Just arrived in Scotland and The Black Bull is just across from our hotel so we thought we'd grab a bite. Upon entry you're greeted with music and loud conversations. The menu is large enough to give you choices, but not overwhelming. You irder the bread and dip plate along with fish and chips. The bread plate is a thick sliced sourdough bread with a cup of olive oil and a pepper tapenade, slightly sweet with a little kick, very nice. The fish and chips comes with tartar sauce and peas, be sure to ask for the malt vinegar. It's a very large piece of fish, very flakey, lightly crusted and served hot over the fries (chips). We really liked it and the peas were a nice touch, way to work in the veggies . The people were very friendly to order from and were happy with us tipping. Very nice start to our vacation. read more

See all

Mid-afternoon lunch for weary & hungry travelers from US. Cheerful staff. Took care of my seafood allergy when ordering my Mac & cheese with bacon. All TVs were showing sports from Snooker to Tennis to Soccer/Football. Advertise American football shown live on Sundays. It was a quiet enough place for us to have a conversation about our plans while traveling. Will definitely go again! read more

Guiness nice and cold here. The haggis fries and fried haggis balls are delicious especially after a night of drinking. read more

The black bull is situated right at the heart of the historic grassmarket. The service was slow as I wasn't sure if it was table service or order at the bar but eventually someone came over and took my order. The bar is dark but cosy with some interesting little bits on the ceiling and the fish & chips were honestly delicious and reasonably priced. I sat by the window and enjoyed watching the goings on during the fringe and would definitely visit again! read more

The Black Bull - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Long day of walking and enjoying Edinburgh but now I'm hungry. I was chatting with someone outside of this bar and he thought it was pretty decent, so I decided to try it out. The bartenders were kind enough to let me know that they were running a little behind and food would take awhile. I said I can sit and have a drink. One of the waiters was kind enough to clean up a table so I can sit. After a long while. I was finally approached to see if I was ready to order and I was. Wings with sauce on the side a caprese salad. I was excited when my food finally came out. My excitement turned to disappointment when I took a bite of a wing. Dry. Crunchy. Arid. The outside of the wing had good flavoring. It was just dry. Even the meat inside was dry. I took another and dipped it into the hot sauce mixed with mayo and that didn't help either. I don't think the cook realize that these wings were so tiny, that they shouldn't be fried for so long. You can take a look from the picture I took how small these wings are. I lost my appetite and let the waiter know to give his cook some friendly feedback and that I wasn't going to finish my meal. I still paid for my check, it wasn't the waiters fault he didn't recognize how bad the food was. I don't recommend coming here for food, the bartenders were nice so, i would recommend eating somewhere else, and just come here for drinks. I hope you don't have the same experience I did. Njoy! read more

See all

We just went for a a nightcap and did not eat. Beers were cold and there was a decent selection. There was some broken glass on the floor by our table. It wasn't clear if there was table service so I fetched our beer from the bar myself. The place was bustling. read more

See all

We loved the vibe of this pub nearby our hotel. We stopped in for some food and the fish and chips were amazing! The Mac and cheese was also good but would have been better without the chili sauce on-top in my opinion. Overall would go back since the people were friendly read more

The Black Bull - Fish and chips and the Mac and cheese fries - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

First place I ate at in Edinburgh. The staff was friendly and helpful with the menu. I had the fish and chips and could not recommend this more. This looks like the bar was around since the 1700s and they had the rugby game on. read more

Just your average pub along Grassmarket area. This was one of our stops through our night of drinking, which was a tad less crowded than the rest of them. We had 3 shots of Jameson for £12, which was standard as well. Since our group was feeling like dancing, there wasn't as much of a dance floor going on. By this point, we were drunk enough to dance and have fun anywhere though. read more

One thing Edinburgh does not lack in is pubs. Some good, some iffy and others, a waste of time. The Black Bull falls into the really good category. Really good because of the friendly service, nice atmosphere, good food priced just right and 'comfiness' of feeling right. We popped in for a light bite and a pint. Plenty of choice of nice ales and lagers. My partner had a tuna sandwich with fries ....... massive. I decided on nachos 'for one' ....... another laugh. It could have fed three. Masses of tortillas, covered in melting cheese, sour cream, guacamole and salsa. But, I loved this, quite a few sliced jalapenos. A nice, relaxing, and filling, lunchtime. If you are around, give it a try. read more

Came here for quiz night! 4th place!! I didn't get anything to drink or eat so I'll just review the quiz organization. There was one man with a computer reading out the questions with a microphone and after every round, each time had to and in their paper to be graded. There were 6 categories: Movies, Music, Geography, General Knowledge, Science, and Art? (I forgot the last category). It went really great! It was fast and the questions were a good mix. All teams were located in the back of the pub. My team had a lot of trouble finding a name though: Name of the song Harry and Meghan will dance to on their first dance at their wedding. Send me your best ones! The best one, in my opinion, hands down, was a team that picked: Now, I ain't sayin' she a gold digger. But she ain't messin' with no broke Ginger read more

The stars are for the yummy steak sandwich... the LACK of stars is for the service. Sat outside and it was a beautiful day. Onion rings were really good! When I asked for a container to take home some leftovers, I was told they didn't have any?? Not "we ran out" but "we don't have any??" Thought that was kind of odd? They ended up wrapping my leftovers in a big piece of tinfoil... which wasn't very convenient considering it was for macaroni and cheese. read more

I was looking for an easy going authentic Scottish experience. Great drink selections including local beers. The fish and chips were delicious! I would definitely come back here. read more

The Black Bull - Fish and chips - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

See all

Our trip wouldn't be complete without visiting a local pub near the Edinburgh Castle. What sets apart the UK pubs versus US bars, is that patrons are allowed to have a pint in hand outside the pub. When the day is nice out, people do not want to be forced to stay indoors with their drinks. It's a great sign for foreigners visiting to witness which pubs are popular simply by the patrons standing outside. Bartender was friendly, plenty of seating and spacious inside with TVs and games to enjoy. read more

We headed over to the Black Bull shortly after dinner for a few cheap drinks. I ordered a Strongbow cider. The bartenders are friendly and quick to serve. We found a few tables in the back and sat down to enjoy our drinks. Great lively place to meet locals and tourists alike. There was a live act in that night but his performance was out in front so I didn't see what he was about. Others said it was just ok. This is a great pub to check out if you're ever in Edinburgh. read more

The Black Bull - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

The food was disappointing for the location. I ordered a burger and it was notably one of the worst I've ever had. My friend wasn't impressed either. The service was laggy. If you are visiting, I would suggest eating at another place on Grassmarket. read more

I just don't get this place! Sure, the staff are nice enough and there's some comfortable seating to chill out on with your mates, but you can do that at just about any pub in the whole city. As soon as you walk in it feels like you've just entered a medieval dungeon and you just about need a headtorch the find the bar! That's an obscene exaggeration, but the lighting is surprisingly dim and the general ambiance is lacking warmth. The drinks are quite fairly priced with most pints costing under £3 and they do have quite a good selection of ales and spirits. I came here about two weeks ago and just found the whole place a bit depressing, but if you came here on a cold winter's day it might offer a little more atmosphere. read more

The Black Bull - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

It's a bar with your average pub food. Order at the bar. I had haggis, neeps and tatties and a hand pull beer to go with it. It wasn't anything special, but I have no complaints either. read more

I had a wonderful experience at the black bull, my waiter Rhea was so gracious. She made the experience fun!! Best bartender you could have.

Whatever you are looking for in a pub, you should get it here at least one day of the week. It hasn't had a plush makeover, so don't look for the young posers sipping a vodka and coke and spending the night looking at their mobile. It is a huge pub that'll take you a couple of minutes to walk around. There is a good long bar that contains the professional staff. I've been twice now. First time was a Friday when there was a DJ on, and it was very busy. The second time was a Wednesday when there was a live band playing. It wasn't as busy, and probably because the place is so large, it looked quiet. The band was very good but seemed to take longer on their cigarette breaks than actually playing their music.. It's a pity really because I noticed some people coming in that were just about to walk by, just to check out the band. It probably got quieter later on because people thought that the band had finished when they had their second big break. Anyway, good pub, good character, good staff, good entertainment, crisps but no nuts. Worth a visit. read more

The Black Bull - A long bar - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Pub in the Grassmarket area. Dropped in for a small dinner. Server Niamh was fantastic - she was upbeat, energetic and gave great customer service. I had the chicken wings, there were 6 fried wings with some sauce-which was just the right size, along with a dinner salad. My husband had the chicken sandwich. All the food is what you expect in s pub, and prepared nicely. read more

Busy , prices reasonable , could do with more staff behind bar , took while to get served . Not bad pub , worth a try read more

You know what's great with potato? You guessed it.. haggis. We had come here the night before because our friend who loves pubs decided to make his own pub crawl. We promptly left as it wasn't his scene and moved onto a club. Tonight, there was a large group of us. We wandered into different restaurants (even though we came from one) along the Grass Market strip, but there was no room at the inn... But here, we came in as people we leaving and voila, table for eleven. We ended up going to the bar to place our orders two by two... Good thing it wasn't table service; none of us were ready at the same time. I ordered a baked potato topped with haggis with a salad garnish. My husband got the roast chicken sandwich. Once the bar got wind that we were all together, they made sure our food all came out at the same time even though we didn't order together. I didn't take many pictures of food while I was away. I didn't want to be "one of those people"... I had to take a photo of this though... with an actual camera. My potato was cut in four with a huge lump of haggis melting into it. It was beautiful and wonderful and filling. I made it my mission to keep ordering haggis at every meal. When they say salad garnish, they really mean garnish. I still ate it because coming from the land of water and yoga (which I obviously don't subscribe to), I kind of wanted vegetables. Weird... The apple cider I drank with this doesn't count as a veggie. Food came fast and it was good. Service was thoughtful... read more

Basically, when we arrived at the restaurant, we got seated for an outdoor table, two children, one teen and two adults. When we were seated, we were told ti go inside to order our food. But as soon as we got inside the restaurant, a waiter told us that we couldn't order food anymore since the pub was not serving food past 9 and it was 8:30. The waiter told us that since we also had kids, we had to leave! He even had the nerve to tell us that we should have known the restaurants stupid rules. The location was nice, but thats the only star it gets. This place was awful, and I didn't even get to try food! That should say enough, and I wouldn't recommend this experience to anyone. read more

It's a jumbo pub, perhaps too big to feel personal. And I had to listen to an American guy sing wagon wheel. It truly is inescapable.

Black Bull divides opinion right down the centre. Some find it a boring, dark, expensive pub full of tourists and with miserable staff. Others find it cozy, relaxing, moderatly priced with a nice atmosphere and friendly staff. I am, fortunatly stuck bang in the middle - because really, thats exactly what Black Bull aims for. It tries to cater for everybody, and ends up just being a mish mash of all of the best and worst bits of the other pubs on the Grass Market strip. personally I find it a little lacking in atmosphere, decently priced and on occasion a great place to go for a quiet pint and a chat. read more

The Black Bull - Black Bull No 12 - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

The only reason I came here was because there was floor room. For sitting. While the final of the World Cup was on. Because I'd been unceremoniously rejected from the Three Sisters (which I would never want to go to normally, but where all the spaniards of Edinburgh were to be found yesterday from 7-11). We tried getting onion rings at Black Bull but were told there was an hour long waiting list, so gave up on that one very quickly. Ales were about 3 pounds. But the real advantage of this place is that it's huge and so you're quite likely, though not always, to find a place to sit. I'm very often suspicious of pubs in the Grassmarket. Because I feel every tour guide of Edinburgh will have that spot highlighted for every single tourist in Edinburgh. But this time it was just full of your bogstandard spaniards. Drinking beer, eating burgers and being overall a lot more tame than I'd expected. read more

Nice traditional layout in this bar, which is competing with a large number of pubs in Edinburgh's Grassmarket. It carries itself well, with very competent and pleasant staff, who make sure you get served quickly. Their service during the busy Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Mardi Gras was knockout. Although the staff were run ragged, they retained their composure and good humour. I'd definitely go back. read more

One of the better, bigger efforts on the Grassmarket. Easy to get served (unlike it's polar opposite, Biddy Mulligans) and probably the best pub grub on the strip too. The addition of the outdoor seating during the summer on the new revamped grassmarket pedestrianisation really helped the pub along. Could do with a bit more dedication to it's selection of casks for this Real Ale fan, and also to not charge for a dash of lemonade or lime in a pint of larger! (Additionally, saw what was literally a wrestling match between two 'mates' which ensued for 30 minutes back and forth from a stag do seated in the pub itself during the summer. It got so out of hand the lesser of the two got kicked in the face several times as the other fled. This would easily have been stopped by splitting up entry of the pair, stopping both from being inside and/or outside the pub. I'm well aware of bouncers avoiding any trouble sparking in their establishment and doing nothing about what happens outside but this was a farce! Really tainted my and potentially many outdoor passers by opinion of the place.) read more

Staff were fun and friendly! Sat down to eat, service for food was super quick! Haggis was excellent !!!

Our first time in Edinburgh and Grass Market. The Black Bull was a pure delight. Gerard the bar tender welcomed us as we were friends. He was patient and helpful with these tourists. We had drinks with soup of the day and haggis fritters. A great lunch and experience which topped off our visit to this beautiful city. Thank you Gerard read more

Big bar, friendly staff. Pretty casual, order at the bar kind of place. But the food was hands down, awful! Couldn't even manage a decent fish and chips. Even the fries were bad! Definitely don't recommend. read more

"Ehhhh" *shrugs* on the food... not really much else to say. For being right there in a prime location as grassmarket, you have to step it up. I got the chicken & mayo sandwich read more

This was one of the first pubs I visited on my impromtu Grassmarket pub crawl, and in the sober-ish light of day, it seemed ok. Like Jonathan M said, it's the kind of place that you wouldn't go out of your way to visit, but it's very inoffensive at the same time. The atmosphere is very 'local' pubby, with old men at every table supping pints, which are very reasonably priced actually. Not a bad wee pub to kick off the crawl! read more

Went here with my boyfriend on a Saturday night to have a few drinks. We went here to start off the night and had zero drinks before hand. As we walked up the doormen weren't very inviting so we got to the door when one of them put his hand out and said for us to stop, the other one continued to glare at us before they asked us if we were cool, which was fine and when we replied we went in. Right when we got in everyone stopped to stare at us, and my boyfriend had to pass through some people and accidentally barely bumped a table. The guy sitting at it stood up and looked as if he wanted to fight him. We decided to leave because it was a bad vibe and we felt uncomfortable, as we were leaving there was a couple laughing and talking to each other and the security kicked them out for being loud? It was a very strange and uncomfortable scene. I've never felt like that at any other pub or bar. read more

The Black Bull is another pub that lies along the Grassmarket stretch. With its traditional vibe and large space this pub is a great place to meet friends. It shows sport on TV and serves good food. There is quite a bit of seating so on busy nights out it is a good stop. read more

A really good pub in the Grassmarket. It is a lively pub that fills up on the weekend. The drinks are quite expensive but no more so than any other nice bar in Edinburgh. It has good music and a dj on Saturday nights that plays all the good older tunes that get you singing along. It is a nice place to meet friends and relax with a few drinks. The staff are always friendly and cheerful. There is a nice atmosphere in the Black Bull. It is a great place to go on St Patricks day although it will be very busy. In fact the whole of the grassmarket has a great vibe during the St Patricks celebrations. read more

The place was really busy when we got there, which may have been because of Edhogmanay going on that night. Food really left something to be desired and prices weren't good either especially considering the quality of food. Risotto had the consistency of cement. The soup was okay, but not anything I'd come back for. Only upside was that our waitress was somewhat pleasant. read more

Tourist pub on grassmarket though a regular choice for daytime drinking as the prices are good and the grassmarket is a good place to sit out in the sun. Staff are friendly enough and there is plenty of space in the pub itself. Far too busy most days after about 9. read more

absolutely dire avoid at all costs