Very cozy place with a great Al Fresco dining area. Just be aware that quite a few people will be smoking and vaping. We were there early on a Sunday evening, no problem getting a table. All the staff were great, especially Rachel, our server. Very attentive, knowledgeable, and one beautiful lass. I ordered the Chicken Burger for 10 quid, and the main squeeze got the Beef Burger for 11 quid. The chicken burger was fried buttermilk chicken with Buffalo sauce, kimchi, lettuce and mango mayo on top, very yummy. The burger had cheddar, maple bacon, tomato, onion jam, lettuce and pickles. Really good with one drawback, the jam made the bottom bun soggy, I would put the lettuce on the bun first, as I do at home. We both had the IPA, well okay, I had two after our long day and night of travel. Really a great place all around. read more

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They do an excellent breakfast. Go for the eggs benedict with spinach and you'll feel satiated but virtuous (healthy greens!) at the same time. The best thing is the super friendly service. Our waitress was friendly and on top of things. She made us feel incredibly welcome. read more

The Blackbird - Eggs florentine - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN

A tad disappointed by The Blackbird on this visit and this seems to be replicated across all the Yelpers on this night. We were meeting up prior to our theatre trip for a bit of food and being just across from the Kings Theatre makes it a perfect location. Looks wise, I would pop in if I was in the area. Its a few months old, but still a bit sparkly and new, with lovely (unstained) cushions and comfy seating. It's the type of place where you and a few friends get together for a great catch up over a few drinks. It is a popular place and was busy on a Tuesday night which is always a good sign. Food wise, it was disappointing. Being gluten free options are limited - food is very pub like so fried, deep fried and battered but the burgers (minus the bun) are GF. My burger was disappointing. No great flavour and over cooked so a bit dry (nothing in comparison to the Southern). I subbed the chips for pumpkin in chili oil. It was lovely and comes served in its own little metal pan but near the bottom, there was too much oil. Fellow Yelper Katey ordered the chicken which looked lovely, as did Jenny L's venison and pumpkin mash. I had tried to view the menu prior to going but apparently the website is coming soon - fine if the place isn't open, not so when its been going for several months in this digital age... So, I can imagine I would go back for drinks, but I probably wouldn't for dinner due to the limited options. It is a nice place, I just wasn't blown away. read more

The Blackbird - GF burger (no bun) with pumpkin in chilli oil with thyme as a GF replacement for fries - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN

My girlfriend has come up to visit so I decided to try some places around Edinburgh that I haven't been yet. Walking into blackbird it has a great atmosphere and decor (funky cushions and stuff on the wall). Service was fantastic and attentive and the cocktails are nice. We had pancakes and a breakfast roll. The presentation was beautiful as well but I think something is missing- maybe we just didn't order the right food. For the price it's not for me. Next time I will try the main dishes to see if that's where the glory lies. Overall a nice place to go for drinks or a date but I haven't found the taste in looking for! read more

The Blackbird - Bloody Mary and a clover club. - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN

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Nice, central bar. The drinks are affordable and great quality for the price. I did not have food, so cannot speak on that. I did have a dessert though, and it was great! read more

The food and service here are great. Absolutely no problems. But. My friend and I were shocked to see the drinks menu cover, which had incredibly racist imagery and text of Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee as monkey-like figures with giant red lips that STRONGLY resembled blackface. Underneath was a quote from Dirty Dancing - "I carried a watermelon". When we asked our very nice server, she said the intention wasn't racist, that other people had called it into question (someone had written "is this acceptable" and "racist" on ours), and that it would be expensive to reprint. I support local business and don't think customers being easily offended is a reason they should lose money. But this is not a case of that. The historical significance of that imagery should offend everyone, and that cover NEEDS to be removed. With the combination of the blackface and the watermelon text, it seems far too coincidental to be an accident. Changing it would prove it was not intentional. Leaving it would make me question their motives, and until they do, I wouldn't visit again. read more

This is absolutely our favorite pub in Edinburgh, hands down. The staff is incredibly kind and welcoming. They are some of the nicest people I have ever met. They are truly happy at their job, and it shows! Service is excellent and they will keep your cup refilled whether you are at a table or at the bar. They have Guiness on tap (a must for every food pub), and their cider variety is what I will miss about them the most! The music is fantastic. They have an excellent playlist of eclectic songs I thought only my husband and I listened to. Jurassic 5, Mos Def, and many others were just a few of our favorites. I honestly can't say enough good things about this place. I have absolutely zero even mildly bad things to say. read more

The Blackbird - The best cider. Try the mango raspberry! - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN

Nice location and the staff is very friendly and seemingly proud of the place - I was not so impressed - the chairs, stools and table sizes and measures are .. odd. Not comfertable and I was struggling to get comfertable. Finally settling at a table in the back I feld like Alice in Wonderland as the table side came to just under my shirt pocket. I am 5'9" when standing up so this was a little awkward. I was pleasantly surprised with the platter that was served and the beer selection is good . In all I would have liked it here more if it wasn't for being so uncomfertable. They have a small but well presented food list - vegetarian option and locally sourced. As they were just opened the portions were generous when I visited, but as with many places that serve food that will probably be evened out over time. read more

This is a really adorable little gastropub. I came thinking I was going to get a burger but when the waiter told us that the soup of the day was potato and leek I just had to get it. The soup, in the end, was a bit underwhelming but I had also ordered the beet-cured salmon which was incredible! The salmon was smoked I think, with a beet cure and topped with mandarins and thyme. I had never thought to put mandarins with salmon but it was absolutely delicious. The service was also friendly and quick. read more

The Blackbird - Salmon, soup of the day (potato and leek), and burger - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN

Summary based on 1 dinner: -good food -reasonable prices -friendly, accommodating service -pleasant surroundings Recommended read more

The Blackbird - No kidding Budvar beer - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN

Love coming here! The food is really tasty, and the beer garden in the back is great. My favorite meal is lunch, and the Bloody Marys are perfect. Highly recommend! read more

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A small group of us visited The Blackbird one afternoon when the place didn't look too busy. Despite that fact and what seemed like a plethora of bar staff, it took an amazingly long time for our orders to be taken and our drinks to be served. It took so long, if several of my friends hadn't already placed their orders, I simply would have thrown in the towel and left... My friends having already crossed the Rubicon, I decided to make the best of it. Fifteen minutes later, it took me FOUR times repeating my order before it was finally taken. I've had that problem in bars sometimes at midnight, but it was only 5pm!! Quite some time after we arrived, our food and drinks finally came. The food was well presented, and when the service actually started, service was quick and efficient. Bottom line: despite a reasonably good ending to the experience, the monumental waste of our time waiting and ordered tainted my experience here. I definitely won't come back for another meal, but I might be persuaded to come back for a cocktail if one of my friends really had a craving for this place. read more

I am generally an accepting person. Hence it is not lightly I leave a 1 star review for a business. The reason? Total lack of professional behaviour on the staff's part. I witnessed staff ignoring customers, playing on their phones until it was convenient for them to look helpful, not giving full measures, and, unbelievably, doing rows of shots in front of customers and while said customers were waiting to be served. Added to the fact it was totally overpriced, even by Edinburgh standards, I was not impressed. read more

Finally made it to The Blackbird! Had this place on my list for quite some time and was happy to have a chance to pop in. First impressions? Nice decor, easy location, friendly staff. As a past server/bartender I have to say that I really judge a place on how they treat you when you come in during that odd period between lunch and dinner. So many times you are either ignored or get less-than-stellar service. High five to our server who was on point and very good! As for the food and drinks, it was 3pm on a weekday, so we were not getting our drink on (sadly), but the cocktail menu looked pretty awesome. Was satisfied with my plain ginger beer. As for food, I had one of the best 'meat boards' I have come across in Edinburgh (sausage, HUGE breaded shrimp, jerk chicken, DELICIOUS BBQ ribs). Up there with Three Birds meat board, which I also love. Everything seemed nicely homemade (bloody mary ketchup? yes, please) and had good flavor and seasoning (pet peeve!). Our fish and chips was also very good. Not too heavy on the breading and a killer caper tartar sauce. Only thing I didnt really love about Blackbird was the jerk chicken and the fries. The chicken was very dry and sort of low on the flavor. As others have said, the fries here are one of my pet peeves. No one wants huge, soft potato wedges in a cup. Give me a thin, crispy fry or give me death! read more

One word... disappointed! I've been looking forward to visiting The Blackbird for quite a while now. I finally went there with the Yelp book club this week and it wasn't. I love it inside, it's nice and cosy, I really like the decor, the lighting is subtle, all just lovely. The problem lies with the food... I ordered Chorizo and Roasted red peppers on a toasted ciabatta. It turned up on a wooden board (of course, everything does now) and the chorizo and red peppers were in a mini frying pan which was quite sweet, they were fine, not amazing, just fine. The 'ciabatta' however was non existent. What I was presented with was a tiny end peice of chewy, slightly stale white bread. It was awful and I wasn't really sure what I was meant to do with it. I was starving so I chewed on it for a while but didn't finish it. Plus it was just so dry I didn't really have anything to eat it with apart from the tiny amount of oil from the chorizo. Oh and another thing, their website has been 'coming soon' for quite sometime now. I wish it would just get here. And I also wish they'd respond on Twitter. I will go back, but just for a drink. The cocktail menu looks fab so hopefully they are as good as they sound and The Blackbird redeems itself! read more

First sign that things had changed was the missing mobility scooter that was for ever parked outside the old place. I hope the owner is still alive and well and has just powered on to another boozer. Inside the new place is all leather couches and exposed brick work, and while this isn't really what I'm looking for in a pub, it hangs together pretty well. Decent beer on draft and a cocktail menu just calling out for one of my famous hangovers, I think this place will quickly establish itself. I didn't eat, but the food looked pretty good....burgers actually looked exceptional. The only trouble for me is the position. I'm Bruntsfield based but if I'm going for a pint I'm more inclined to choose a place off the main routes into town. This area has always felt like a space I have to walk through to get home so I never really feel like hanging around for any length of time. Maybe the Blackbird will change that. read more

I spent the second half of my summer flitting between my parents home and Edinburgh. I passed this place in late August and as far as I noticed it was still the former old-man pub and when I next saw it in early September it was The Blackbird. Interested, a group of 5 of us went along, I think it was perhaps the 2nd or 3rd night of business and it was reassuringly busy. A mixture of folk but the prevailing demographic was well-heeled 30-somethings. It seemed busy as people tended to cluster near the door but further back in this narrow but long-ish pub there was space to be found. I ordered my drink but waited, genuinely, 5 minutes for it to arrive. Initially being the only lad in our group the barman, disguising it as beer advice, spent the ensuing time chatting up my mates. I thought he'd forgotten all about me and was about to re-order from his colleauge when he began to pour it. OK. Nice pint, not much change from a fiver. The decor is OK. It is fresh and it is trendy but it all seemed pretty dark. Colour and lighting. Maybe that's trendy too though. Soon, a couple more joined our party and orders were taken from the table by a waitress, just for two pints. Over a ten minute period the drinks were chased up twice. A very polite girl came round 4 times for empties before the fullies eventually arrived with apologies. I could probably have turned up with 20 supermodels and been served quicker at the bar. This place is potentially cool, and given the benefit of the doubt the drinks fiasco was probably teething problems. On the up-side Blackbird has several London-brewed beers (on tap as well as bottled), so you can just pretend you're in London when you get silver back from your £5 and have a lovely night looking at the pretty girls and boys. We enjoyed the night, but we haven't been back yet. read more

A nice chilled pub with a good wine selection. About half the pub is a more restaurant style area for food but there is still quite a bit of space for those just having drinks. The service was prompt at the bar with a good knowledge of the products that they had in stock, both from a wine and gin perceptive. The atmosphere was chilled and relaxing and it's a great location for a drink and chat before heading to the Kings Theatre just across the road. read more

The Blackbird is new and seems to be popular, but it's not somewhere I could recommend to eat, based on our recent visit. The burger was really poor. Tollcross has lots of good dining options, so this place is for pre- or post-prandial drinks, only. Overall, we said: "while the Blackbird is quite a smart place, and I thought the service rather good, it needs to get to work on improving its menu. The burger I had was one of the saddest I've tried, to date. It was way too lean, and pretty much just a waste of good beef. As it stands, I'd say come for drinks, but eat elsewhere." read more

Good ambiance and atmosphere, packed to the gunnels with locals and students soaking up the vibe. Nice decor and mood lighting. 4 stars for effort. Food was a little less impressive. I ordered fish and chips, which to the chefs' credit arrived in good time. My battered fish was square (have you ever seen a square fish?) meaning the fish was stacked on top of itself and the batter to flesh ratio was waaaaay off. You order fish and chips for the battery goodness - there needs to be a bit of crunch when you eat the fish! The plate of food was just totally average. Nothing to write home about. But it set me back a tenner. Ouch. It was also presented on a piece of wood, a pet hate of mine. I went with a group of Yelpers and some of their dishes looked like winners, so perhaps I ordered the wrong thing? Also, bring a torch if you want to read what's on the menu. There's not much light to see anything and the words are black ink on brown paper. Argh! read more

I stopped in here to meet friends prior to heading to an event. Nice to have table service and a recommendation of drinks. I went for the Christmas manhattan which was simple but potent! £6.50 a drink so not cheap but nice for a couple of drinks but maybe prior to heading out elsewhere. The decor was understated and quite chilled. The bathrooms were immaculate which is a bug bear of mine. I'm not normally at this end of town but will keep it in mind for the future, maybe for a pre-theatre meal?? read more

Fantastic back patio or "beer garden" as you brits call it. Pros: - they have hoegarden on tap (at least they did when I was there last) - the aforementioned beer garden - good bar food - especially lunch. I typically go do the po' boy sandwich - great location. You're not really in town (a la George street or Cowgate) but it's a busy and burgeoning area Cons - toilets can be hit or miss (I once walked into a stall w a floater) - can be busy at times especially during nice sunny days Overall a great place to enjoy some good times and high fives. read more

The Blackbird has an odd vibe, very much targeted at the trendy 20-30 somethings, I can't particularly fault the service or the beverage options but this isn't really my cup of tea... There probably aren't enough staff on the bar and if they are serious about doing cocktails then this will need to change. As it stands making a cocktail or even a latte seems to be at the detriment to the service of those just wanting a pint. One plus, though a little irrelevant for this time of year, they have made a nice job of the beer garden/outdoor seating area. I may return (perhaps in a few months they will have found the right balance) but I won't be rushing back. read more

Best enjoyed in the sun I'm glad I waited to review this place after a few visits, as if I based it on my first experience it would have been lucky to get 3 stars. It seems they have got their act together a bit, and I'm happy for them. I hope to become a regular here .... Service is very casual, trendy beautiful people are relatively attentive, though quite happy to chat among themselves which can be a bit annoying. The decor is best described as Urban, my favourite part being the mini fire cans they use for ashtrays in the beer garden. The beer garden is awesome, one of the best in town, and you don't get the student masses that other beer gardens tend to attract. It fills fast, so get there early, and they do table service outside, which is a massive bonus - though if you are peely wally like me its often good to walk inside and stop the freckles from merging into one. I can understand some of the below comments about the food, it was my biggest disappointment first time round, but since then (take note Blythe!) the burger has come on leaps and bounds. Its no gastronomic delight, but good modern pub food, and decent sized portions. read more

My friends and I visited Blackbird for brunch on a sunny Sunday, which just called for a beer garden! Although it is a lovely bar/restaurant it wouldn't be my top choice if 'service with a smile' is important to you. All in all the staff seemed somewhat disorganised and quite slow despite the place only being around half full at the time. It's saving grace however was the quality of their food and drinks. Their full breakfast was a generous portion and good value, also including a tea or coffee. Everything was really tasty. Their beer garden itself is also a lovely place to spend a lazy afternoon, especially if you can get a table on the right, which seems to be a bit of a sun trap. I would definitely make a return visit, but hopefully some time will be spent on staff training before I do..! read more

Really enjoyed my first evening in Edinburgh at The blackbird. The service was extremely friendly and the burger was delicious. The bar man was extremely welcoming and enjoyed a lovely chat with him. Definitely coming here again! read more

On a carefree Saturday morning, I wondered past the Blackbird and decided to pop in for a late brunch and a cheeky pint of IPA. The staff were genuinely friendly, the food (Poached egg, bacon and avocado) just right and of course the IPA was the perfect partner. I ate, drank and read the Scotsman, what a great hour that was! read more

the blackbird left me disappointed. i had such high hopes since i'm a big fan of both hamiltons in stockbridge and treacle on broughton street. somehow though, the blackbird doesn't hold the same charm of either of these places and it just fell flat for me. i'd met with a group of yelpers for a pre-theatre dinner and drink and on first entering i really liked the space. there is two rooms (and possibly what appears to be a beer garden out the back...?) that are decorated in a sort of shabby chic old man pub/trendy bar mix. i liked it, definitely the sort of place i would wander into based on appearance alone. the waitress was helpful letting us order our dinners as we arrived when we explained we were happy to have the dishes arrive at different times. i opted for the veggie burger which sounded tasty. it was a mix of chick peas, broad beans, and cumin with a cucumber raita. i definitely thought it would be awesome, but the burger was a bit bland, rather dry and crumbly and i didn't taste any cucumber raita at all. the chips were tasty, they were of the potato wedge variety and could have been a bit more cooked. the small salad was fresh and had a really tasty dressing, which i think was actually my favourite part of the meal! oh wait, that would be the glass of house red, which was fruity and tasty and easy to drink. definitely enjoyed that, but can hardly give credit to the blackbird kitchen for pouring me a good glass of wine. paying at the end of the meal was a bit chaotic. they agreed we could pay seperately, but then just handed us a print out of the whole bill and asked us to tell them how much we wanted to pay. umm ok, not brilliant customer service and i'm pretty sure in an effort to make things easy on myself i may have over paid a pound or two. i put this down to my annoyance of telling the waiter behind the bar what i ordered so he could tell me what i owed but then he just walked away and started talking to one of the other wait staff. so just no, customer service seriously lacking! i'm not impressed with the blackbird and will not be rushing back. it's handy for a pre-theatre drink if you're going to the kings theatre but not much else unfortunately. read more

I never like to leave a bad review for a place and like to give most places a second chance but this is the first time in a very long while that I felt compelled to walk out of a bar due to the service. The decor of the place was great, it looked very appealing from the outside and was pleasant within. Once my girlfriend and myself fought our way to the bar we were greeted by an extremely uninterested barmaid who was more focused on taking shots (yes she did a shot in front of us) than serving customers. After paying what I can only describe as "London prices" for two drinks we enjoyed our drinks while standing at the bar. Meanwhile a guy with disabilities waiting to be served next to us was passed over and ignored by the bar staff for a good 10-15 minutes. The final straw was when two young women approached the bar to be service were encouraged by the barman to push us out of the road to be served even though there was space besides us at the other side of the bar to be served. Once my girlfriend and I were shoved out of the road and drawn dirty looks from the barman I simple put my drink down on the bar and left as I was extremely annoyed by this and didn't want to ruin our weekend away. I would recommend people give this place a wide berth. The staff are extremely unprofessional, drinking while on shift and too busy playing on their mobiles and flirting with each other instead of serving customers. read more

I read a few reviews of The Blackbird online and decided to try it out for dinner with my husband. I believe there is a connection to Hamilton's in Stockbirdge and Treacle in Broughton Street. As I love both of these bars, I had to try The Blackbird! The design of the bar a fabulous! Even before you go in, you can see the orange bike on the roof - such a fun touch. I love the British racing green colour. Once inside, I loved the exposed brick walls and gorgeous, colourful artful. We were lucky when we were there as it was one of the last summer evenings so we got to take advantage to the beautiful beer garden. After we had drinks in the garden, we heading in for some food. We sat in the bar area, although there is a separate dining section too. I had the pumpkin, spinach and pine nut open lasagne which was delicious! Hubs had the fish and chips which he raved about all evening. The drinks menu is brilliant with loads of fun cocktails to choose from. I can definitely see the similarities between Treacle and Hamilton's. I need to come back soon with the girls for cocktails! read more

I've seen this place has had a mix of reviews but I really liked it. I've wanted to try The Blackbird out for ages as I've passed it so many times. I brought my friends here for brunch before they flew back home and we all really enjoyed it. The decor is lovely and it feels nice and cosy. Staff were friendly and the food was good. The price of the food seemed fairly standard. I liked the music playing in the background too. I was checking out some of the cocktails they had listed on the wall and they sounded good so I'll have to come back again to try some out. read more

Popped in here expecting the old mans pub that once sat here for an afternoon in the beer garden, but I was pleasantly surprised at the newly reovated premises. Normally I am not keen on old school dive bars being modernised, but the previous incarnation needed an overhaul. The place is really well presented, with friendly attentive bar staff and huge selection of spirits/cocktails available. They do food but I didnt partake on this occassion. I do plan on returning to sample the menu as the dishes that were going out looked and smelled great. read more

Amazing Burger and the Sunday papers with the dog!! We love dog friendly places and this one is great! Good food, Lovely Cocktails and the pup gets left overs. If you have not been I can Highly reccommend it yum! read more

The Blackbird is a new bar/restaurant near Bruntsfield in Edinburgh. I had read about it in the Evening News and online and decided to try it out for dinner with a group of friends. The bar is owned by the same team who own Treacle in Broughton Street and Hamilton's in Stockbridge. As I am a big fan of both, I had high expectations for The Blackbird, which I am glad to say were exceeded! First of all, the place looks incredible! I remember it when it was the Auld Toll and it is like a completely different place. They have cleverly separated the dining and bar area and there are wonderful exposed brick walls, vintage mirrors, beautiful and colourful artwork as well as a huge Alice in Wonderland inspired mural which is very cool. We were shown our table in the dining area and given menus at once. I found the staff very helpful and friendly, the whole experience was very comfortable. I ordered the crispy chick pea and broad been burger which came with home cut chips. I'm not actually a vegetarian but this looked too good to pass up and it was delicious. One of my friends had the roast half chicken which she loved and my other friend had grilled salmon which I think had chorizo through it. Yum. The drinks list was fab. As I hoped, the cocktail list was just as extensive as Hamilton's and Treacle and the staff were great at recommending drinks for us. We had such a good night at The Blackbird, I am anxious to go back! A brilliant addition to the area. read more

The Blackbird - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, MLN