We stopped here on two different occasions in one night. For dinner: mushroom soup (the single special menu item) was bland and tasteless. Haggis was mushy/watery. Heads up - they ask if you want bread and olive oil but don't tell you it's a charge of 1.6 pounds. We decided to come back later for dessert because we thought the banoffee pie looked good. We stood there in the foyer for a good five minutes as someone (the owner?) behind the bar was rustling about and two waitresses walked to and from the bar. Not a single person acknowledged us the entire time we were standing there. Felt like I was being purposefully ignored! Finally after ~5 minutes I asked if there was seating and I was told a flat 'no'. It was 9:15pm and the restaurant closes at 10pm. We could clearly see there were open tables. If she had only asked I would've mentioned we just wanted fast dessert. Overall really mediocre food and terrible, rude service. read more

Howie's is indeed an Edinburgh institution, deservedly so, and you're almost sure to get a very decent meal here for a very decent price. They seem to have abandoned the fixed price menu - or had last night at any rate. It always made group bookings so much easier to manage when it came to splitting the bill. But the prices are still fairly reasonable - £4ish for a starter, £10 to £16 for a main course and £4 to £6 for desserts. Importantly, they let you bring your own bottles which can help to alleviate the cost of eating out somewhat - particularly if you drink as much as I. I haven't been to the Victoria Street place before. I'm a Bruntsfield girl by preference. But the food was pretty good. I had a very tasty haggis as a starter and then a half disappointing vegetable strudel which looked a little less appealing that it turned to be. And then I had some very nice cheese though oh my, the oatcakes were hard as hard cardboard. I can't comment on the wine as we guzzled our own. And the general decor and ambience of the place was very nice. Bustley enough to be good for groups - or pairs where conversation might be flagging. The waitress was a bit of a sourpuss was my only criticism. But maybe she was having a bad day. read more

I've been in Edinburgh visiting for a few days now and this is the best dinner my mom and I have had so far! Great selection on the menu. We got the house made bread, olive oil/balsamic, hummus, and olives to start. The hummus and bread was amazing. For my main I got the pan-fried gnocci (more than delicious) and my mom got some sort of chicken dish with cauliflower puree and roasted potatoes. She loved it. For dessert we had the howies famous banofee pie (amazing) and the scottish cheese sampler! Cheese sampler was okay, my mom and I like to try new things, but since we are just visiting and haven't had Scottish cheese before, we didn't like it very much. But if you like cheese, I recommend it. We got their early dinner deal (2 courses for 14.95, Sunday-Thursday, from 4:30-6:30?) which is more than a great deal! Highly recommend Howie's. read more

One of my favorite meals out in a long time! We enjoyed this enough we went back two nights running - and enjoyed both. The location is right by the castle, so easy to find for new people to the city, and both nights we arrived as they opened for dinner at 5:30. The restaurant is nice and atmospheric - one night I could watch the pass from the kitchen, which was neat, and the beer suggested by the waiter was the best I'd had in Edinburgh (Stewart Ales Holyrood, for those interested). I had the soup, the stuffed chicken and a side of chips each night, and it was lovely. The icing on the cake is they catered very nicely for my wife, who has celiac disease and we struggled to find placed to eat out (hence, we went back). read more

Amazing! Best Cullen Skink in the city. I also ordered the Haggis, Neeps, and Tatties and they were fantastic. I will be visiting again next time I am in Edinburgh. read more

What a delicious night spent with friends. Loved every minute of it. Bustling atmosphere and full of beautiful food to boot. Great little find. First time here and hopefully not the last. read more

Went to Scotts Kitchen upstairs. It's not on here, but excellent! Just walk in & try anything.

We are glad to have stopped at your establishment for lunch. We chose a two course and three course. The selections were good for starters, main, and dessert. I chose curried split pea soup and slow coated lamb with roasted potatoes. I loved them. Maybe I was famished. My friend had mussels, and salmon dish. We shared cake quite well done. We chose this place as we couldn't get the crispy pig skin from Oink unless we bought buns with it. read more

The food is always very well presented and the staff are always chatty and make you feel special. I love going along to the one on Waterloo Place especially. It is a very interesting building full of character. I would recommend this place for sure! :-) read more

Late May 2018: Visited once for lunch and once for dinner. Very good food and drinks. Steak was excellent. Staff were a bit overwhelmed.

Fantastic, affordable, quick lunch with great Scottish fare and plenty of options I would say most Americans would be happy with (steak, chicken, salmon). I had haggis starter and chicken main. Both very good. They have a 2 course lunch special for 10.95! read more

Exceptional service: friendly staff (host and servers) explained the menu and answered any questions. The food was delicious and savory! I also us the dessert (strawberries and cream) also delicious. Recommend this place highly! read more

There was about half hour minutes to 45 minutes wait for this place and I can see why. For entrees for two, we chose fish. All I remembered is that it was really fresh and very well seasoned. Then we had the banana cream pie and that was just such a great way to end a nice dinner. read more

Food is good, but the service is lacking. First place in Edinburgh where the servers really don't care. Getting drinking water was like pulling teeth. When asked about peanut allergies they shrugged their shoulders and said "maybe at the factory?" Anaphylaxis is serious stuff, so I think we'll go elsewhere next time. read more

Cozy and welcoming space. The staff were all really nice and especially kind to our 7 year old. The food was very good, not excellent, but tasty and really hit the spot for us. We'll visit again next time we are in Edinburgh. read more

Wonderful dinner at Howie's. Absolutely loved the haggis appetizer, fish chowder and the salmon entree. Desserts all excellent as well. Will return next time in Edinburgh! read more

What a great find on a small road. The food is solid, and it made for a perfect first meal in Edinburgh for me. I got the casserole of the day (beef), and husband got the venison. We also had cullen skink, which I'd never heard of, but is apparently a classic. I asked what vegetarian haggis was, and it was described as vegetables made to taste like real haggis. I wish I tried their haggis (vegetarian or classic). The casserole was solid, and the venison was quite good. I LOVED the cullen skink. Service is wonderful, vibe is casual (great after a day of travels and adventures), and prices very reasonable. read more

Had a delicious lunch here. Even had the haggis as an appetizer. Remarkably mild. The staff was very attentive and the meal an overall good experience read more

Howie's was recommended to us by our Rabbie's tour guide. Great tip. Best restaurant we visited on our trip to the UK. Lots of good local fare, unique to visitors (like me) from the U.S. Service was great. Whiskey and beer selections were perfect and the location was amazing. A short walk to the castle. read more

The hotel we are staying at recommended Howie's as a great restaurant to go to. When I initially saw the place, I thought it would be too upscale (I'm a big fan of comfortable pubs and restaurants with amazing food). The staff was great, the food was amazing, and the interior was beautiful (high ceilings and a clean Victorian look). The only reason why I'm giving them 4 stars instead of 5 is that i had ordered soup and they forgot. We ended up having our soup after the main meal. The staff was very apologetic and didn't charge us for the soup (which was really good btw). read more

Yummy authentic food at a fair price. Haggis was delicious followed by a lamb cassaerole better than my Mum made. No small accolade !

The food was absolutely delicious! But our server was a bit off his game or something. Had to ask for menus then ask again for a kid menu. Kinda slow too. But the food and atmosphere well made up for it. I had a traditional Scottish venison stew that was the best I've ever eaten. Tender meat. Tasty gravy. Good quantity. The soup appetizer was also exquisite. Very enjoyable meal. read more

Howies is a fantastic restaurant. It is the definition of Scottish dining. Fresh food and cooked to perfection. I had salmon with samphire. I will definitely be returning to the restaurant as the staff were extremely lovely and so was the food! read more

Howies Restaurant was recommended to us by our tour guide because we wanted to eat Haggis. The maitre de was very serious when she greeted us and took us back to a rather charming dining area. The carrot coriander soup was spicy and delicious. Skink was food - a Scottish fish stew. I tried my first Thistly Cross Cidar that is made just 10 miles away and it was refreshing. The Haggis was fantastic-I am officially a Haggis Fan! It was peppery, savory, and filling served with mashed sweet potatoes and mashed turnips. My family also ate the lamb stew that wad super. Would come back here for the delicious food. read more

Went here for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Nice interior and a good varied menu. The special of the day was a lovely venison steak. The staff were friendly and helpful. Nice central location if you plan on going out afterwards in the Grassmarket/Royal Mile area. read more

It's not a bad place if you are looking for a Scottish restaurant. We had a surprisingly affordable 2-course lunch menu. The service was a lot slower than I'm used to (maybe that's a European thing?) but our server was extremely nice and friendly. The food was average except for the banoffee pie. That was definitely the highlight of our meal. So delicious! read more

Had the beef casserole. Was alright, but nothing to write home about. Also they "discretely" add a service charge and awkwardly ask if you would like to add the tip at the time of check out. Other than that, food was good. read more

Decent food, reasonably priced and in a central location. Came here while visiting the area with my fiance.

I ate here in October 2015 and it was fabulous. We had the haggis and the chicken liver pate, along with a flight of Scotch whiskeys, and it was really superb. The quality of the food was excellent, the staff was professional, the decor was perfect for the experience. I hope I get back to Edinburgh so I can eat there again! read more

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I liked my Chicken - a simple dish but with lots of taste. The Banana desert was also great. My mother also liked her Salmon with lentils. However, service's timing was off and my father's Hake was so salty it was a challenge to eat. The waitress was nice enough to offer him a coffee on the house, though. We also noticed they made people wait even though tables had been available for at least 15 mins. read more

We happened upon Howies by chance and are so glad we opened the door andxtre walked inside. The roasted rump of lamb was tender and flavourful, the salmon tasty and cooked just right. The option of a slightly smaller portion of wine was brilliant . Desserts? I've had a few of those in my travels and this sticky toffee pudding will be hard to beat. The chocolate espresso mousse was extremely smooth, not overly rich and begged to be finished. The service was attentive , the greeting professionally warm. We will repeat the visit soon . Updated : After going through the menus and searching for a new place to try,we chucked the hunt and returned to Howies the next night. Better than ever, now our favorite place in Edinburgh. Our highest compliments to the chef! Thank you for another brilliant dinner. read more

Great service, drinks and food. Our family of 7 had a wonderful meal here after a long and hot day of touring the sites in Edinburgh. Every dish we ordered was amazing, and the whiskey flights were fun for the group to sample. read more

This place was a culinary highlight of our visit to Edinburgh. We found it completely by accident and immediately noticed that the place was full. Taking it as a good sign, we asked the hostess if she could accommodate four of us for dinner. 45 minutes wait completely worth it. Every dish was cooked to perfection (I enjoyed a lamb and my husband had some fish dish), presentation was beautiful, and wine was reasonably priced. In fact, we enjoyed it so much that next morning we were at the Howies doors by noon to check if their lunch menu is as good as their dinner. And we were not disappointment. There were no many kids (actually, no kids except for ours when we visited), but the restaurant has limited kids menu. read more

Squeezed us it even though we didn't have a reservation. Busy place. Servings are a bit small so definitely get a starter. Great staff! Food was out fast and delicious. read more

Excellent food. We ordered the gnocchi, tender stem broccoli, and banoffee pie for dessert. Every dish had such a unique flavor combination, and I am so sad that as a foreigner visiting Edinburgh, I won't have the opportunity to eat this food back home. I appreciate the seasonal menu, and highly recommend the three dishes we had! Although I'm sure the other dishes are excellent too:) read more

Two of us went to have a nice dinner at Howie's. Everyone was courteous and the food was delicious. Though the service was very friendly, there were some moments we could not get anyone's attention. For the price, I thought the atmosphere/decor was a little underwhelming. The cooking on the night we went was excellent. Overall, I'd say it is worth booking and going. read more

Good food, a good menu, and a nice atmosphere. Surprisingly for its location not too expensive.

Greetings from NYC! Loved it here. Walked in for a late lunch after visiting St. James Court Factory Outlet. I had bread w olive oil, 175 Chile's sav. Blanc (great bargain for NYers), calamari and salmon. Salmon was moist and good. The breadcrumbs on top of it were good too. The calamari was crunchy and good too. 2 courses for L9.95... Great meal! I'll return the next time I am in EDI.... read more

We came here on a stop on a food tour and had the cullen skink soup. My husband loved it, I thought it was okay, but I'm not a fan of smokey flavors. We decided to come back for dinner. It received only 4 stars because they were busy and service became slow. The meals were delicious! Pan fried gnocchi, beet root for me and the ribeye for my husband. Both were great! I am normally a filet fan, but I have to say it was one of the best cooked pieces of beef I have had. The sticky toffee pudding was ok. read more

Howies Restaurant was the food highlight of a short break in Edinburgh, it was highly recommended by our hotel (Tigerlillys) and rightly so, the food was outstanding. It wasnt busy at the time but the atmosphere was still good, friendly staff, good table by the window and a nice bottle of wine. Cant remember what we ate but my boyfriend had a chicken dish and i had food envy!! read more