Makars Gourmet Mash in Edinburgh, City of

Wordless. I would return a thousand times more. With drink and tip I spent 28, on the best meal of my euro trip and UK. Incredible

I have a very good experience in this place, we were lucky to enter and the truth is that it did not disappoint us at all. The food was delicious and the staff is very friendly and attentive, especially the guy at the door (sorry, I can't remember his name) and Roman, our waiter. Thank you for such good service!

The food here really was very good. Very much recommended. Definitely worth grabbing a dessert also.

The vegan haggis, scotch egg, and sticky toffee pudding was amazing. You can choose to customize the mash which is awesome. Staff is super helpful and the wait was super short.

Cozy place with absolutely everything delicious!!! The team provides all the attention in the world. Special thanks to Jess, Rae and Henrique (who assisted me in Portuguese so I could choose the food). It's common to have a 30-minute wait, but I guarantee it's worth it. I recommend it as a mandatory stop in Edinburgh.

Finally popped into Makers Mash, and found their reputation to be justified. Excellent large portion of slow-cooked lamb shank, it was perfectly cooked/flavoured. The smoked applewood mash complimented it perfectly. Based on the location, the prices are fair. The service is very friendly, and relaxed. I walked in and was told there was a wait time of around 20 minutes, they took my number and texted me when my table was ready. An excellent system. I would definitely return.

Service and food were both great, but extremely busy and eye-wateringly expensive. Fun idea - who doesn't love mash? But unfortunately cannot justify returning our recommending!

Delicious food at reasonable prices. Highly recommend the veg haggis and mustard mash. The Lionsmane mushrooms are good too. Staff are very friendly.

The food was so delicious! The waiters were so friendly and attentive. Caitlin and Paw, especially! Also, the host was so professional! Highly recommend!

Absolutely outstanding mash bar, would have ti recommend. Can be slightly noisy during peak hours but does have friendly and efficient service.

Lovely, attentive staff, we ate really well and had good energy

Absolute favourite place in Edinburgh to eat the scotch egg starter is out of this world staff polite and friendly can't wait to go back

I think their food is delicious😋especially the beef shoulder and scotch eggs! Whenever I want to eat mashed potatoes, I come here haha. I saw someone in Xiaohongshu complaining about their taste. I can only say that it varies from person to person! And I've been to their restaurant almost 10 times, and I've never encountered a rasist...especially since you can see their Chinese menu when you walk in, and the little brother specially learned Chinese to help with ordering and recommendations. Very considerate! The only drawback is that you have to wait and the environment is not quiet. All in all, it is a very casual restaurant👍🏼the food was great and I would recommend it to friends!

Outstandimg food with reasonable pruces

We used the walk-in side of the restaurant. We were put on the waiting list and after 10 minutes got a text to say our table was ready. The staff were so friendly and the service was quick. The lamb shank was so tender and delicious. Mash was creamy and tasty. 10/10!

Great food !!! You pick the dish you want then you select which mash you want. I had the haggis with horseradish mash and it was dee ! Licious ! Staff were great too !

Ate here yesterday and it was absolutely amazing food. We booked purely on the back of other reviews and was worried that maybe it wouldn’t live up to the hype - however I can say that it exceeded all of our expectations. The staff were very attentive throughout, friendly and helpful. Our party had the lamb shank and the beef - my friends sad the malnourished was veg tender, falling of the bone and just a job to eat. I had the beef and again the meat just faked apart, was moist and tender, and had no fat in it at all which made it just perfect. Clean plates all round! For pudding they recommended the sticky toffee pudding so we tried that and an apple and peach crumble - the crumble was very good but the sticky toffee pudding was amazing! We left very happy with our meal and all agreed it was ur favourite meal of the whole weekend that we were there. We will definitely return on future visits.

Grab a pint and the lamb shoulder with scotch eggs and you will be in heaven. Great spot for a quick bite but please make a reservation. Get the black pudding mashers as well.

People are so nice and welcoming here. And all those terrible stories about haggis are completely unfounded) here it was tasty. My personal favorite is their mushroom specialty.

Everything from start to end was incredible. The staff was amazingly nice and helpful, food was insanely good..

Easily the best food so far on our Edinburgh trip. I got the haggis with mashed neeps and black pudding mash. 5/5. Everyone else loved their meals. The service was top notch. Shout out to Rae and Flame for making us laugh and giving us great service.

Tasty food good service nice atmosphere.. One gripe tough..gents toilets were not clean ..

Great Service, Whisky Recommendation, and Food Jacek provided excellent service, recommended a fantastic whisky, and ensured a great atmosphere. The food was also delicious, making the whole experience truly enjoyable. Highly recommend!

Amazing place...food is amazing with lots of choices

Amazing Service and Great Vibes Jacek was an absolute star! His sense of humor and friendly attitude made the whole experience so much better. The food was spot on and he made sure we had a great time.

Very tasty and half the menu is vegetarian or vegan! Long wait if you don't have a booking but the virtual queue works very well

Cheap and good food. I trully recommend of you are on budget trip.

I love the Lamb shank , Beef shoulder & Scotch Egg starter ..

Brilliant food, excellent service!! The onion gravy, cheddar mash, dairy mash and beef shoulder were all OUTSTANDING and we actually ate there twice consequently! Sticky toffee pudding was delightful as well 💖 We just spent several days in Edinburgh and this restaurant tops the list of all that we tried out!

Recommended CELIACOS! Very good and very abundant food. The entire menu is gluten-free, we just can't eat the haggis. Leg of lamb, shoulder of beef, wild boar sausage... a main course is enough since everything is accompanied by mashed potatoes (smoked cheese, bacon, butter, cheddar...). The starters also look very good. The price of the main course is around £18, £22, £23. Quick to serve the food. Very friendly service, Laura also speaks Spanish. They have a menu in Spanish.

Super busy place and I can see why. Best to leave your name down for the waitlist and the wait was quicker than what they had told us which was a welcome surprise. Service was great and the food measure up to their high rating on google.

We tried a variety of dishes. The Haggis sample is almost a meal in its own and was very good. They had curried cauliflower soup and my wife really enjoyed it. We each also got a main and mash, l had the sausage with the bacon chive it's pretty much bangers and mash with a dark sauce with caramelized onions, my wife had the roast and cheddar mash they were both really good also. Top notch food and service. Will definitely return on the next trip.

We had the luck of dinner without having a reservation. The food rations were big and delicious, totally worth.

First time there and really delicious food very good service every things was amazing 👏 🤩 and the waiter Rouqu vasilis( hope i wrote the name right) he was very friendly, kind, helpful thanks a lot for the whole employees and special thanks to the cookers for the delicious food.🥰💝

Been here for a late lunch on a first come first serve basis without a booking as they try to accommodate space for walk-ins but advise if you want to make sure you get a table book it in advance. If you love mash it is highly recommended. Simple menu easy to pick something for your taste. Service was great and fast.

Best mash of my life, veggie options incredibly good. Big shout out to the tattooed guy (didn’t catch a name) but made us feel so welcome on our first day in Edinburgh :D

Food and staff incredible, music was also great, loved being here !

Hands down, probably my favourite restaurant we visited during our 5 day trip to Edinburgh. The staff were friendly and attentive. The prices were steep, but well worth it for the quality of the meal as well as the locally sourced ingredients that were used. We had the scotch egg for starters which was perfectly sticky and oozy. Followed by the lamb shank, which just fell off the bone, and the wild boar sausages, which were some of the meatiest sausages I've had. The mash potato, was of course, out of this world. Been added to my top UK restaurants list, and on my personal blog, it has been awarded the highest position on our Gourmet Gauge. It really is a fantastic restaurant and deserves all the credit!

Above average food and whisky. Average service.

Incredible service, generous portions and a very good meal. We managed to secure a table via walk in on a Monday afternoon; which is considerably lucky. Our favourites were the lamb shank and lion mane florets were outstanding. And if you do have for dessert, the sticky toffee pudding was a great way to end the meal.

Overrated. Everything over salted. Though I use quite a lot of salt, the gravy for lamb shank was inedible. The sausage was also over salted and furthermore not the slightest suitable for children. Sadly, very disappointed as I was so looking forward after having waited in queue for 45 min. Waiter also very unsatisfied upon having received our comments.

Was really taken care of by the friendly staff. Had a great meal. Had the lamb shank with sticky toffee pudding after. Really hit the spot.

Fantastic Food. We were delighted. Super nice service

Me and my Girlfriend found this chestnut on Instagram and have to very happy we did. I am a Edinburgh boy and I had idea your establishment existed. The scotch egg was lovely however putting a little bit of Black pudding in the sausage meat every now and then I feel would be a nice touch. The Lamb and Chicken where really nice and both gravies where great. We had Black pudding and Horseradish Mash and dipping our broccoli in the gravies made it taste even better. Is your sticky toffee pudding homemade? if not you couldn't tell it was really lovely. And the beverage choices where great. And the Staff where fantastic feelet really welcomed. Will definitely be returning. 5 Stars rating for all involved. I will spread word around with my friends and family and get them to come to the establishment. Take care. 🐻🐻

We booked into Makars Mash Bar after hearing and reading only glowing reviews. Sadly, the food and service were average at the absolute best. As we arrived, the restaurant was clearly very busy, and our table wasn't ready despite booking. We were then stuck round a little corner and seemingly forgotten for a while until someone remembered we were there. We weren't the only ones either, as the table next to us asked if they were supposed to go up to the desk to order as they'd been waiting so long. To be fair though, once ordered, the food arrived in double-quick time. The haggis was quite good but nothing like the glowing reviews had suggested it would be. The wild boar sausages, though - oof - they arrived as if they'd been freshly chopped off King Charles' hand. They were undercooked and personally not the texture you want from a banger. Most of this dish was sent back uneaten. To be fair though, the sticky toffee pudding ordered for dessert is really rather good, although it was slightly disappointing that there was no option for custard rather than ice cream. Finally, when it came time for the plates to be cleared away and to be provided the bill, we had seemingly been completely forgotten again. We had to ask multiple times for the bill, and then again when we wanted to pay for the meal itself. All together, Makars Mash Bar doesn’t really live up to the hype.

The food was amazing, one of the best lamb I ever had. The serving was good. Our friends had beef also which was delicious.

The most amazing food! The haggis and beef was insanely good, Thanks to Scott and Ash we had an amazing experience, highly recommend :)

Best vegetarian haggis and mashed potatoes ever tasted!! Everything was so perfect and the staff really welcoming. Alan and Caitlin did a great job.

Every plate was delicious, mainly because the sauces, from the mini haggis to the lamb, the beef and even the sticky toffee, every sauce was so well done!!!

Everything was great! Good portions, yummy food, amazing desserts, good price… 10/10! Ash and David were lovely serving us, efficient and nice.

Very good food. We went as a group and ordered different plates, all very good!

Vasilis was very kind and helpful! The best food in town !

Had a wonderful time stopping by here for dinner while solo traveling. The wait time was minimal and the food was phenomenal. The vegetarian options were tasty and the vegan mash was very creamy! Caitlin and Jonny provided excellent service from start to finish with great recommendations. Highly recommend the sticky toffee pudding!

Wonderful! Very warm service and fantastic food. No knife needed for the beef shoulder, it was so incredibly soft, yumm!

Absolutely loved the food best beef I've ever had!! Kids food was fantastic!

Everything wonderful! Delicious food, super nice staff and staff. I recommend booking well in advance because it is always quite full. The meat melts in your mouth and the puree is very soft without an exaggerated dose of butter. With the 80s songs in the background everything was even more evocative. Super recommended!!!

The food is delicious, too spicy (pepper) for my taste. The potato and leek soup, the lamb with broccoli, the haggis with puree and the lamb with cheddar and bacon puree were the orders we tasted.

Have been twice now on visits to Edinburgh and both times the food has been amazing, and the service has been even better! Staff always seem to go above and beyond. They are honestly a credit to the restaurant.

There was a queue out of the door before the doors opened, this place is that good! The variety and choice on the menu is brilliant. Will definitely be coming back next time we visit Edinburgh.

Not to be missed! Tasty and comforting cuisine Warm service

We had an amazing dining experience at Makars Mash Bar in Edinburgh! The food was absolutely delicious, and the variety of dishes we tried exceeded our expectations. The chicken, beef, lamb, and Lion’s Mane mushroom were all perfectly cooked, flavorful, and beautifully presented. The mashed potato options were the perfect complement to the dishes, adding a comforting and traditional touch. The staff were incredibly friendly, attentive, and made sure we had everything we needed. The cozy atmosphere and excellent service made the meal even more enjoyable. Makars Mash Bar is definitely a must-visit spot in Edinburgh for anyone looking for great food and a warm, welcoming environment. Highly recommend!

Amazing mash! Gourmet mash with a great atmosphere. Lamb shank and wild boar sausages were fantastic. Best meal of our UK trip!

Had such an amazing meal, we went out to celebrate our friends last day in Edinburgh! Ashley was an amazing server and really made our experience at Makars a truly special one - thank you, we'll be back!

We found the place on Google Maps, it was the closest restaurant to our location of those we looked at. Total success, we had a lamb knuckle with mashed potatoes with bacon and a haggie. The haggie surprised us for good. And the lamb was delicious. They served us super quickly and were very friendly. Highly recommended!

Fun, delicious, and cozy. Almost everything is gluten free including the beer which I didn’t know going in and love it even more because. 12/10 recommend

Oh my god… the best chicken and cheddar mashed potatoes I’ve ever had. The GRAVY! To die for. Our server Scott learned it was my mom’s birthday and gave her a beanie as a gift! Thanks Scott <3 We love you

first time haggis eater and boy!! we crave for it now!! we can’t have haggis in the US!!🙁

This is our second time coming when visiting Edinburgh and to be honest I don't know that I'd visit Edinburgh without coming here now! The food is amazing, so yummy and cooked to perfection. The staff are all lovely, so friendly and helpful. The beef shoulder is incredible, so soft it just melts in you're mouth! The atmosphere is so chilled and friendly. Definitely recommend. Can't wait to come back ✌️

The place is amazing for insta foodies; but too busy and we have constant feeling they want us to eat faster cause there was a queue outside … Although food is delicious.

Mandatory visit if you go to Edinburgh!! Yes, make a reservation!!! Spectacularly good!!! Very good service, the waiters very friendly and attentive throughout the service offered.

Superb food and friendly staff. Service was spot on highly recommended this place. We had a selection of starters including the wee haggis and the beef with mash for our mains wow. Great place

Went in for a meal yesterday, the food was awesome and the service was mean as 🇳🇿🔥My server Ash was so attentive and friendly, she really made my visit worth it! Will come back next time I’m in Edinburgh :)

Really good tasting menu, fast service 💯

The food was Amazing! The service was good, the food came super fast and the Environment was so nice. Im Definitely coming back!

Typical Scottish food. The lamb and mashed potatoes are very good if you like them, I highly recommend booking as it is quite filling. You can go to the door and ask them to reserve a table for you in an hour and a half and then call you. The place is not that big so it is advisable to go in advance. To make a central place and have typical food, it seems to me that the price is fair, neither too expensive nor too cheap.

Super find. Would highly recommend to anyone. Super atmosphere.

Food was good - I enjoyed the lamb shank and scotch eggs. The portions were great, services are outstanding. I really enjoyed the sauce they provided with scotch eggs. Was a mayo based that went really well with the lamb as well. Lamb was slightly dry inside but still good. I might have been setting way higher expectations due to the reviews :) Service: The servers were really nice and friendly. They were very considerate, making sure we are enjoying the food. Atmosphere: The place was clean and well organized.

Amazing! I went on a Wednesday night at 7:30pm and had to wait 40 minutes for only one person but I’d gladly do it again! Super quick service, the servers are really nice and help you figure out what to pick. I got the beef with the bacon mashed potatoes and a sticky toffee pudding. Great!

Delicious food, lamb shank was amazing

Excellent little restaurant in the heart of Edinburgh. Very fast service and delicious food. I recommend the truly delicious typical dessert

Atmosphere: Since we haven't booked in advanced the location of assigned seat was a bit inconvenient. But that's only what they have for on the time of acawith no pre reservations. Service: Always checking if all good. Knew what recommend and explained as we are new to the place what is even available in smaller portions in the menu item. Food: You need to come hungry because everything is delicious. The mash is beyond amazing and the meat is tender and well flavoured. The only reason it's 4/5 it's because there is minimal option for smaller portions

Very good food, fast service!! Attention Greeks 21:30 the kitchen closes and 22:30 the whole shop closes!!

Comforting and hearty dishes. Tasty cuisine! Reservation recommended!

We had the Lamb Shank and the beef one with butter smash and cheddar, they were absolutely delicious. Definitely a must have in Edinburgh. For dessert we shared a sticky toffee pudding, the perfect ending for this dinner.

I’ve been in Edinburgh for 4 years now, and this was my first time trying this place! I went for dinner with my boyfriend and we absolutely loved it. We tried the sausages, beef, small portion of haggis and scotch eggs. Needless to say that we finished everything and we left feeling extra full. My main advice is to book as it’s alway super busy. Great place!

Really amazing food and service, had David and Veo serve us tonight, both so lovely and chatty. Made us feel very welcome, great music and relaxed vibes. Would recommend to anyone that comes Edinburgh.

Excellent food, just as you would expect. Make sure to get reservations in advance!

It's was decent. Bit pricey for what it is to be honest. Maybe I just put it up on a pedestal based on reviews and reputation and I didn't get the wow I was expecting. But yeah it's decent.

Amazing food, cost us £50 for the most amazing mash and lamb shanks you could have. Alan and Jonny were amazing as well the service was fantastic l.

My favorite restaurant experience in Edinburgh. The beef shoulder was divine and the staff was super friendly. A must stop if in the city!

Really nice, the quick and effective concept for a well-deserved success price. Impeccable service.

Great food and service! We loved the food and drinks. Evan was great; very knowledgeable about the menu and the area.

Great find, tasty food, generous portion and really friendly staff. Recommend booking if you can cos walk-ins can still wait half an hour for a table.

The haggies and lamb shank was fantastic. Great Scottish meal to start the day. Would def return

On a recent trip to Edinburgh, found Makars almost by accident. Each of us unsure what a “Mash Bar” was, was it sour mash whiskey bar or something to do with mashed potato? It is mashed potato. The menu looked to be exactly what we wanted, and between us we ordered most of their main options: the slow-cooked lamb shank, the beef shoulder, the haggis, the sausages and the chicken. The lamb shank was everything you’d want it to be - a tender, perfectly braised shank in a rich tomato, rosemary, and red wine sauce. It was so good I wanted to praise the chef for their skills, thank the farmer for their effort and the sheep for their sacrifice. The beef shoulder is a rich dish, good if you’re breaking it up with greens and a few pints. The beef is well cooked and I liked a taste, the person who ordered it loved it but didn’t finish it. The real deal definite surprise highlight for me was the haggis. I was very nervous that someone ordered it as a main and offered that I was prepared to share my meal with them if it was gross. Far from it, I almost wanted to swap with them. They definitely know what they are working with, and have considered how to make it work. It walks the line between reverence for the tradition and making sure its flavours are balanced with the rest of the dish so you can eat it all. As an introduction to haggis, it’s very good. Having had haggis before, this was the best one I’ve tried and it didn’t feel like you were eating something on a dare. I thought it was really well done. The spatchcock chicken in the whiskey, peppercorn and mustard cream sauce was good too, everyone was happy with their orders. I really wanted to try one of their signature mushroom dishes and will visit again to do so I’m sure; but this time I got the wild boar sausages - and I really enjoyed the flavours and it met my comfort food criteria in ways that only sausage and mash can. So, the mash bar part - when you order your mains, you get to choose from a wide selection of variations of mashed potato. We tried four: the classic Scottish, smoked bacon and spring onion (with the chicken and beef), mature cheddar (with the sausages), and mild smoked Applewood cheese (with the lamb shanks) and the black pudding mash (with the haggis). I’m sure it is possible to make minor mis-steps - but if you go with what you like, you won’t go too far wrong. I really liked my cheddar mash with the sausages. I would also recommend getting the broccoli/anything green to go with your meal as it does help break up the meat and potatoes. As we were joking that they didn’t have a dessert menu because no one can move after eating their mains. The waitress came over with a dessert menu. Given I hadn’t checked out the Mushroom Emporium downstairs yet and we were still enjoying our drinks, we thought we might just get one or two to share. Like the rest of the menu, the desserts are comfort food. The crumble special was berry and apple crumble with custard and ice-cream, and we got a a butterscotch pudding to try as well. Both were great and if you have any room, you won’t be disappointed. As we were waiting for dessert, I wandered down the stairs to take a look at Makar’s Mushroom Emporium. It’s a room that wouldn’t be out of place in a Breaking Bad scene, but for Lion’s Mane Mushrooms. The intent is to grow their own to keep costs to diners low, and it is a cool idea and was cool to see. They have some educational information and lots of mushrooms growing down there. Mushrooms are growing in popularity as a superfood and I’ll definitely return to try one of the mushroom dishes we missed this round. Edinburgh is definitely a destination worth visiting. If you find yourself there and need some good quality, reasonably priced comfort food, Makar’s Mash Bar isn’t a bad place to land, Id recommend trying to book anywhere you want to eat in Edinburgh as most places were packed and busy, including this one - until next time: “Slàinte mhath!”

Good food and average prices. Definitely not the best in Edinburgh nor the UK. Very friendly staff and fast service. If you can't have lunch here, don't despair, there are other good restaurants in the area

First try with haggis. Loved it!

Makars used to be my favourite place to eat, always booked for a treat was disappointed to see they had removed the gammon from the menu. I opted for the sausage, which was ok it was hard in part like it had been sat on one side of the heat for too long. Also had my usual scotch egg to start and it just didn't have its usual crisp to the outside it was a bit soggy and lukewarm. Staff didn't ask how our meal was we were sat, orders taken and food delivered I feel as its got more popular the attentiveness and amazing food they used to deliver is now lacking now not my favourite place and won't be back which is disappointing.

This restaurant is amazing! Honestly the food is sensational! Came here with my partner and Son and my son decided he didn't like mash two days before coming but we persuaded him to try it. Anyway he did and he loved it, he had the boar sausages which he lapped up. My partner had the beef and I had the lamb and we all had the spring onion and bacon mash. It was all delicious cannot say anything else. The meat fell off the bone and loved the pickled veg also. We then had sticky toffee pudding and again absolutely delicious, so glad we had the room for it. We are at alot of lovely places but this was our favourite and the service was amazing also and yes cannot wait to go back.

Pau and Scott did a wonderful job making me feel right at home at makars The food comfort at its finest simply a must try