Makars Gourmet Mash in Edinburgh, City of

Everything is fine. Great service, good food. I recommend.

It's a must try, great atmosphere. Entire restaurant for walk ins (another for booked in down the street) was perfect for my wife and I.

Disclaimer: mashed potatoes are my favorite food and I’m a picky meat eater. This place is #1 bang bang 10/10 fantastic, start(er) to finish. Vegetarian options are good too. Those lions mane mushrooms and that broccoli?? I don’t even LIKE broccoli and I couldn’t stop eating it. It is rich and indulgent but the pickled veg balances nicely. I cannot sing their praises enough.

Great service, super tasty meat and mash.

This is one of the best restaurants in Edinburgh for value for money. It's simple, efficient, and very good.

Oh what a good mash it was... You get a choice of meats and non meat alternatives with a choice of mash. Meat was a solid portion put on top of a mountain of mash with rivers of delightful sauce all over it. This was the first place I tried Thistly Cross cider and fell in love with it.

Absolutely amazing place! Food was hearty, filling and delicious. Staff were friendly and attentive.

Supposed to be one of the best places for Scottish food in Edinburgh, so of course we booked a table well in advance – you don’t want to risk being left without haggis in the rain. How was the experience? Well, you are greeted by super sweet staff who make you sit down and serve you a glass of water. Great! Who doesn’t love a little free H2O? The food? It was delicious, no doubt about it. But I still felt: “Is that… that?” The flavors could have had a little more wow factor. Don’t get me wrong, it was really good! Just not enough for more than four stars. The portions were appropriate, and the price matches the quality and service – no rip-offs there.

A highly recommended place with local food. Reasonably priced, very good food, and adequate quantities. The service was exceptional, especially from Jess and Rae, who were super friendly. If I return to Edinburgh, I will.

Great food, haggis very good, service nice and polite, we recommend

This is just as good as everyone says. The service is great, the atmosphere - friendly, and the food is exceptional.

Good quality food and spectacular service.

I had the wild boar sausages with bacon and spring onion mash, which was beautiful.

Absolutely amazing food highly recommended for authentic Scottish cuisine!

Haggis is delicious because the minced meat in the middle is chewy like salmon roe. The Mashed Potato is not plain, but you can choose the ingredients to mix according to your taste, which is also a good thing. This is definitely a place to come to eat delicious traditional food, not to experience traditional food.

The food was amazing! The meat was so tender and not fatty at all. I had the applewood smoked cheddar mash and my husband got the horseradish mash, both were really good. The broccoli was really fresh and tender also. Service was also very fast.

Fantastic experience! Highly recommended place, with good reason, delicious dishes, great service (Henrique is to be congratulated) and a super nice place. I recommend it!

What a gem! I had the pleasure of dining at Markars Mash Bar. Their slow-cooked lamb shank is absolutely divine—tender, flavourful, and cooked to perfection. You can tell a lot of care goes into their food. The staff are incredibly friendly and welcoming, even though the place was very busy. The whole team, especially the waiter Scott made me feel right at home with their warm hospitality and great energy. A little tip: this place is popular (for good reason!), If you’re walking in, leave your name and number and just wait patiently—it’s worth it. Thank you to everyone at Makars Mash Bar. I’ll definitely be back next time I’m in town. Keep up the amazing work!

Oh my god I love this place. The beef shoulder and mash was great. Gluten free and a great choice of GF beers on tap. Must visit for gluten free people!

This place Rocks! The service was great when we ask questions the right server came over that could answer our questions. The Ambiance and atmosphere is casual and busy but the staff did not make us feel like we were rushed and took great care of us. Their local brews were great we decided on having the Pilot Blond Oats IPA which was very crisp and fresh. I had the Lamb shank with red wine gravy and I got the smoked applewood mash. It was fabulous!!! My partner had the Boar Sausage with Horseradish cream mash which was great. We will visit again when we are back in Edinburgh

When in Edinburgh you must visit here at least once. Booking is essential to guarantee a table.

Fantastic food - fabulous service - loved it here

We went there by making a reservation in advance, if you come without a reservation, the chance of you getting a seat is not very high. The food is very delicious, the meats and purees are very nice. You can choose different types of purees as an accompaniment. The dessert with toffie sauce was also nice but a bit too sweet. The prices are normal considering the portion and taste. We paid around £40 for two people, starter, two main courses, dessert and beer, including service charge.

How this place isn’t a 5* I will never understand !! The BEST FOOD AND THE BEST STAFF ! Booked again for tomorrow ! The only reason we returned back to Edinburgh.

First time to Mash bar & definitely will not be the last ! Chanced a walk in, only 25mins wait on a busy Sunday afternoon. You receive a text message to let you know the table is ready you only have 10mins to get there, worthwhile staying nearby or you will be disappointed! Staff very friendly atomsphere super & food was exceptional we had both beef & lamb at our table & they were both amazing. Beef just falls apart. Well worth the money considering prices at some burger bars. Looking forward to next visit!

Best haggis in Edinburgh! Always delicious, can't always get a seat (like tonight) but it's worth it if you can!

The food was amazing, the tenderness of the beef was spectacular and to top it off an indulgent Sticky toffee pudding. Words are not enough to describe my meal. Big shout out for Jess and Rae that made our night marvelous.

Was interesting to try these options in a beef steak. Was really good. Saw few TikTok videos about this place.

Sorry, OK, what’s not to love about a concept like this?? we totally had to try it and loved it. I had the lamb shank over mashed potatoes. The rosemary gravy was plentiful and delicious. The shank just fell off the bone. It was fun and satiating definitely make reservations. There’s two dining rooms very close to each other, one on the corner and the other on the same street. Just in case you get a little confused, but if you’re in Edinburgh, definitely try this place. You’ll have a wonderful experience.

Sensational. Went here after watching the Gary eats YouTube channel. It was extremely busy. Absolutely fantastic. The staff were really friendly and personable. We had mushrooms to start and then beef and chciken, all were amazing. The cranachan dessert was equally good. Amazing value for money, I cannot recommend this place highly enough.

It's not cheap, but it's worth it. I recommend the Haggis and Lamb.

I can smell the meaty flavor from the lamb skewers. I think the lamb and mashed signature menu, which is impossible for sensitive people, will be impossible. They say it is not a delicious dish that you can eat with sensitivity. On the other hand, I ordered haggis because I thought it might not taste good, but it had the meaty flavor, but the pumpkin puree and sauce went very well together, so it was delicious.

We have been looking forward to visiting this restaurant for a while after hearing lots of good reviews! Ate here mid afternoon today and was absolutely not disappointed. Our group ordered the lamb shank, beef shoulder, boar sausages and haggis with a variety of mash dishes. All were excellent and everyone enjoyed tasting a bit of each dish. Looking forward to returning and trying out some more of the options. The atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable, staff were excellent and friendly! Will definitely recommend to any friends visiting Edinburgh.

We visited this bar with high expectations based on its strong ratings on TripAdvisor and Google Maps. Unfortunately, the experience fell short. The lamb shank was tender but overly salty, which overpowered the flavors. As for the chicken dish, the thigh was delicious and well-seasoned, but the breast was bland and unremarkable. On the plus side, the portions were generous for the price. However, neither the food nor the service stood out, making it an overall underwhelming experience.

Just fabulous delicious food. And a master-class in hospitality and service from the friendly, knowledgeable, welcoming staff. A bustling must-visit eatery in Edinburgh. Highly recommend the Makers exclusive Royal Highland Haggis with heather honey, turnip puree and a hearty bed of creamed horseradish mash. Can't wait to return to try the rest of the glorious menu.

I came without booking and they were super helpful. Overall service was top notch and very fast. I ordered the lamb shank with smoked apple wood mash. It arrived only a few moments after I made the order. The food was excellent, and the vegetable sides tasted amazing! If I return to Edinburgh, I will be coming back to this place.

Delicious Scotch Eggs! Honestly everything was delicious but the Scotch Eggs stood out to me since I never had them before. Our server was very sweet and attentive! Will definitely return.

Amazing food and such an inclusive menu! Large alcohol free section, nearly everything was gluten free not to mention it all tasted incredible! All the staff were so friendly and helpful.

Best mash I've ever had! Black pudding mash was a favourite. Didn't enjoy the applewood cheese one as much. The beef and lamb shank was slightly dry and tough, but the sausages were good. The gravy was on spot. Definitely coming back here for the mash potato. For dessert, we got the fruit crumble with ice-cream and sticky toffee pudding was really good. We also got the Cranachan and it wasn't good. It was basically just cream, only had 2 raspberries, a little bit of oats and no whisky taste at all!

Great food,super fast service! Was sat, ate food,had drinks and in and out in about an hour, would recommend either book a reservation or getting in early as wait time can to get in can start fast

It's just as you might imagine, impeccably prepared meat, good portions. Works like clockwork. We had the beef and shank. Just great.

We had high expectations and we were still pleasantly suprised! First of all, Scotch eggs is my favourite dish, me and my girlfriend shared one as a starter and it was so good! I then had the wild boar sausages with the scottish black pudding mash and those sausages were one of the best i've ever had in my life, and the mash was out of this world. My girlfriend has the slow cooked lamb shank with the cheddar sheese mash, the lamb was so well made that you could just gently pull the bone out of the lamb shank! Although she found the cheddar mash lacking a bit in taste of the cheddar she still liked it alot.

Fantastic meal. Possibly the nicest gravy I've ever had. Highly recommend

Some of the best food we had during our stay in Edinburgh, and that’s a high praise because we ate some amazing food. The haggis, neeps, and tatties was incredible. I’m still craving it days later. The chicken was also delicious - truly, everything we ate was amazing. On top of that, the restaurant has a great vibe, and the staff is absolutely top notch. Definitely make a reservation for this one. It’s not one you want to miss.

Amazing experience!! They're like a veeery well oiled machine!!! We wanted to eat here in the evening and there was a waiting line (great system!!). We agreed to wait and come back in 15-20 min. We got a message in 10 min that a table was ready. The food came unbelievably fast. So delicious!! The staff was so nice and welcoming! It's an experience that absolutely needs to be checked on the list when coming to Edinburgh!

The best haggis in Edinburgh, we come back there again after visiting other places and I can say that they are the best at this one. As always, delicious and wonderful

In this case 'believe the hype'. Awesome and succulent beef shoulder. Fluffy and spicy mustard mash. Great and attentive service. It's no wonder the place is packed. If you like beef, and you like mash and you like gravy you can't walk past here. Excellent choice of drinks and cocktails too 😀

One of the few restaurants I’ve been to that I feel is legitimately worth the hype. Nice hearty meal perfect on a cold day. The lamb was fall off the bone tender, sauce was nice and mash was good. My friends enjoyed the regular and veggie haggis. We had original and then the two cheese mashes. The flavor in the cheese mashes was lighter than expected because you couldn’t really taste that much of a difference from regular but I suppose that helps the different mashes go with different items. So don’t be afraid of the cheese mashes when you go—the flavor isn’t overpowering or anything. Sticky toffee pudding was a little sweet for my personal taste but the perfect end to the meal. I’d definitely go back/recommend to a friend.

Really tasty! The lamb shank was so tender and was delicious. The original mash was so good and was a great consistency. Was nice and warm - very comforting!

Excellent food and service ! Henrique was amazing looking after us ! The food is sooooo tasty , absolutely delicious . I totally recommend this restaurant.

AVOID this tourist trap Food was served to us cold after waiting 2 hours to get into restaurant. The lamb shank was tough and chewy, highly overrated and overpriced. Not a good example of Scottish foods. Definitely not a top 10 restaurant as there is a lot better places to eat in Edinburgh for the money. Don’t waste your time

Nice overseas atmosphere, well-stocked Scottish dishes, reasonable prices, a sure value in Edinburgh, reservation recommended

★★★★★ Fantastic Experience at Makars Mash Bar! We had an amazing time at Makars Mash Bar! The food was delicious—very traditional and full of flavor. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, making it the perfect place to enjoy a great meal. A special shoutout to Henrique, who was incredibly helpful and polite. His outstanding service made our experience truly memorable. We can’t wait to return—it was a special visit from start to finish. Highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for authentic and tasty food with exceptional service!

After a long day of walking around Edinburgh, we wanted a nice heartwarming dinner and this was exactly it! The Lamb Shank was delicious and the mash was a tough choice but haggis mash was a must. The service from Alan and Scott was excellent. I wish we had this in London but this place is just another reason to return to Edinburgh. Dziękujemy ☺️

Restaurant looks lovely but food just ok. Had the chicken and the sausages, which were fine but had better elsewhere. The USP of various types of mash wasn't enough to make me want to return. Portion sizes pretty good though and value fairly reasonable.

Spectacular, it has a lot of fame and it is no wonder. We ordered the beef and sausages and they were incredible. The price is in line with the quality and how filling the dishes are. Mandatory stop if you come to Edinburgh. It was our first meal upon our arrival to the country from Spain and we started with a very high bar.

Great option to try typical Scottish food. I'm not a big fan of mashed potatoes, but it was delicious here! The lamb is very well prepared, and it is spectacular (be careful, it is a lot of quantity 🤣). And as a starter the Scottish egg is very good. Excellent care from Tate and Laura. Highly recommended!!

I’m literally still at the table leaving this review. Makars is a low key, hole in the wall restaurant in Edinburgh, that has the best atmosphere and food we’ve come across thus far in Scotland. My son, husband and I each tried different meat and mash combos and each of us loved them. I had the beef with butter mash, and the beef just fell apart. It was flavorful, moist, and just such a delight to eat. I paired it with the Scottish fruits cider, which is quite sweet, but was the perfect contrast to the dish.

Had a quick dinner on a wednesday, place was packed and i can understand why. Jess is a great server & the food is also fire.

My go to place whenever I visit Edinburgh. The food is so good!! Great and friendly staff too.

The beef and horseradish mash was delicious.

We saw the place online and was excited to try The scotch eggs and haggis. It was so good that we came back another day to have more. Also the desserts was very good, especially Sticky toffee pudding. Definitely will be back in future! All staff was very good and friendly! Thank you to Jake and Scott and also to the guy on Wednesday (sorry don't know the name) who took care of my allergy.

Fantastic food and excellent service

Went with my partner . Food was delicious and staff were friendly . My partner described her food and a cuddle on a plate (the vegan haggis was incredible) .

My friends and I wanted to try the haggis and they offered a “mini haggis taster” for £8.5 The size was quite decent compared to what we were expecting! It worked as a lunch for us in the end. The service was very good, super fast and the food was great! Really enjoyed it. My friends got the vegetarian option and they loved it

One of my favorite restaurants in Edinburgh and will always stop when I’m in town. My servers Ash, Alan, and Caitlin were so knowledgeable and recommended the best potato pairings. Cant wait to be back soon!

Spontaneously stopped by to see if they have a table after failing to make reservations online and got lucky and immediately got a table for one. People in groups had to wait for quite a bit or got turned away completely due to the large demand. There was an area for people who came solo, which I quite enjoyed. The only problem was that it got quite chilly because the door was openers so many times and it was right next to the sitting area. The food arrived quickly and was really tasty but also a bit on the pricier side. I didn’t care much for the side dishes but the lamb was really tender and fell right off the bone. The mashed potato was good too. My server Ashley was friendly too.

Heard alot about this place on various socials. Forgot to book so chanced it with a walk in... Got in and service was very good. Not rushed and recommended certain dishes. Not a massive selection but this makes them special and perfect the dishes they have. Wasn't disappointed and prices were fair considering the food we had. Impressed. Scotch egg and haggis starters were lovely and the mains well the video speaks for itself.

Great place to try local food (Haggis), totally recommended, and very friendly staff!

Never thought I’d be a fan of mash until I tried this place. Our server, Ashley, was incredibly knowledgeable and friendly and recommended me a fantastic vegetarian haggis dish. The chilli bean mash was different class and will definitely be back. Thanks for a 5 star experience.

This place lives up to all the online hype!! The cute aussie chick Ash was our server and made the whole experience 20x better. Will definitely be back.

I had heard about Makars Mash from my sister-in-law so as I was in Edinburgh I thought it would be rude not to go and pay a visit. I love this place! Staff were amazing from the time we walked through the door, very helpful and friendly. The food is delicious, we sadly couldn't try a dessert, very reasonable price wise. I recommend visiting Makars Mash Bar if visiting Edinburgh.

The restaurant was busy but the staff acknowledged us immediately and were helpful and courteous. We had the soup of the day and two mains, everything was delicious. Small menu but they get it right. We had to wait because we didn’t book, but the virtual queue made it easy to know when to go back to the restaurant. It was worth the wait.

Must place to visit, at first thought it was some tourist restaurant but the food is something unexplainable. Any meat you order will be so tender that you wont need a fork any time. Order the signature dish. We did Int order haggins but everything was amazing

The team is incredible and food is amazing! One of the staff named Jonny handled the wait lines super well and was really patient with people the entire time. We came in last minute towards the end of the night without a reservation and waited for a table since it was a very busy night. But Jonny’s wonderful service and incredible patience made our dinning experience really enjoyable! Props to the hardworking team behind the amazing food and service!

Great food and good service. Highly recommend but book so not to be disappointed. Good selection of foods and drinks, but the main reason for going is the great selection of delicious mash. Thanks Tate & Jonny!!

Great atmosphere, great service, and somehow even better food! My wife and I didn’t have reservations but got there right and 12 when they opened, and were seated quickly. Pau and Candela took care of us and did a fantastic job. If you’re looking for fantastic food for a good price, I wouldn’t look anywhere else on the royal mile!

What a treat! Wasn't expecting to go here, but absolutely loved the place...First time trying Haggis, amazing...! Also had the beef, with bacon and onion mash. Top notch, definitely recommend 👍

Meat and mash - cant go wrong! Great choices- lamb, beef, sausages with many mash options. Reasonable price in great location. All over great dinner

Definitely reserve a table here if you're planning on a 1pm Saturday bite, very popular place so 20min queue, so so worth it though the mash was delicious and creamy, I had the applewood cheese mash and it was so flavourful, scotch eggs were delicious also. £26 for two scotch eggs, two sides of mash and a thing of gravy, so so delicious and delightful. Service was also awesome, the guys are so polite and friendly.

Absolutely lovely little place. Small, so there may be a wait. But, if you have a gluten allergy, this is the place. The helpings are big and we split an entree. The haggis starter was delicious, but we didn't get that GF. However, the GF scotch egg was great! And the sauce was delicious. Best way to describe it is a creamy ranch. No, a little creamier than you're thinking and way better than we expected. The mushroom emporium was cool and the lion's mane mushroom starter was very good. Sticky toffee pudding was more than we needed, but so worth the extra walking to get rid of the calories, it was delectable (I've used delicious too many times in this review). Will definitely be back, especially since it's right next to our hotel room. Sorry, forgot to take pics of the food.

Amazing food, nice atmosphere! Felt very welcome!

Everything in this place it is unbelievable. The food it is incredible and the staff are super friendly! I highly recommend!

This has been on my list for ageeeees and finally got around to trying yesterday when visiting Edinburgh for a comedy show. It was a Thursday night so we chanced our luck with a walk in and were quickly seated. We were given a glass of water without having to ask and then quickly provided with menus etc. Service at each point was very fast and they were all friendly guys too. I went for the lamb with black pudding mash. Absolutely stunning lamb that just fell off the bone and melted in your mouth. The mash unsurprisingly was also unreal. My girlfriend had wild boar sausages which were massive and bacon and spring onion mash. She commented the sausages were possibly the best she’s ever had and every bite of mash had lots of bacon and spring onion. Desserts looked amazing when servers walked past. Unfortunately we were both absolutely stuffed and decided to skip. It’s a fairly small menu which I think means everything is done very well. I honestly don’t think you could go far wrong here with any menu item. 5/5 - absolutely banging. Will defo be back.

Excellent food. Very tasty selection of mash. Good service.

If you want a gluten free place to eat.... this is THE place! Everything is gluten free apart from haggis and black pudding and there is a huge range. As a coeliac it was such a treat to have a good hearty comfort meal- and the scotch egg was incredible. It is pricey for meat and mash BUT the quality is amazing and the side of the sausages were huge.

The food was excellent. I got the pork sausage and my wife got the haggis. We asked our waiter to recommend some Scotch and we were not disappointed. If you are in the area and looking for someplace to eat I highly recommend it.

Great food, lovely sausage and mash to kill for

This was an ideal way for us to try haggis as they offer a starter plate of it. The scotch egg was lovely.

Great staff, very welcoming, and the food is really good. I have rarely eaten so well abroad. Great experience!

Cozy place, with good service and cuisine to match, everything was exquisite and delicious We tried the: -CROWN OF SLOW COOKED BEEF SHOULDER WITH A RICH HORSERADISH INFUSED GRAVY - MAKARS EXCLUSIVE ROYAL - HIGHLAND HAGGIS WITH HEATHER HONEY & TURNIP PUREE And the best, quality - price, good, highly recommended. Thank you!

We went there without reservation, they have a separate walk-in area. They initially said we need to wait about 15mins got our details, said they will get in contact when the table is ready. We were looking around outside and the table become ready in 10mins, they sent a message to inform us and we come back. Food was delicious. We had mini haggis(which wasn't mini!), lamb shank, lamb shoulder and vegetable sausage and cheddar applewood and chili bean mash. All of them were amazing. My personal favourite was applewood aromatic and delicious. The meat was very smooth and the sauce was tasty. Definitely recommend! Thanks

Very busy restaurant with very tasty food. In particular, Mash has a lot of flavors to choose from, and his Scotch eggs have a good taste and are not very salty, which goes well with mayonnaise. We recommend that you reserve your seat in advance

Incredible food, like sunday dinner but every day! If you are a foodie in Edinburgh then this is a must stop! Can’t say enough good about this place!

Really great food, a good price, and lovely service. Henrique was awesome!

I was unsure about the incredibly high number of ratings as it can often indicate a tourist trap but I was happy to be proved wrong - delicious lamb shank with mash, served quickly, inexpensive and friendly service! An ideal choice whilst visiting Edinburgh

Our waiters, Vass and Rae, was incredibly kind and attentive throughout our visit. They ensured everything was perfect, answered our questions with patience, and made us feel genuinely valued. The service was efficient, friendly, and truly memorable. Additionally, the food was absolutely delicious and exceeded our expectations. Thank you guys, for such a wonderful experience!

I am Irish by Birth so mash is very important and a lot of places do not get it right, they certainly do here. The fact this company has 2 restaurants within 2 mins of each other and near the castle says it all. It has an amazing relaxed vibe and you feel it the minute you walk through the door. One restaurant is for bookings and one for walk ins (that I could make out). The volume of people that were walk ins while we were at there on a Tuesday night in January says something for the reputation and quality of this restaurant. Can highly recommend this as a stop you visit in Edinburgh. The service was perfect, just how we like it, relaxed and engaging in conversation with the customers. The host was amazing, adapting to each of the requests from customers with where they wanted to sit. Obviously this spot is busy so they do have allocated tables for all bookings but every time a request was made it was granted and table shuffle was on for the host. So many places you go would just say sorry we are fully booked and this is your table, so bravo. My wife was one of them.... Both Daisy and Scott who looked after us were brilliant, they were engaging throughout with recommendations, suggestions and some banter with all tables. They seem to genuinely care that you enjoyed your time with them, I love it. I cant wait for my next visit and there will be one. The food was outstanding, every table I could seem were absolutely lovin every dish that came out. My wife had the lions mane mushroom (that they grow themselves) and I had the haggis, omg we were in heaven, bacon and spring onion and black pudding mash were had mmmmmmmmm. Even though we were pretty full when the beef and lamb shank came out at the next table my wife and I looked at each other and we were a little jealous of them. There was room for a dessert and it was such a joy that Daisy offered 2 spoons just in case I wanted to try. Great service, personality and food, what more do you need. Well done Team.

Amazing food huge portions, I got a half portion of the wild boar sausage and it was amazing and a big portion , partner had the haggis and loved it, so much variety of mash as well best mash I have had!, good value , great location as well. Staff very friendly especially Vasilis, Laura & Camlela. Definitely will return when I come back to Edinburgh !

Very wholesome tasty food at good prices! Big portions, would highly recommend if you're only staying a few days in Edinburgh.