The Black Bull in Edinburgh, City of

Scottish pub located in Grassmarket. Very nice atmosphere and fantastic place to spend an evening with friends, between one chat and another. A place where you can also play the PlayStation while waiting to eat your meal and drink an excellent beer. I recommend the fish and chips, served with peas and tartar sauce, really very good.

Absolutely fantastic pub! The atmosphere is warm and inviting, with a great mix of locals and visitors. The staff were incredibly friendly and attentive, making sure we had everything we needed. The food was delicious—generous portions and great value for money. They also had a great selection of beers, ales, and wines. Highly recommend!

THIS is what a local pub feels like: ice-cold beers, amazing hamburgers, and TVs tuned to the sports channel.

Big good pub with plenty of screens for football. Order via app and QR code. Good selection of beer. Food ok, felt a bit like a canteen serving.

It was packed, but we made our reservations for dinner the evening before. Enjoyed live music, drinks, and dinner. Order at the bar or through QR code on the table.

Located in the center, it is important to know that you must order online. We loved the meatloaf. They also have screens to watch sports.

Best burger - Highlander!!! Top 5 burgers everywhere. Type of food that a super rich would send the jet to get it 😁

Scott and a colleague saw us standing near the bar on a busy New Years night and went out of their way to find us a table. Outstanding service. Made our night!

Love this pub! Special shout out to Kolos: I was worried that another guest might have spiked my drink (whisky highball) because there was foam on top. The pub was super busy and I didn’t have eyes on the drink the entire time. When I mentioned this, he said, “better safe than sorry” and replaced it immediately. He validated my concern and made me and my friends feel safe. Love this place and thank you!!

Great place for some food and drink. Plenty of space. Old world atmosphere. Loved it.

Fun atmosphere and tasty food. We were staying across the square at the Apex and chose to come in this pub for dinner and it was trivia night! Food was great!

Great service. Good food. It's hard to get away from the student vibe in the grassmarket. But we had a nice lunch and the beer was good too.

Pub is fantastic however we ordered food and wish we hadn't seen into the kitchen they bulk cook the chips and put on hotplate where staff come in and help themselves then they serve the chips avoid earing here

A really nice sports bar, not too rowdy. Had plenty of screens to watch. The staff were all super friendly and inviting. Would definitely recommend for anyone who trying to watch sport

Staff were very friendly, great pub in a great location

We loved this pub,great atmosphere but unfortunately the food my husband ordered was awful. Mac n cheese was so bland,not cheesy and could still taste 5he flour. My soup was also bland with no attention to seasoning, and more fries for the price would have been good.

Was quiet when I came in on a Tuesday afternoon. Beer was good and the staff were friendly and efficient. It's a bigger bar than it looks from the outside and it's ideal for groups and for watching sport on one of the many large televisions. It does food, but I didn't eat here on this occasion, but would try on a future visit.

The best food we’ve ever tasted, highly recommend the haggis bonbons! Lovely and helpful team as well, we’re definitely coming back next time we visit!

A local pub. The price was reasonable and the taste was both good. There were no noisy issues from other reviews. Music that is pleasant to listen to.

Traditional pub with the food fare you would expect. We hit on a Monday at 4:00 as we just got off a 7 hour drive. We wanted something quick and easy. Get your table, see what you want to eat and drink (or just drink). Take your order to the bar, pay and wait for the goodness to flow. I got a casket beer, Outlaw King and my son got a shot of Bowmore 12. For food, I was a bit hungry, so I got the Steak and Ale Pie (came with mashed potatoes, carrots and broccolini). He picked the Shrimp Scampi and Scotsman Fries. We left full and content to start exploring the area.

Fast, cheap and delicious food with various choice of beverage.

We just dropped in for one pint, didn't really spend enough time to give it a serious review. The service was quick and the staff were friendly. Seems to be a good place if you like to watch sports. Will be an option for our next visit to Edinburgh.

I ate haggis here for the first time in my life. This is the impression of a Japanese person. This pub is located directly in front of Edinburgh Castle. It's not a metaphor. Seriously, when you leave the store, it's so close to the point that it's impossible not to see Edinburgh Castle. I randomly went into a pub looking for haggis, a local gourmet dish in Scotland, and this was a big hit. Well, I just can't get enough of the feeling of pouring peppery haggis over with strong scotch. In real life, haggis is wrapped in sheep intestines, but this one seems to only serve sheep innards. It's hands down the best British food I've had in England (don't get me wrong, don't get me wrong!) Once you're seated, listen to the waiter's Scottish-accented English explanations, order a Scotch and haggis and pouting, and you'll feel like a Highlander. After that, just being in the lively store and its atmosphere while enjoying the night view of Edinburgh and the profound feeling of the castle is enough to satisfy me.

Horrible service. The bartender was super rude.

Nice comforting food, pleasant atmosphere and a beautiful location

Cracking place. Great food, drinks and staff. Been in this lunch/afternoon, a member of the team really looked after us, even facilitating us to a bigger table to eat. Excellent.

Nice spot with decent food. First haggis I’ve ever had and I enjoyed it. Good drinks, friendly enough, though we did get told off for moving one table over and told that we better not do that next time we visit... Seemed like the feller was probably just having a bad night and annoyed by us. Seems like a tourist-y spot.

Only rating for lunch, but was relatively decent. Probably wouldn't visit except in a pinch for food. At least no wait compared to other nearby pubs, and the food was on par with them.

Great place and atmosphere being located in the Grassmarket, the Steak Pie was 5 star would highly recommend and dog friendly too.

We only had a few drinks there but the cocktails and the selection of whiskeys were amazing. On a Tuesday early evening it was quiet, not too noisy, very spacious!

Fantastic, tasty Scottish Breakfast

Came here specifically for the bloody mary, which is my favorite drink (and I'm a bit picky with them) and it was one of the best I've ever had! Our bartender asked what spice level we wanted too, so whether you like them super spicy or not at all, they can make it. The service was also really fast and friendly. Highly recommend :)

A touch of the Blarney, in Edinburgh... I visited today along with my wife, on our first ever "leisure trip" away by train, up from Newcastle, since Covid-19. Whilst Auld Reekie was more Auld Leaky in Edinburgh today, with rain, despite it being warm, we therefore thought liquid refreshment was appropriate. We were met at the door by Ricky, who took our details and temperature, took us to a good table, and explained all the current procedures to us easily and friendly. With my name obviously being Patrick, added to Ricky's soft Irish burr, and finding it leaping off the page to me on the downloadable menu too, I was compelled to go for the Guinness, which was spot on when it arrived. My wife went for the Cornish Orchards Cider, and advised me that it was "cracking" when it came. Ricky then answered the various questions I had about how things were since re-opening after Covid-19, from an appropriate safe social distance of course, and with us being in no particular rush whatsoever, another two of the same were duly ordered! A cracking visit, safe, friendly, and well managed, and as we are in need of weekend night out again soon, now that some measure of normality has returned, albeit subject to safe distancing measures etc rightly in place, we will surely be back again ASAP... Thank you to all the staff, and especially Ricky, for being a great, welcoming host, and keeping us right.

A place to watch sport on big screens. They offer beer towers. A bit chilly inside. Some might think it’s a bit noisy.

Nice staff, perfect mood and good vibe! Highly recommeded 😀

We were there on the night of September 12 with two traveling companions, we ordered at the bar and the person who served us did so in a quite derogatory manner, he told us that there was not like in other cities in Europe and that the kitchen only It worked until 930 pm. Then we only ordered three beers and he was quite rude when taking our order, I think for the simple fact of speaking Spanish. They must be very careful with the staff they hire since today the issue of discrimination is rampant and gives a very bad image to such a beautiful city.

Great pub grub, friendly staff and the cocktails are excellent

Insanely loud sports bar so we should have just left, I'll own that mistake. My husband thought the steak sandwich sounded good and we hadn't landed on any other menu that wasn't something we'd already had. Second mistake, should have walked out when I saw they were doing QR code ordering like at the airport. Long story short it took 30 min to have our dessert arrive first and then had to ask about our sandwiches which were then rushed out and subpar. Don't waste your time or money when there are so many GOOD Places to eat in town. This place is rubbish!!

The bartender was rude. We left without ordering. Put a sign up indicating to order from the bar so unfamiliar don't stand around waiting for service.

Super friendly service and nice ambiente! Recommanded to watch sport! The food was ok.

Loads of seating and TVs make this a great place for drinks and to watch live sports in the middle of Edinburgh. The only complaint would be the quality of the beef in the Sunday roast. Was really looking forward to trying this Scottish beef but it was terribly over cooked and difficult to eat.

We enjoyed a beer here in the sun. The beer was ok. I thought it was great to order online using the QR code.

Big place for watching football however drinks prices are steep. Even a Non alcoholic is £5.8.

The service was nice and, most importantly, helpful, they found absinthe specially for us, which is a big plus because not every place has it. Live music, tragedy. An old man playing the guitar, tambourine and something else at the same time, it was impossible to understand or hear anything. Food for 4, it could be warmer. Service 5 Climate 3

the food was great but the staff was not very polite

Had a live performer hooked up to sound system singing basic pop tracks at top volume. Was incredibly loud and could not have a discussion with friends. Despite making bar staff aware I was told live performer can play as loud as they like and could only turn down music whilst they weren't singing. Had one drink and left. Would leave this one for tourists only and spend your money elsewhere.

Xander was amazing, great customer service and great drink thank you

When I came in it smelled. Then we went to the bar and the bartender was very rude. He swore at us and demanded our ID and wanted to charge us more, unfortunately I have to say that this pup was a complete failure. Completely wrong.

The place here is absolutely amazing, a fantastic environment and amazing staff! My biggest let down was one of the burgers was too dry and bland for me, but the mac and cheese took my breath away <3. The sides we ordered came super loaded and was totally worth the money.

Nice pub with food, drinks, live music, foosball and a great Scottish flair. ❤️

Great pub, pub food and atmosphere!

Pub in the Grass Market area where we had dinner a couple of days because it's very good for a light snack. It is a very large and spacious place, with many TV screens where sports are shown (it coincided with the start of the 2024 Olympics). Curious decoration on the ceiling and very Scottish on the walls. Order and pay via QR. You can choose the tip to leave and they will charge it to your account. Attentive waiters, fast drink service, somewhat slower food service. The Scotman Fries are delicious, it's Haggis on fries with a whiskey sauce and the wings with BBQ sauce are also very delicious. They have cocktails and whiskeys, I tried a lime and raspberry Mocktail (non-alcoholic) and it was delicious. It's not very expensive and they have live music some days. There are usually quite a few people, especially if it rains, but it is also very good on the terrace.

Nipped in on the off chance after just having a wee wander, the staff were friendly, service was pretty quick - it said on the app that there would be a 30 min wait for food, which was fine for us, but it came out in around 20 mins, even though it was pretty busy. The steak pie I thought was really peppery, overly so, but still ate it, so 🤷🏼‍♀️ Also, not a huge amount of vegetarian options, I think there was mac and cheese, a vegetarian burger and I think it was a vegetarian haggis wellington for the Sunday dinner - boyfriend went with the mac and cheese and said it was pretty good. I loved the decor, all the bits an pieces on the roof, looks really good. The only drawback I thought was maybe the music was a touch on the loud side, but we were sat right inside the front door, so I'm not sure if we were right under a speaker or something, but it did make it a bit hard to hear each other when we're talking. All in all though, pretty decent.

It was hard for us to find a kitchen open past 9pm. Here it is open til 10pm!

Beautiful pub with live music and lots of TVs to follow sport We only drank whiskey so I can't rate the food

The drinks and food was ordered at the bar. I ordered fish and chips and the soft n hard was the wrong way round. The fish was soggy and chips too hard for my teeth. And draped in salt. My husband had the steak and ale pie and chips. It was caked with pepper almost too much to eat it. Will definitely not be coming here.

The beef in the steak is tender & the spices are infused. Sweet & tender carrots. Fast & good service. The pie is crispy & very delicious. There are lots of seats. Can come with a family group. Portions are quite big. You can share it together if you want to try other menus. There is outdoor seating with unique views of the old city.

Awful service, the most unbothered staff I've ever witnessed. Food was completely average.

I would highly recommend try burgers or stake sandwich instead of fish and chips all off it was great!! Kids love it all the decorations they were actually amazed. Amazing stuff everyone just seems so happy 🥰

Almost throwed up atfer my mac & cheese

Ordered the beetroot salad and was served a bowl of feta. I’d say there was about a whole block in there; more cheese than salad. I had to try eat around it but was pretty disappointed with it. My partner ordered the haggis which was nice though.

Good location, reasonable prices, quick

Had a couple beers and an appie during a euro match, great place with friendly staff.

Traditional Scottish, pub with very good service and delicious options.

Black Bull pub was exactly what we needed after a long tour of the castle. It was a short walk from the hill and we got a table without reservation, no problems. You order at the bar so it eliminates the need to wait for a staff member to come serve you. They were quick at the bar, and drinks and food came quickly. It is kid and dog friendly. The atmosphere is very pub-like and has great music and decor. We loved it. Menu is standard grub, lots of varieties for drinks. Husband got a Guiness and myself a margarita which was okay - not strong enough and the glass had way too much ice; felt like it was way overpriced for what I got. Food was delicious but they put very little chips on the plate... for the price again, could use a little more fries or an extra side of coleslaw or something; kid's mac n cheese was very good.

Very bad service, don’t care us at all We booked and request the table 3 days before but the day arrival they not give the table our request and just said we are busy have to give us other table so that so bad and we are very disappointed 3 days ago we paid a lot of drinks, food and a good tips but today no more from us

You enter, they seat you and you have to wait a long time to place your order at the bar until they pay attention to you, terrible organization system, you feel ignored. The other way is to ask for an application in which you can only use an English number, so if you are a tourist, nothing... Two waiters saw us leaving because they weren't serving us and they didn't even say anything. If I were the boss of the store, I would be horrified how they let them lose money and customers...

Probably the best chicken sandwich I have ever had. Cool atmosphere! Need to scan the QR code on your table to order or go to the bar with your table number for food and drinks. No one will come to the table to take your order but they will deliver your order.

Great, rustic pub with many types of beer and good food 💪🏻 everyone was friendly… we were there twice for football, both times the wrong team won 😭 otherwise top 👍🏻 highly recommended

Great boozer to sit in, enjoy a pint and reflect on the beauty of Edinburgh.

We sat outside. Very good food and the selection of beers. You order online so no table service except when they bring the order. Nice environment in the grassmarket square

Good and hearty food (but not healthy! Haha) Typical match night atmosphere.

Characteristic place with many TVs to follow the European football matches and after entertainment with a local musician

Stopped in for a drink, super quaint place! Staff were really friendly, very typical pub atmosphere except for the ceiling which was really cool! Would definitely stop in again.

Very good vives, good drink selection

Food was good. Nich option to order online. And a lot of seats inside

Friendly staff greeted us at the door and helped us with the gluten free options. Exceptional atmosphere, great food and a fun place to watch the Euros.

We went for a drink and a meal and we didn't regret it! It was delicious 😋 the atmosphere is very nice. Will not return if we are in Edinburgh again!

Great atmosphere to watch the F1. Lovely staff!

Good sized local bar in the heart of the Grassmarket so popular with tourists as well as locals. Fantastic for watching sports with multi screens. Food is good and decent menu. Live music a few nights a week as well as a quiz night. Can get very busy but staff are efficient and it's well managed. Great atmosphere.

Spent a very wet afternoon here with a friend. Staff were friendly & helpful BUT I spent a good five minutes waiting to be served even though there was nobody else waiting. Staff members were talking to each other & one prioritised filling the fridge in front of me instead of serving. Food arrived quickly & was hot. Chips were over salted Salad was fresh My other niggle is that in the afternoon most people want to talk. There's no need for the TV or music to be so loud

Very good burgers! Best ever on a 10 day holiday in Scotland!

Great selection of drinks including hot drinks. Plus point is that they open in the morning, but kitchen only starts serving food at 12pm.

Portions and prices high for lunch. But if you are hungry this might be your cup of tea. Food was flavorful

This place is one of the best ones I've ever been to. The food - amazing, the drinks - amazing, the staff - even more so amazing. They will make you feel like you're one of their own, make you laugh when you don't want to, and just even listen to you.

Good bar that hosts a great quiz on a Thursday. Food is very pricey and not great. But drinks, atmosphere and staff make up for it.

Very good sports pub. Food was just ok not bad but not quite 5 stars. Atmosphere and service were excellent however. Fun place right on Grassmarket.

Fish was cooked well, could have been a touch crispier, but that's just my liking. Fries are pretty standard. Peas were nice. Staff is super friendly and nice. Atmosphere is great.

Good wee pub. Unfortunately around 8pm a family came in for food with very small children forcing us to leave and go elsewhere. Personally, I don't feel these places on the grass market are suitable for children later on a Saturday evening. As most people there have been out all day.

Got touched up by local hobo (liked it a bit). Scenic view , would go again (because of hobo)

Nice pub in Edinburgh. We ended up here as the pub we wanted to visit was fully booked. Good variety of food and drinks and the food tasted very good, especially the haggis loaded fries. Big portion and tasty. We had dinner sitting outside as no tables available inside but no issue as the weather was lovely! We then moved inside to have another pint and try some whiskey. Service and atmosphere are OK, nothing special compared to other pubs in Edinburgh, and it feels more like a chain pub service back in London. I'm not impressed. Let's say it won't be my first choice next time I'm in Edinburgh.

Terrible food - terrible service - frozen and thawed food. staff was annoyed that we were even here. save yourself a trip go anywhere else

Decent sports pub in the heart of Edinburgh. Only issue was the stout I ordered which was near room temperature.

Great sports bar, lots of screens. Audio outside tables

Siamo entrati per caso in questo locale e ne siamo rimasti piacevolmente sorpresi. Cibo buono, personale gentile e prezzi in linea con quelli della città. Approvato!

The bar has a great reviews recently however what they don’t tell you the kind of service you getting, 1 you have to scan for your order 2 the tip is optional but should be taken out for the following reason ,The spirit can be ordered by menus however the hot drinks cannot be served by waiter , weird !! So as result I put 15% tip to shine, however that didn’t cut any ice with the waiter who told bluntly SORRY VERY BUSY GO TO THE BAR AND ORDER FROM THERE! So I guess customer service is not a concern at that place,😔

Stopped in at 700 pm for dinner. The sign said to grab a seat and order from the bar - so no problem. Once a bartender asked what I wanted I said to order some food to which she replied that they wouldn’t be serving food for 30-45 minutes because they had a “large party”. The pub was about 1/3 full and now I understand why. I suggest you go elsewhere.

Amazing food and great place to have a pint! One of the fewer pubs in central Edinburgh who will accommodate bigger party with small kids. Been there twice and tried most of the options from menu, all were great. Freshly made, significantly better and tastier than in other pubs! First time we were there we felt very welcomed but second time staff seemed to be less welcoming. But the food and atmosphere of having a meal and pint in a pub were at top notch. Definitely recommend.

Cracking place for a wee bite to eat

Waited 30 minutes for two gins and three beers (one was in a bottle). Terrible service, go somewhere else on the same street.