I usually avoid restaurants in touristy areas, and despite being on the tourist-congested Victoria…read moreStreet, I had to stop into Bertie's on a friend's recommendation (and was surprised by how much I liked it!). The Lemon & Herb Baked Fish was so flavorful and juicy. I tried a Deep Fried Mars Bar for the first time and loved it (I don't know what it reminds me of, but it's crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside, and hot enough to burn the top of your mouth). The star was definitely the Breaded Haddock. I've had fish and chips around the UK for much cheaper, but at a slightly higher price point you get a perfectly crispy piece of fish with double-fried chips. It's really more about the experience of being in a posh fish shop. It's packed with tourists, so you'll be handed a map of the city at the end -- which I found to be pretty funny given I was living in Edinburgh at the time and came with another local. But it's charming and certainly worth a visit.

We recently spent two weeks in the UK, and by the time our final full day had arrived, I still…read morehadn't tried vegan fish and chips, so when I saw Bertie's was nearby, I decided that's what I wanted. It was super busy and full, but we were seated at a table in the corner rather quickly, and since we already knew what we wanted (vegan fish and chips for me, a veggie burger for my son), we ordered, and the food came relatively quickly. My son liked his burger, but the fish and chips? A total disappointment. The "fish" was clearly a premade option from the store, and it was so dense and hard that I could barely finish it. The chips were fine but no flavor so I needed to add salt. The plus was the vegan tartar, which tasted quite good. And of course, I added vinegar. But I was bummed that the ketchup and mayo was in little Heinz packets instead of bottles. This is so unnecessarily wasteful and also kind of a pain to constantly be opening and squeezing them. Our service was friendly and quick, so that's great, but everything else was pretty meh, and to be honest, I don't think I'd come back here.

Absolutely delightful, wholly gluten free food stand. Tupiniquim as an excellent variety of crepe…read moreoptions from savory to sweet - I got one of each (Steak pancake + avocado and the nutella crepe). I sat and enjoyed them but they would make easy walking food, too. Service was quick and the owner was kind and amenable to my questions. Sitting area near by was clean and accessible!

Cute place that used to be a police box…read more 100% gluten free eats here. They have crepes stuffed with all kinds of yummy goodness. I tried the Chicken Curry Piri-Piri. The flavors blended perfectly and it was worth the long walk in the rain to get it. They have a little seating area next to it but it's all exposed to the elements. After you eat you can always go for a stroll through the Middle Meadows Walk or just people watch.

Excellent place to go in the morning for breakfast pastries and coffee. Loved going there while…read morestaying nearby. Let me know when you open a second location in Illinois! :)

Pretty busy with a long line on a Saturday morning. Employees were very friendly and efficient…read more We shared the hazelnut & oat pain au chocolat and the mortadella, pesto & mozzarella filled croissant. Both were pretty solid but not mindblowing. They initially gave us one wrong pastry but they immediately swapped it out with no questions asked after I brought it up. Not a bad place to stop by for pastries if in the area. Seating very limited.

So, first day of opening, I headed to Sugar Daddy's. It is a completely gluten free bakery and they…read morecan also cater for other free from which is going to give them brownie points from me. The bakery is based on Rodney St, other side from the Marshmallow Lady. They have some seats inside (about 6 perhaps) so you can sit in and grab cake and coffee. The seating area was full when I visited and I wanted cake to take away. They had some cookies (60p each), brownies (£2.20 - £2.50 each) and a couple of cupcakes including red velvet (£2.50). I grabbed a white chocolate blondie and a red velvet to go. I was surprised at so many brownies available (normal, peanut butter, salted caramel, etc) as many gf people have brownie fatigue as thats traditionally the only cake we'd be offered. Service was friendly and helpful. There is a loyalty card - collect the stamps and after six, get a freebie. So, the taste test. I tried a bit of the blondie as I was wandering to Stockbridge. Very sweet, and I'm a sugar junkie so I was glad I only had a couple of little bites as I think the full thing would be too much. I was saving myself for the red velvet cupcake. It was disappointing which I hate to say as I love that places like this are popping up and catering to gf. I could see the top of the cupcake was cracked so I thought this might mean it was overbaked and it was :-( In the interests of research, I ate it all but it was consistently a bit hard throughout. I did like the icing, really good and not fake sweet like Bibi's had ended up. So, 3 stars. I wasn't wowed but I'd return once the hype has died down to see if the cupcakes are better.

For my 100th review it had to be something special so what better way than to review a 100% gluten…read morefree bakery. This was our 2nd attempt to visit as when we visited the 1st time it was closed. The inside of the bakery was very retro which i loved and the display case had 10 different cakes to chose from!! There are little lables attached to each cake as some are also vegan and nut free. I chose the ginger cake and my bf had the mint choc brownie. Both were huge slabs of cake for £2.50. They really dont scrimp on portion sizes. My ginger cake was amazing if slightly on the sweet side. I sampled the bf's brownie and it was really nice. I brought home some cupcakes and also a pizza scone to try. There are 6 bar stools to use if you want to sit in but unfortunately they dont have any soft drinks which is what stopped this from being a given a 5 star review. Will definitely be back when visiting 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.

Food & service were excellent! Restaurant with nice bar & plenty of indoor seating with limited…read moreoutdoor seating. Popular place! Definitely make reservations.

Stopped by this spot for Italian while walking around Edinburgh and had a nice experience overall…read more We ordered the minestrone soup, penne pomodoro, and a margherita pizza. The soup was warm and comforting and came with a piece of bread on the side. The pasta and pizza were both a little saucy, but tasted very fresh. I also liked that they added fresh parmesan on top of the pasta. The ambiance was really nice and there was plenty of seating. For dessert, we shared the Coppa Rocher sundae with pistachio and chocolate ice cream topped with whipped cream. The ice cream was very creamy and it was a great way to end the meal. The servers were friendly, and the food came out without too much delay.

Excellent food and service! Perfect spot after hiking Arthur's Seat. Eggs Benedict and the Hash…read morewere both yummy.

If you're in the Royal Mile in Edinburgh and it's time for breakfast this is the place…read more A hint is the Little Larder is next door and open for breakfast so this is the place to eat. The larger restaurant is amazing for all the other meals but the little larder is an amazing breakfast spot. The service is excellent and they treat you like family. Helpful and very accommodating if needed. The place is small (hence little larder) but worth any wait as you will not be disappointed. Go, order the traditional breakfast and coffee or tea, sit back and enjoy.

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.

I've heard so many great things about this spot that we were lucky to get in. Got there at the…read morevery end of the night and the manager gave us a booth. There are 2 levels for seats and the place was full and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. The noise wasn't as loud as I would have expected for the amount of people there. The food was delicious but the proportion was a little smaller than I wanted. The cost was also a little higher than I would have expected to pay but I'm happy to have eaten here. Good selection of entrees, great selection of mashed potatoes, and a decent selection of desserts. The staff were very friendly and professional. May come back and try other items like the appetizers.

Such a friendly and beautifully set restaurant. The food is picturesque and top notch. Everything…read morewe had, from the large portions of bread paired with roasted red pepper humus to the flaky and flavorful cod, was exceptional. The wait staff is helpful as well as friendly. They prepared a table for us even amidst a packed house. Know that this is not just a restaurant, it's a date night restaurant. We brought the kids, which was perfectly okay, but the setting and price is more date night worthy. This place is terrific! Enjoy!

Howie's was our first dinner stop on our first day in Scotland. I wanted a nice restaurant that had…read morea vegetarian version of haggis (so I could dive right in...), and we had made a reservation weeks in advance of our trip. All good! This Howie's location is on Victoria Street (one of the most photographed streets in the world and the visual influence for Harry Potter's Diagon Alley...it's a few minutes' walk from the center of the Royal Mile, so the location is fantastic. Our reservation was on the early side, and the host made a point of telling us a couple of times that they'd need the table back after a certain period of time. We don't really dwell for hours in restaurants, so that note is not something we really needed, and after seeing it in the reservation confirmation, as well as being told twice by the host, there was a little bit of a feeling that the entire purpose of us being at Howie's was to get out as soon as possible so they can have the table back. Besides that tone-setter, the service and food were fantastic. Our server took a lot of time going through the options with us...she gave me a good perspective on the vegetarian haggis I was getting to help me contextualize its flavor and texture with the real thing, and was very nice! The asparagus and pea risotto I had was also beautiful and had good flavor. As a vegetarian, I appreciated that the menu had everything labeled with dietary restrictions. (which seems to be more of a standard in the U.K. than in the U.S., but this was our first dinner stop in the country, so it's worth noting.) Howie's gave us a good introduction to Scottish cuisine. Its location couldn't have been better, and our server was aces. I hope we gave the table back in time to not cause a panic. ;)

Wonderful! The menu is interesting and memorable, the ambience is laid back and very cool, and the…read morestaff are warm and lovely!

This is one of those places where the apps look so good that you just want to order them all - or…read moredo as I did and get two as your entree. The smoked duck was moist and flavorful, steeped in a broth full of citrus and umami. The tandoori fish cheeks were also super tasty and larger than I expected. My friend's scallop app was perfectly cooked. And the icing on the cake - the massive side of perfectly crisp shoestring fries that we ordered and devoured. A great special occasion restaurant.