So,so good. COZY with lovely staff. The food was delicious. We didn't have a reservation on Easter Sunday but they squeezed us in and we were ever so greatful. Best lunch. Everything was fresh and tasty. read more

The King's Wark - Mussels were perfect. Best I've ever had. - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

We had a Sunday roast here while in Edinburgh and it was fantastic. The food was great the pub was a wam and inviting atmosphere and the service didn't disappoint. read more

The King's Wark - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Spent some time seeing what locals considered the best Sunday Roast in Edinburgh for last weekend. Had a ton of voted for Hawksmoor but The King's Wark kept coming up. After checking out the reviews of all the suggestions, The King's Wark was my pick as I adore venison. The space, the service and especially the meal, were beyond fantastic! If you find yourself in town on a Sunday you need to try this place. Family friendly and super nice on your wallet! 10/10 read more

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Definitely recommend! Friendly staff and really good food. Had the gnocchi. Very cozy spot to spend the afternoon.

The King's work is a quaint restaurant with a rich history. The staff were extremely friendly and attentive. I ordered the Haddock Chowder and it was piping hot, creamy, and delicious. It also came with bread and butter which was great complement to the soup. For my main course, I ordered the venison special. Yum. The potatoes were fresh, the carrots superb, the mushrooms amazing and the meat flavorful. Overall a wonderful experience!!' read more

Absolutely fantastic! Ate here purely by accident and it was such a wonderful experience. It's a beautiful pub with the best waitstaff. The drinks were excellent with lots of local options and the food was top notch. My son enjoyed the kid's mussels and we all stole several and dipped our bread into his sauce. The scallops were fantastic and a huge amount for a very reasonable price. The garlic butter on the scallops was also enjoyed by all. Fantastic place! read more

The King's Wark - Scallops - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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Large groups can sometimes be difficult to accommodate but King's Wark did a fantastic job. I couldn't pick out one single dish to highlight because everything was top quality. This place is simply somewhere you have to go to when in Edinburgh / Leith. read more

The King's Wark - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

My daughters and I have been here twice! It was a wonderful experience both times. The chef is innovated. The food was all so tasty! We had an order of scallops both times we were here! The crab app. Was so fresh we thought they had a scuba diver bringing them up fresh along with scallops. Their soups of the day were so great! Flavorful, hearty, and filling! Drinks were amazing. Remember to save room for the desert! You will be happy you did. The portions were enough, that the second time we came we shared a meal, app, and dessert! Dave was our waiter, he added great value to our experience! read more

We had an impromptu dinner here on our first night in Edinburgh and it was perfect! The place itself was super cozy and inviting. The service was excellent - and everyone couldn't have been friendlier. We both opted for the beef stew after a long day of sightseeing in the cool rainy weather and it hit the spot! We felt quite lucky to have stumbled upon this neighborhood gem! Definitely recommend! read more

Hand dived sea scallops as soft as butter. Melted. Sea bass and mashed potatoes Crab and avocado tartar Bread and butter Carrot and cardamom soup Gin cocktails Paired white wines Sticky toffee pudding Whiskey Vanilla ice cream espresso and Kailua read more

Ham hauges yes hauges were delicious! Served on top of rocket. Potato and leak soup very creamy but light and amazing! For dinner I had Ox over pasta with a tomato, carrot gravy....excellent and stick to your stomach delicious! We ate here 3 times! read more

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We always stop in for a pint of 80, and a quick bite to eat, whenever we're in Edinburgh. It's a delightfully cozy little spot in Leith, and there's nothing finer on a fall day than sipping a pint next to crackling fire. The service and food has always been exceptionally good, and we'll definitely be back to refresh our positive memories of this valuable institution in the future. read more

The King's Wark - Pints of 80, Kings Wark. - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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Amazing fish stew, fish cakes, mussels, and burgers. We went there 2 of the 3 nights in Edinburgh. Great staff and service. Wish we were in town longer. read more

Oh wow. Lucky to have stopped by this gem and to get a table. Might have been the best food so far in the UK AND he surpised me with a just as good whiskey. Visiting for the 1st time from the states and just got off the train and was the perfect welcome read more

Lovely place to have a great lunch with glasses of champagne. We visited this restaurant for one of our lunches during our honeymoon. I wanted to have some really nice seafoods, and found great reviews of this restaurant. We made a reservation in advance, because we read that this place is quite popular. But luckily it seemed like that it was a very slow day so that there were just a few parties when we arrived. We ordered appetizers and main dishes. Everything was quite tasty. Very fresh and good seasoning. The service was not friendly that much, and it took a while to get their attention especially when we needed to check out. The restaurant looks quite lovely and cozy. The only reason I rated 4 not 5 stars was, although all dishes were tasty, nothing really stood out enough for me to feel like it was unforgettable. Overall we had a nice lovely meal. read more

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Nice pub for a bite to eat. Dropped in around 1 pm on a weekday to a completely empty place. There's several different rooms to seat yourself. I'd recommend one that's away from the kitchen, unless you want to hear the staff chatting away. They have some lunch sandwich specials-- I tried the beef one. It is typical pub food, but it tasted pretty good. They also had a special on oysters (one for £1.5). With a deal like that, obviously I had to try two. Oysters at a pub, I know, I know... It sounds like a recipe for food poisoning. But they were some of the tastier oysters I've tried! So if they have them when you're there, take the plunge and order some. They also obviously have beer, at decent prices. Service was friendly and upbeat. It never got too busy, which is a plus for me but a shame given the quality here. read more

Visiting Leith on a Saturday evening we decided to see what we could find for dinner. The King's Wark looked promising, though when we arrived it was also fairly empty, which concerned us a bit. It turned out we were just a bit ahead of the dinner rush, so we were given the last table that was not spoken for, a bit of a tight squeeze between two other tables, but still pretty comfortable. The menu was broad, interesting and well priced. Among the three of we ended up going for two starters (to be had as a single main course) of a haggis Scotch egg and bouillabaisse; and two main courses--the fish and chips and roast duck breast with artichoke purée and blackberries. All the dishes were exceptionally good, and very reasonably priced. This was definitely a fortuitous find! For dessert we decided to share two dishes among us--the sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream and butterscotch sauce, and the chocolate and hazelnut tart with espresso ice cream. The former was excellent, but the latter was a bit disappointing (especially since we had misread "tarte" for "torte" on the handwritten menu--our mistake. This was a great little discovery for us, and continues our trend of having not yet found a disappointing meal in Edinburgh and the surrounds. read more

Star down. I visited this last Wednesday and yes it wasn't as good as my first visit. Shame as I wanted to relive the experience. I called beforehand to see if any tables were available, they informed me there was only one - right beside the door. I was not too pleased on that but gave it a good go. On arrival we were surprised how busy it was. FULL on a mid winter wednesday evening? Good thing I 'reserved' the most infamous table of the place. When visiting do not sit right at that table..period. My friend had to keep her coat on during the time there. My wife kept wearing her scarf . On opening of the frontdoor a gust of artic wind kept blowing out the candle on our table. The meal was affected by our uncomfertable position and my saddle of rabbit was served warm but due to the drafty conditions turned cold as soon as i picked up my fork to eat it. The place is great - when your seating is in a warm spot. Unfortunatly this time we didn't and it does prevent me from going here on a whim again. read more

This is the best place to eat in Edinburgh. The pub is stunning, the food is amazing, and the service is fast and friendly. I had mussels and fries - sublime. I've had fries in at least a dozen countries, and these are the best fries (chips) I've ever had. If I could teleport myself back to Scotland, I would hope to land in this pub every time. read more

Brrrrrrr.... It's freezing. Too cold and icy to go cycling, so what shall we do? go out for lunch, of course! We'd never really been to the King's Wark, except for a drink (when we just grumbled about there being nowhere to sit unless you're eating - still true, and worth noting) but after a quick look at Yelp we decided to go. And, yum. Portions are big! We'd really have been better to skip starters, or to share, but that's no fun, is it? I had an amazing bowl of seafood chowder, followed by baked haddock meunière - while J had black pudding salad and lamb. Talk about gender-stereotyped choices...! But girlie and blokey choices were all just delicious, and cheered up the chilly day. Staff are lovely and it's a really friendly place. I'll go back! read more

The King's Wark - Seafood chowder with rouille - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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I shared the Fish and Chips, Haggis Scotch Egg, Prawn Tempura, and Pork Belly. The prawn tempera and fish and chips were really good! The pork belly was so tough and had bones in it- really dissatisfying. And I won't rate the scotch egg because I don't like haggis but my husband said it was good. Overall though it was a cute little place and the staff was very accommodating. read more

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I don't really understand the negative reviews for this place. I came here with my family while visiting Edinburgh and the food was fantastic. Considering it IS advertised as a pub, I'm not sure what people could have really expected...decor/atmosphere wise. But anyway, I thought it was exactly what one (or I) would expect from a pub in Edinburgh with very typical pub food. Maybe I didn't have high expectations, but for a pub, this food was great...compared to the usual food you would get at any bar/pub. I had the seafood chowder which was a bit on the oily side but absolutely amazing and filling. I also decided to be adventurous and try the Haggis which was surprisingly delicious! I can't speak on what anyone else ordered but I did try a bit of the fish cakes and it was decent...nothing special though. The wine selection was also decent, and I had the Chardonnay which was light and sweet as promised. I'd definitely come back...at least for the Haggis. I had no idea I'd be a fan but wow. read more

The King's Wark - Seafood Chowder. Delicious! - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

The King's Wark is one of Leith institutions, located in The Shore area in a 1400's stone & wood building. As we booked a table for 3 we were greeted by our friendly waiter and sat in the restaurant section of this beautiful pub. I got the Beer Battered Haddock with hand cut chips and house tartar sauce (AKA fish and chips), whilst my mates picked the Scottish Angus Burger and the Pan Seared Seabass with potatoes and crème Fraiche. The food quality was very good apart from my soggy and extremely pale chips, a real shame indeed. We then proceeded to dissect an Eton Mess, no surprises there (either way) followed by a couple of espresso coffees. The only negative minor bombshell was the unilateral addition of a 10% service charge on the bill which was not clarified in either menu (the one outside and the table one) ... that meant no tip was needed as they self-grabbed it. Apart from that, The King's Wark worth certainly a visit!!! read more

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A Leither friend of mine raved about Kings Wark, so on a cold February night, the Silent Reviewer and I took off to explore it's offerings. It's a bit of a hidden spot, right in front of your face. I had always thought it was a bit of a old man's pub, but it has dreams of gastronomy, and is not afraid to show them to you. It has a nice variety of options for meals as well, for meat and non meat alike. I decided to be adventurous, and try the crayfish and hot smoked salmon roulade - very rich, and needed something to cut through it, for me - but tasty enough. The boy had the hot smoked salmon salad starter... I had a little bit of envy for that - and it also was a tick in the taste tests. For our mains, he had the burger (went down in a flash) with a bacon jus (OK, so this was pushing the SIlent Reviewer a little too far), and I had opted for the vegetarian haggis Wellington. Sadly, I was given haggis, neeps and tatties. Not a terrible offer, but sent back nonetheless. That meant, whilst tummy grumbling, I had to watch on while the SR muched through his entire meal before mine even showed up, burnt and still incredibly hot. In fairness, bar the fact it was burned and super late, it was pleasant enough. The waitress didn't even skip a beat when she delivered it and called out that we wouldn't be charged - which I didn't expect, and was a really nice touch. But, a little disappointed for our first time there, and means it won't be top of any list any time soon, but neither will it be at the bottom either. read more

The Shore has become the place to go for food when my parents are visiting, after all it's convenient for my flat and there's plenty of eating options in the area. Plus, my mum's a native to Edinburgh and worked in the Newhaven and Leith areas for a few years, so she'll take any opportunity to go down memory lane! Last weekend, after a visit to the museum, we once again came down to the Shore and this time decided on The King's Wark. As we'd just been to see the Mary, Queen of Scots exhibition it felt appropriate to visit somewhere whose history, and name, is strongly associated with the Stuarts. The King's Wark, in common with several other pub/restaurants in the area, has a menu mainly focussed on seafood, along with haggis etc. It's all reasonably priced, verging on pricey for the type of establishment, but given we were just about the only locals in the place (I say local, my parents live in Glasgow) they can probably get away with charging that bit more. That and the food tastes good too. I plumped for the seafood salad for a mains, whole shrimps, battered fish, Queenie scallops, squid etc, which came with a bowl of chips. Boy were those chips good! I don't know if they were triple-fried or whatever else, but they were crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside - perfect. The fish was okay, the main issue being that the shrimps hadn't been prepared so came complete with the vein. I suppose that's what you get for ordering whole shrimps, but it makes for messy eating. My mum had something that came with a deep-fried ball of black pudding, but for the life of me I can't recall what the main component of the dish was. Whatever it was she liked it. Dad had haggis (and a smaller version of my salad) and boyfriend had pulled pork, which he was suitably impressed by. For pudding we couldn't resist getting a portion of the intriguingly named 'Coca Cola Cake' to share. Sticky and more like a steamed pudding than a cake, it was very good. Dark, like a chocolate cake, but not cocoay - the depth of flavour was something more, no doubt the Cola! It was very sweet, as expected, but I found myself eating more than my fair share. Yum yum yum. The King's Wark is perhaps not better than any of its neighbours, but it's still a very solid option on the Shore and steeped in history, if, like me, that's your thing. read more

I really enjoying popping down to the King's Wark for lunch. It's so handy being right next to where I work at Leith. It's also a great haunt on a Friday night with the agency crowd. The bar area is quite small but makes it nice and friendly! The fish and chips are excellent but quite big portions. Defintiely go for their fishcakes and the chips are delicious. Great selection of drinks and friendly staff. Thumbs up from me! :) read more

Really good hearty food and at a decent price too! We came here to celebrate a birthday so we chose somewhere that has hearty food and wouldn't be too expensive as there were 12 of us in all. When we arrived it reminded me straight away of a proper, family pub back home! This in turn put me right in the mood for some mussels (Pavlovian response!) and wasn't I lucky that they were on the menu! The rest of the menu was fantastic, from poussin to pork chop, fish to hare, an amazing selection. Everything looked so good we took ages to decide. I went with the mussels to start, natch, and followed it up with a pulled pork and apple sausage. The mussels were delicious, in a white wine and cream sauce. It was quite a bowlful and I was surprised as it was a big starter. not complaining though! The pulled pork and apple sausage was lovely. Served with black pudding, champ and (be still my beating heart) crackling! They were big portions and by the end I was too stuffed for dessert, which is probably the second time in my life that happened so bravo to The King's Wark! I tried some of the hare from the plates around me and it was cooked deliciously, though I'm not sure hare is my thing so I'm glad I didn't order it for the novelty. I plan to bring my parents here next time they're over. They won't come to The Dogs as it's too 'young' for them, apparently, but they'll definitely come here and the menu is similar. read more

Headed down to Leith to grab a beer and having window shopped a few hostelries plumped for the Kings Wark - mainly because the burger sounded too good to pass up. And it was. Quality meat, (no Aintree tumblers here) in a made to measure bun with proper chips like my dad used to make and smoked applewood cheese topping it off. The other half opted for the risotto, which could have been tastier but a reasonable effort none the less. Not the greatest selection of beers but a good pint of 70 helped the burger go down a treat. Cost-wise it all came in for under £20, which is always good news. read more

Good service, good beers, great atmosphere. Would I live in Edinburgh, serious contender to be my favorite hide out.

I have been to The King's Wark once before, in December, and the party of 3 of us had an enjoyable meal. Food was great, atmosphere great, good service - so I was looking forward to my next visit. Wednesday evening - is it the new 'little Saturday'? It was surprisingly busy, but luckily my husband had reserved a table. Hmm.. the only table they had happened to be just near the entrance, so every time somebody came in there was a strong gust of wind and the poor candle on our table blew out (twice). My friend sat with her coat on the whole time! I asked if we could maybe move to a different table, but I was told that there were other people queuing for tables. Fair enough. King's Wark always have daily specials (fish and seafood). I was trying to decide between wild grilled trout and pheasant - I chose the latter. Oh, I should have maybe gone for the trout.. The dish arrived eventually and it came with gnocchi, beetroot jelly and winter greens. Gnocchi was delicious, I think it was the best part of the meal. Beetroot jelly didn't really do much to the dish, rather than adding a little bit of colour. The pheasant unfortunately was chewy and tough - disappointing. I didn't finish it, as it just wasn't pleasant to eat. Also it didn't have much flavour. I'm not much of a complainer (except on Yelp) so I thought that once they come to clear up the plates, I will let them know about the pheasant. However, busy as they were - this never happened. Nobody came to ask how the meal was. We paid and left. I'm still convinced that King's Wark offers great food. This was perhaps just a unexpectedly busy evening. I am hoping that my next visit will bump up the score to at least 3 stars or more :) read more

No complaints here, other than the pub was freezing. I had to sit with my day-glo cycling jacket on for three whole hours as my teeth chittered away between a wine glass. The door was left wide open for nippit Edinburgh air to cut through an otherwise cosy and traditional place. The seat I was on wasn't too comfortable either, but that probably wasn't helped by me sitting rigid with the cold. If it hadn't of been so bloomin' freezing I probably would have really liked this pub. It should have a great vibe to it... I kind of want it to be one of these old pubs with a Scottish wolfhound flopped down at the hearth of a cracking, cosy fire with his doggy nose on a sailor's booted foot. But it wasn't, because it was baltic. I wanted to imagine Robert Louis Stevenson penning Kidnapped in this pub, supping ale at a rickety table in the corner and looking out over the river for inspiration. But I couldn't, because I thought my fingers were going to freeze off. Food looked great. Must come back here to try grub. Remember to bring duvet to wrap self in. read more

Seems there is a pattern of people feeling cold in that pub. Either the heating is on low, the entrance "doors" inconveniently placed or just poor ignorance to their customer needs. People sitting near the doors can feel inflicted by cold air that comes blowing in. I can imagine that if there should be gales you could be blown out the back entrance! It happened to me. I was not able to lay down my coat. It was too cold. Before I went there for the first time in my life this week, people told me that this is a really nice place to experience good food and a nice fire place atmosphere. None was true. Yes, there is a nice fireplace in the back of the room, but it provides little substitute to the icy wind that sweeps the place. About the service: It was a weekday and the service was slow. It took them a while to take the order. It took them a while to serve the drinks and the food. And it took them "never" to ask us if we wanted dessert or coffee or the bill. Thinking back, they might have not noticed if we would have left without paying! For some people definitely a good thing ;-) About the food: The pheasant was dry and chewy. The bread pieces were not enough for 3 people (I think they mixed up the tables) and were dry. The best part was the Gnocchi. Overall the food was not worth the money. The menu promised an a la cart dinner and the prices reflected the offer. The food might look good on paper, but I believe that the cook had a bad day! Good luck next time, if........! read more

Great spot for an evening time, romantic dinner. My favorite part is the specials on bottles of wine. read more

The King's Wark - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Always a favourite; food at the King's Wark is invariably excellent and fresh. Last Friday proved a partial disaster though: our starters left too little room for us to finish the main courses...! Great mussels, usual tasty haddock and chips, and a lamb pie stuffed to bursting. Next time I'll fast through the day... Atmosphere is lovely too, when not too crowded with standing drinkers. The emphasis is on eating, although it's a charming place to view the world from the bar. Food prices are fine and portions substantial. read more

I've drunk here a reasonable number of times and have generally found the service to be good and the quality of the ales (only a couple of guests) the same. My girlfriend and I ate here on Saturday past though and whilst the bar food may not be up to the standard of the restaurant part it was weak enough to put us off trying the dining room in the future. My roasted veg & beetroot pastie came with good cauliflower cheese but was itself nothing special whilst the steak burger was a good size but apparently tasted like a frozen & processed one rather than the homemade experience expected. We'll be sticking to just the booze in the future. read more

The King's Wark - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Popped in for a late lunch mid-afternoon. I LOOOOOOVED the fish & chips. Service was great, prices more than reasonable. We'll be back and will bring friends. read more

The King's Wark - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

What a surprise, walking distance from our Leith hotel, a gem of a gastropub. Nice folks with great food at a fair price. We loved the burgers, fish & chips, fish cakes and smoked salmon ceaser salad but the star of the show was the sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce. Great atmosphere and nice selection of beer and wine too. read more

Since moving to Leith I have been in need of a place to meet my Sunday hangover munching requirements. Kings Wark has solidly taken up the mantel, you know its going to be worthwhile when you walk in at 2pm and they are still only serving breaky! Me and my fellow hangoveree took refuge at a corner table and nursed our fresh orange while perusing the menu!! My first thought was fry up but after reading the menu I was lead to the french roast withy bacon and syrup. Now all I can say it that it delivered, I mean its french toast so your are fairly limited with where you can go with it but it ticket all the boxes. For me that means plenty of everything, I hate a syrup scrooge!!! Looking at the menu it pretty much covers all the bases if I was going to have a moan Ild say i would like to see eggs benedict on there but thats just cause its my favourite!! In an oober hungover state we were also delighted to see a large free portion of toast and butter brought to us while we waited!! All in all great! Jd = happy man! read more

The King's Wark does an excellent line in well prepared food, served in a traditional pub setting. The place is full of character, housed in one of Leith's oldest surviving buildings. They specialise in seafood, with their specials board usually proving very rewarding. Overall, we said: "I was delighted by the King's Wark. This wasn't my first visit, but I hadn't been along for a good while, so it was great to see their impeccable standards being maintained. In terms of food in a pub setting (pub grub really doesn't quite cover the excellence of what they serve), I can think of few places in Britain that do it better than the King's Wark. I would be very happy to eat here on a regular basis, as their ever changing menu of seafood delights is a guaranteed winner with me." read more

4 stars for feeding a visitor some cracking good haggis! This place was certainly popular. Everyone was looking for a warm place protected from the endless rain. They have good service behind the bar. Be sure to place all orders behind the bar also. Speaking of the bar, I didn't like Deuchars IPA. It was a bit too watery tasting for my enjoyment. Anyway, the haggis came with neeps (turnips) and tatties (potatoes). I'm only translating for visitors since I had these same questions. Great food, though the tatties were a bit bland. Compared to the spicy gritty haggis, maybe bland was needed as something different. Solid pub. read more