When you think Scottish food, you don't think "gourmet."…read more In fact, if you're the average person you probably don't have have even a conceptual idea of what the food is like other than similar to English food. You wouldn't be wrong, but also not the greatest of reputations. Then a place like Makars stands up and says "We can be Scottish and delicious" and the result is a humble restaurant in old town dishing out quality comfort food. I wish I had come here hungover. It's one of those places where everything on the menu seems to be aimed at reviving a wounded tourist. For most people the people will consist of a meat of your choice on top of a mash potatoes of your choice. All of the options looked awesome. I was just coming from an 11 hour flight, so I didn't get too crazy. I pulled trigger on a pork over bacon mash and it did not miss. The meat was exceptionally fall off the bone tender and the mash potatoes were flavorful and complimented the meat perfectly. One bit of advice - the portions are big so either come hungry or consider splitting an entree. I'd feel confident recommending this place to anyone who thinks that the Scots can't cook. It'll prove them wrong.

Having tried unsuccessfully to make a reservation before arriving in Edinburgh, we instead used the…read morewalk-in line, where they take your phone number, give you a wait time and text when your table is ready. Very convenient. The decor is somewhat industrial, probably because of the AC ductwork. Much appreciated during a warm spell in July! Staff were all welcoming and friendly. Service was great! Food came out of the kitchen quickly. It's all about the mash, but the meats stole the show! The lamb shank was large, meaty and complimented by the cheddar potatoes. We thoroughly enjoyed the juicy pork shank with applewood smoked cheddar mash. In addition we sampled the savory beef shoulder with horseradish mash as well as the Lions Mane mushrooms topped with rocket (arugula.) Each was satisfying and full of delicious flavors. Definitely worth the wait!

What an amazing experience. Great historic establishment…read more I got my first taste of Haggis and it was grand. You have to go here !

Well, we had dinner on one of our last nights in Edinburgh, and it did not disappoint! Get your…read morereservations! The upstairs dining room (bar side) is absolutely charming and welcoming, and the staff could not have been better, or friendlier. The food? Come ON! Really grand! We started with the chips and dip (fries with Sriracha Mayo) - they were crisp and the mayo was just spicy enough. My husband had a sizeable portion of fish and chips, which was perfectly cooked, and had a light batter. I had the most delicious burger, with bacon and cheddar; mash on the side. All the food was hot; well seasoned; and quickly served. The Doric has their own GF beer on draft, which is quite good, and a selection of regular beer for those of you who don't need GF. Great selection of scotch, as well. Make your reservation ahead of time, and don't miss the oldest pub in Edinburgh!

Great ambience with historic brick features Bar service was…read moregreat - old fashioned highly recommended Charcuterie is a good choice

After seeing the high reviews on Yelp, I decided to make a reservation for this restaurant. We…read moretrekked up the steps of Advocate's Close to get there. When we arrived at noon (opening time), the restaurant wasn't too busy. There is an impressive bar downstairs with many whiskies. We were led upstairs to the dining area. There is outdoor dining too that would be nice if the weather was warmer. Cool vibe, but it is kind of dark inside the stone walls. The menu is Scottish-focused with seasonal ingredients. We didn't want to overeat, so we decided to share a starter and a main. We got the Scottish venison fritters, which were ok. We enjoyed the pappardelle pasta (roast pumpkin and pecorino sauce, wild mushrooms, spinach, bacon and poppy seed crumb, crispy sage). It was flavorful and didn't feel too heavy. Staff were friendly and it was an enjoyable lunch.

Gord and I had supper Saturday evening at McCowans. It seemed less of a brewhouse and more like a…read moreCanadian or American chain restaurant. I was surprised that we had to go to the bar or use their app to order drinks and/or food rather than have a server come and take our order ... I guess it's more efficient for them as it a pay as you go system. It made it a very impersonal experience. We ordered on the app, which did work well. Gord had a steak and ale pie and said it was good. I ordered chick 'n mix where you choose 2 styles of chicken, 2 sides and a sauce ... I chose chicken wings and fingers, mac 'n cheese and garlic bread, and chili sauce. Despite looking bland, it was good.

I can only imagine the sheer number of Yelpers gasping at the four stars above. To them I say…read moredesist your food snobbery and listen up. With the likes of the over-rated Fountain and the, for me, yet-to-experience-but-often-lauded Caley Sample Rooms in the near vicinity, you'd be forgiven for never trying McCowans. After all it is just some chain-menu, run of the mill, football showing, gastro average Joe. But I would challenge that and say McCowans was an HONEST Joe. In fairness McCowans doesn't try to be something it's not. It doesn't even claim to be something it's not. The food is nothing special, but it's nothing to be sniffed at either. This is the kind of place you can come along to, grab a seat on the deep leather couch in the corner and order a chicken burger, sausage and mash or a curry of the day for only £4. And you know what you'll get? A half-decent gastro meal worth £4. No more, no less. That doesn't sound like much, but I'll bet after you step out of McCowans you'll feel like £4 commands a little more quality than you thought it did. When you consider the number of wannabe quality gastro pubs, for example the infinitely underwhelming 1780 on Rose Street, who charge £6 for a starter and £11 a main, that leave you feeling robbed, questioning where the flavour was, where the ingredients were foraged, what jail their chef just got released from. Okay that last one's a bit harsh - the point is there are plenty of over-priced pubs with fancy menus and zero quality out there. And every one of them will have you appreciating exactly what McCowans is. On top of that they brew their own beers, they have enough telly boxes to play more than one football match at a time, they have oodles of space to lounge, they're right beside a cinema, casino and bowling alley. And they have some of the friendliest, most consistently decent bar staff I've encountered. Honestly I defy you to get served by one of the bearded lads at the bar and NOT be engaged in conversation. Doing their job well. If you're still in doubt, try the Joey Sunday Challenge: When you've had a large weekend, you're feeling a bit tender and looking for something to make you feel a little better. Get on Cineworld online, get yourself tickets to a nice wee movie, and get yourself to McCowans an hour early for a pre-movie bite. On Sundays McCowans not only offer full Sunday Roasts, but even more enticing are the Yorkshire Pudding Rolls. Choose from either Chicken, Gammon or Beef, and they place the meat in a giant Yorkshire, roll that badboy up like a wrap, chop it in half and serve it up with some roasties and a wee jug of gravy. Boom - enjoy your movie! Doctor couldn't prescribe anything better for a sensitive Sunday afternoon. If that doesn't win you over try the desserts.... just wow! And if even that fails, don't worry about it. At least you gave it a try.... **cough**snob**cough**!!

Out of all the places I've been to in Scotland, I think Queens Arms was one of my favorites…read more We had reservations for this place recently and when I took one step inside, I was already in love. I mean who doesn't love a good pub? You get great drinks and great food at an affordable price. As I write it makes me think of think of when Zidane reunites with Freya in FF9. Sometimes we don't wanna eat at fancy Michelin restaurant that has small plates but charges a premium. Sometimes we just wanna cut all the BS and just get a nice hearty meal. And thats what we got. When we sat down we found out that they were doing a Trivia night. Normally I would have told my girl to pick another spot to eat but for some reason I was cool with it. There was even a table nearby with kids(yuck). And you know what? It was fine. That's because we had been sipping on some amazing cocktails. If you also partake, Gin and Mezcal enjoyers will love the Bramble and Hibiscus Crush. What color are Luigi's overalls from Super Mario? That's such an easy question. Wait...what do you mean Luigi's overalls are blue? They are green. Look at this picture onli...Oh... One of the stars of our meal was the Haggis. This was the first time I had ever tried it and after trying it at multiple places Scotland, Queens Arms I feel has done it the best. I love the complexity of the flavors of the meat with the creamy and pepper flavors of the peppercorn sauce. If you've never had Haggis, you definitely have to try it here. The best part is that it comes with mashed potatoes too! Shoutouts to the Fish and Chips if you are also into that. One of my friends ordered that and I definitely had to go back in for multiple bites. Finally the roast. The Sunday Roast should just be an automatic order if you happen to come here on a Sunday. You get so much food and it's all so damn tasty. They'll cook a roast to whatever doneness your heart desires. We went with Medium Rare and it came out perfectly. If you didn't have enough flavors with all the extra sides it comes with, they also give you gravy to pour on anything you want. Thanksgiving basically came early this night. But as I looked around and admired all the bookshelf's and all the families have a nice dinner with their loved ones, I just thought about how happy I was. I was finally here! This was the start of my trip. Queens Arms has set a high ceiling on great experiences in Scotland. We even went back there a couple of days ago just because we knew we would be able to end the night on a good drink. But in the end I think if you are Edinburgh, you have to come to this place. It is one of my favorite experiences I've had in Scotland so far and I dream about when I can come back again.

Came here on our first night in town on the strength of the Yelp reviews and were not disappointed…read more We enjoyed a fantastic Sunday roast including a delicious pavlova for dessert. The kids meal of mac and cheese and fries was perfect for our picky little eater, though big enough for at least two!

food: we think it's the best scottish can get. authentic flavors but definitely elevated past the…read morenormal. my favorite parts were the haggis and the sticky toffee pudding service: nice staff ambiance: cozy, seems to be more of a local spot, didn't see many other tourists

Scran and Scallie is Gaelic for food and drink, and they hit both right on the mark. We were able…read moreto get a lunch reservation for our entire party of 8, which was great. Drinks menu was varied and innovative and very fun. Lunch was absolutely amazing, each member of our party was so happy with their choice and super pleased with this lovely establishment. Make a reservation as they are very popular.

This place was such a nice surprise! I had low expectations for the food here given it is a pub but…read morethe food was so good, my sister and I came back two days in a row on our 5 day Scotland trip. We loved the cauliflower bites with bbq sauce! My sister has a gluten intolerance and they had a separate gluten free menu and were open to changing the dishes to be gluten free! They were very honest about possible cross contamination but my sister said it was okay for her intolerance. The servers were all very quick and lovely as well!

This was the first place we ate at on our trip to Edinburgh and it took immense self control to…read morecontinue 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!

We came here because it was convenient to our hotel. Once we walked in, the place was empty except…read moreone table. They had numerous bartenders behind the bar, yet we could not get served. Once we finally got served, they would walk by us and never follow up again about needing additional drinks. We sat there for a while with empty drinks and could not get any service. Due to that we ended up paying our tab and leaving. They also had numerous bar flies flying around the bar and the taps. Even though it was convenient, I would not return.

I gotta be honest on this one, I have never had a scotch egg, nor Camembert. But these were…read moreamazing. The scotch egg is surrounded in sausage and deep fried. The Camembert, I found out, is cheese and jam. The bar tenders were super nice and we got out food really fast! This is a bar (18+ in Scotland) so it is a bit noisy! Amazing service and food though

I wondered if I'd feel guilty whilst drinking cask ales at a traditional Scottish pub, right…read moreoutside of a church. Nope. It was brilliant. This place is grand...and by grand, I mean chill and comfy. Great for crews to relax and have philosophical debates and enjoy some beer. Love it.

I love the cosy, hidden away feel of St Vincent bar. I really do feel like it's been hidden away…read morefrom me for some reason, and the only reason I learned of its merits was because my brother was participating in a Poker tournament here one evening, and so I came along to basically peek over his shoulder and embarrass him and put him off the game by asking stupid questions. While I was there though, I thought, what the heck, I'll have myself a cheeky half pint (it was a Sunday, so I was winding down from the weekend) and take in the atmosphere. It was one of the pretty few and far between bars in Edinburgh where I felt completely comfortable and part of the banter within five minutes of being in the place. St Vincent is frequented by a lot of regulars, but not the kind of regulars that put their pint glasses down and fix you with a steely stare in silence as you creak the pub door open, and then through which you inevitably awkwardly feel like you should creep back out of again. All in all, this is relaxed and welcoming bar to attend of an evening, and if poker is your forte, you can play your heart out on a Sunday evening.

Nice chicken dinner and the onion rings were beautiful. Some fab cocktails and brilliant service…read more Great place

We had the best food and service thus far on our trip! It's a nice cozy pub, not too crowded and…read morevery friendly folks taking care of us! Their Steak pie was perfection with the mashed! And the fish and chips were also very good and we've more than our fair share this week!! And they carry my new favorite beverage!