into the dining area. read more

Needing nourishment on a late Sunday afternoon. I decided to find some good pub food. Ok may be not that exciting of a reason, but being this is my first time in Scotland and a coworker told me to eat at a pub, for lunch, I found the Red Squirrel. Since it was an odd hour (4:00pm) for lunch, there wasn't much of a crowd. I started with a smooth beer and a burger, topped it off with sweet potato fries. The beef was excellent, with its moist texture and not overly done flavor. The bacon was more like a smoked ham and not a lot of guacamole on my guacamole burger, but actually the over burger tasted good. I enjoyed it a lot. Now the fries were a bit on the soggy side, but good flavor. So overall I enjoyed my late lunch and would go again. The staff was pleasant and helpful as well. Enjoy. read more

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Fanatastic surprise find!!! Great staff ..Keiran was amazing!!!. Clean. Awesome food! Fantastic location. Couldn't say anything else but absolutely super!!! Check them out! read more

Wonderful place, service was exceptional. Food just as you would expect. Highly recommend.

Red Squirrel is just a few minutes from Edinburgh Castle and is a great choice for dinner. The ambiance is hip and cherry and the staff are extremely friendly and answered all of our questions. The beer list is excellent and we tried local ones. Food was very good and everyone enjoyed their meal. read more

Walked from our hotel to the Red Squirrel for a quick dinner. The wife ordered a Red Squirrel burger, made with brisket and I had the fish & chips. The food wasn't anything extraordinary, the fish seemed a little over battered which was kind of doughy, way too many chips with both that were not too flavorful and the peas with the fish & chips seemed like they came out a bag of frozen peas. The fish itself other than the batter was a nice, tasteful piece of haddock. I had a pint of Black Isle Red Kite amber and she had a Pickering Gin & tonic (Pickering being a local distiller in town we had visited earlier). Her drink came in a large glass with pink grapefruit. This is a typical pub atmosphere, nothing that stands out above any others, but they had decent service and must be a local favorite as they were packed at the time. Great in a pinch. read more

Great place for burgers and beer. Burgers are huge and served with a huge cup of chips (fries). I had the jalapeño burger and it was spicy and very flavorful. Place had a "cheers" sort of atmosphere, and it was nice to experience a Scottish pub. read more

I wanted to love Red Squirrel as it seemed like a really good pub but it was seriously let down by slow service and slow food. I popped in for a bite to eat about 45 minutes before a meeting around the corner. I thought this was plenty of time and ordered quickly. The burger is predominantly burgers which is ok if you love burgers - I'm not a massive fan but ordered a grilled chicken burger (£10.95) The place was busy, I'll give them that, but the food took more than 30 minutes to arrive which was just a killer when I was starving hungry and needed to be somewhere else. That left me with not much time to wolf it down which meant I didn't really appreciate it, that being said it was a perfectly fine burger. I'm sure the burger I ordered was meant to have ham or bacon on it and I did notice this was missing but as I was short on time I didn't bother saying anything. It was also really hard to get a staff member to order anything - they all avoided our table and didn't come back to check up on us. None of this would put me off returning to the Red Squirrel as I'm sure it's a good pub and I liked that it's dog friendly, but if you're in a hurry you might want to head somewhere else. read more

Red Squirrel - Grilled chicken burger - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

We were looking for somewhere local to go with good food and a good beer selection. We went to Red Squirrel at the suggestion of our server from The Blue Bear. It's a cozy gastropub in downtown Edinburgh. It was pretty busy when we went but we were able to be seated upon arrival. It also happened to be the evening of one of the Euro matches so understandably why they were busy. They have a decent selection of beers and other libations to choose from. We each chose a local beer (full pint for him, half pint for me) and both ordered burgers which is what they are known for. Fun fact, they have a good beer selection and even feature rotating beers from all over. When we were there, they had a beer from California. I had the lamb and mint which was their version of a lamb burger and he had the Jerk Pork. Both of our burgers came with a side of fries. The beers were tasty and the burgers were delicious. I thought the lamb burger was well made, flavorful, and not dry. The husband seemed to like his burger too. Great local spot and good place to watch the match. Relaxed vibe and good service too. read more

Red Squirrel - Beer and burgers - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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Since the Red Squirrel opened I've been in a few times but even though I lived nearby it was never my first choice. Why? It just doesn't have the atmosphere of Holyrood 9A or The Southern. The menu is all right but the service, the feeling and the chairs are, for some reason all wrong. Lemme give you an example. I headed here last Friday as I had some friends staying in the West End of town, I figured Lothian road was a good, easy spot for them to find and a beer and a burger is a casual enough for a 'hey I haven't seen you in 3 years!' catch up. I booked in advance and found this my first obstacle. Any time I rang the person on the other end couldn't hear me. It took me three goes and afterwards I felt a need to check my booking had actually been taken. When I arrived my friends had been seated and had their drinks. It then took me 15 minutes to catch a waitress and get a pint. When I say catch, I mean literally, at one stage I hopped up and legged it after a girl because we hadn't seen one in so long (a waitress, not a girl). When I caught her and said we were ready to order food when she had a minute I was told 'Yeah hang on I'm just doing something'. Our order was eventually taken and the food was delicious, ginormous nachos fit for a king, venison burger for me with sweet potato fries, delish! Finally we had 'The Kitchen Sink' between 6 of us. You need more than 2 to finish it I reckon! Although The Red Squirrel doesn't have the cosy comfort of it's sisters the food is just as good, but the service and atmosphere really let it down. It always feels more crowded than the other two (maybe it is!) It's not my first choice for a burger but it's alright. read more

Red Squirrel - The kitchen sink! - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

This place had delicious dinner- I had the seasonal bowl. I am definitely going back for breakfast! read more

Red Squirrel - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Nice decor. A couple of nooks to squirrel into. Food is quite average. Beer selection simple. Waiter helpfull and patient. read more

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Red Squirrel ended up being one of the chillest spots to eat and drink during my time in Edinburgh. The service was good and the vibe was laid back, but still had the buzz of laughter and conversation from other groups there. It was surprisingly easy to get a table for two during the weekend evening. The menu has a nice variety of options for both food and beer, but I stuck with my classic fave - fish and chips. This place serves battered hake instead of the more common haddock or cod. Honestly, it's not much different, but you do end up with a fat square slab of it in a crispy battered crust that ends up slipping right off. No biggie, you're here to eat, drink, and relax, not judge the next Food Network Star. You get a never-ending pile of chips with it, along with mushy peas (I learned they love peas here). It's a solid dish to accompany their well-priced beers. I definitely recommend the sticky toffee pudding - sweet, moist, and topped with a perfect portion of vanilla ice cream, I'm convinced there's no better way to end a meal in the city. Red Squirrel's pud is springier than other places I've had it, so it doesn't lose it's integrity sitting in the eventual vanilla ice cream soup you end up with if you eat it too slowly. Prices are definitely reasonable for an average traveler or local. Plus, they have a stamp card but I'm not sure what it's for since I was only visiting. Recommended as a solid spot. read more

Great food, great vibe, and great coffee. We ate breakfast here twice during our visit to Edinburgh. read more

Red Squirrel - The vegetarian breakfast. - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

The Red Squirrel is a pretty solid gastro-pub towards the Princes Street end of Lothian Road, not far from the Usher Hall. I've been here quite a few times and the atmosphere is lively, the food is tasty, the beer selection is excellent and the staff are not bad either! The Red Squirrel is part of the Fuller Thompson chain, who own a handfull of charismatic pubs in Edinburgh and Dundee, including the Holyrood 9a, The Southern and the new OX184 down on the Cowgate. Not only do I totally rate all of those pubs, but each has their own unique character and focus and The Red Squirrel is no different. If you're into trying new and craft beers, The Red Squirrel is a great shout. It doesn't go as crazy and off-piste as The Hanging Bat, which is just up the street, but they always have a decent selection of real ales on the pumps and an outstanding array of quality bottled beers. But it's not just beer! The bar is very well stocked and this is not a beer-only pub by any stretch. I've been here on a Friday and Saturday night and it gets a mid-trendy and post-work clientèle with a lot of fashionable young people, so not just old men, neck-beards and beer nerds sipping at their unblended lambic beers through pursed lips. I was here on a stag night one evening years ago and the bar lady was extremely patient with us and was an absolute star with sorting us out with a dirty pint. In terms of food, there are some long, Bavarian-style wooden tables and benches near the front of the place, which are excellent for big groups. There are also more conventional 2 and 4-person tables elsewhere in the pub. The food menus are not massively exciting and extremely burger-centric, with loads and loads of different types of burgers to choose from (including three different veggie burgers!). If you've been to a Fuller Thompson pub before, expect more of the same food-wise at the Red Squirrel. Unfortunately, The Red Squirrel hits me right in the pet peeve in that it serves chips in small metal buckets and everything else on slabs of grotty wood instead of actual plates. WHY?? Why can't we just have plates?? Also counting against The Red Squirrel is that there's no real separation between the eating area and the standing-around-at-the-bar area. If you're unfortunate enough to end up in the wrong seat on a busy night, expect a loud corporate wanker with a loosened tie and rolled-up sleeves standing right next to you and gabbing loudly about his jaunt back to Sussex in the Landy with Rollo and the chums while you try and wedge that haloumi burger in your gob. Also expect people to continually push against your chair as they squeeze past to go to the toilet. On the whole, The Red Squirrel is an excellent pub and great for a bite to eat, but avoid the busy times, especially Friday and Saturday evenings, if you want to eat your food in peace! read more

The bar is very open and light, but staff can miss you when you walk in. Having been to several places recently where the food was disappointing, I finally got a better class of gourmet burger. My only problem was that I went for halloumi and I've since discovered I'm not so keen on halloumi - perhaps not the best choice but at least I now know I won't eat it again. The burger was a decent size with plenty of filling. What let them down was the skinny fries. What is it with skinny fries! I want a chip. A real substantial, fluffy on the inside crispy on the outside chip, not shoelaces masquerading as chips. I had some sort of pineapple cocktail to wash the food down, but quite frankly I should have had beer, not the place to get a cocktail! As mentioned by other reviewers the staff seem to be quite social with each other which could be a little annoying to some customers. read more

Kris B. and I were hungry and on the hunt for somewhere to have dinner. We passed the Red Squirrel and enticed by their delicious-sounding burger menu, we went inside and ordered up. I went for the Blue Murder burger (beefburger with Blue Murder cheese, bacon and mushroom) and Kris opted for the Chilli Death burger (pickled jalapenos, fresh chillies, applewood cheese, sour cream and habanero ketchup) because he is nuts Everything was perfect, the beef itself was juicy and not tough, crispy bacon with mellow mushroom and the Blue Murder cheese was salty, creamy and deeply satisfying to eat. The fries that came with the burger were also treated with due deference and weren't an afterthought on the plate; they were seasoned beautifully with a hint of chilli powder and cumin asburge well as the usual fixings. Kris was equally impressed with his Chilli Death burger, describing it as: "Fucking awesome... Right level of uber spicy with the sour cream cutting through it with a nice balance." He also loved the obviously homemade pickles and gherkins. Both burgers were reasonably priced as well, I would definitely return and recommend. I want to work my way through all their burgers! read more

Hallllooooooooooooumiii! You guessed it, the halloumi burgers here are fantabulous! I am yet to waver from ordering one in my 3 visits here, although I've heard great things from my friends who have have sampled the other dishes available. Besides the name, another reason I like the Red Squirrel is for the cider and beer - there is great selection of yummy beverages, from Thistly Cross to Blue Moon, and it is a great place for after-work gossiping with friends. It is also a really handy location and is spacious so I've never had a problem with it being too busy (on week nights). Lastly, the sweet potato fries are the bomb! read more

Yeah ok... I'm in. Red Squirrel is a solid option for most things. It has never blown me away, nor do I think that's their mandate. They don't strike me as a place aiming for "spectacular" but one that's reaching for "comfortable and accessible" - which is just fine with me. They make pretty dang good food, alongside a pretty dang good drinks list and it won't cost you an arm and a leg for either. Is it the place that I bring folks when they're visiting because it's a "must have" meal. No. Do I head here when I need to just kick my heels up, drink a beer and face plant in some nachos? Yup. The halloumi burger is great, the nachos are passable, the wine pour is generous and they have Blue Moon on tap. Yeah ok... I'm in. read more

Red Squirrel is a solid four-star establishment. They've managed to create a perfect unisex environment by having an extensive beer selection for men and a complete lack of sports TVs for women. Yeah, the beer is pretty expensive and the food is just not quite as good as you'd hoped, but Red Squirrel makes up for it by being a great place for couples to hang with other couples. They've shot me right in the demographic with this one. I'm a 24yo man-o-leisure engaged to a beautiful 24yo girl. We don't really go to nightclubs anymore. We don't really go to sports bars. We don't really go to uni bars. We go to places like this, grab a booth in the corner and quietly proclaim "These are our people". Places like this are perfect for us to take other couples out on 'dates'. There's no stuffy awkwardness of a fine restaurant, there's no sweaty rage at a pingin' 'nite' hole, there's only mood lighting and checkered floors to ease your descent into middleagedness. Right in the demographic. read more

Empty plates mean good things. There was not a crumb left on either of our plates at the Red Squirrel. The tangy falafel burger in a sweet brioche bun and the delicious, generous serving of sweet potato fries was so very satisfying. Dare I say it: the best sweet potato fries I've had. Service was fast and friendly, and there was no real wait time for food. I'm looking forward to uncovering more of what Red Squirrel has to offer. At the moment: 'Yay! I'm a fan!' has me covered. read more

On my last visit to Edinburgh I discovered the Red Squirrel but had only managed a pint there. The beer selection is amazing, local, craft and all sorts on tap! But they aren't only just a fabulous bar, but are an amazing place for food, especially their hand made burgers. The Swiss burger I had was succulent and the mushrooms were a bit different, but a tasty addition to the burger (I'm used to having onions) and the sweet potato fries were amazing, especially dipped in the garlic mayo that came with the burger. The staff were friendly and talkative, I didn't feel gawped at for dining alone either. To anyone visiting Edinburgh it's always a place I recommend. read more

Red Squirrel is fine. It serves food (which I've not tried) and beer (which I have), but finds itself somewhat lacking in atmosphere. I came here last night (Thursday) after Napier's graduation ceremony at Usher Hall (which is like half a block from here). I thoroughly expected it to be packed full of celebrating grads but found it pleasantly dead. Minus the children. What was with the children? Is it legal to have children in bars at 7pm? It's not like this is a restaurant that happens to serve booze, it's a bar,and shouldn't your kids be in bed by now anyway? Weird. As an enjoyer of the 9a, I expected a lot more from Red Squirrel than it delivered. The place felt pretty meh and the bar staff seemed bored/tired/uninterested/something like that. In short, glad I tried it and though I wouldn't argue if a friend wanted to go there, I certainly won't be planning a repeat visit. read more

I booked a table for 13 people for lunch today - the boys in my team drooling at the concept of a lunchtime burger. All in all it was very nice - no complaints from the team. Not a 4 star, so I'm giving it 3 - I wish we could do half stars as I might have stretched to a 3.5. I wasn't 'wowed' by my Pioneer burger (not after reading the rave reviews for the Holyrood 9A burgers) but it was ok and I ate it all. The Chicken Italienne seemed to go down well as did the Bohemian (which looked like it had far too many ingredients packed into a bun for my liking)! The service was fine - however our food came at different times even though I did put in a pre order to avoid this from happening. I was fairly relaxed about it though as this is what normally happens with a larger group although the Manager did promise me it wouldn't. The only annoying thing was that as the chief organiser, my burger came last for some reason, and some of the guys had nearly finished theirs. Anyway - ok - probably go back but only for an informal lunch. Nothing more. read more

We stumbled into this pub honestly because we saw that it offered free WiFi and our hotel charged £10 a day for access so thought we would just order a beer and see if we could find a nice place to have dinner while surfing the web. Well, once we stepped inside we were seated in a nice quiet booth and the boy got hungry so he ordered nachos. I was a little skeptical about ordering nachos in Scotland, but they did a real good job and so we devoured the entire massive plate, stuffing our bellies (or at least mine) to the brim. The beer list is extensive. While looking at the menu, we noticed that they also order a breakfast special - two country breakfasts (one egg, haggis, sausage, beans, toast, tomato and mushrooms) + one coffee for I believe somewhere between £10-£11. Neither of us had ever had haggis and this was obviously on my bucket list for Edinburgh, so we came here. Breakfast was good, but the egg was definitely overcooked. Otherwise a very tasty breakfast. read more

Lovely food with great service. Nice relaxed atmosphere and perfect place to chill with some friends over nice food and drink. Would recommend to all my friends and family. Can't wait to go back. read more