The Castle Arms in Edinburgh, City of

Great little restaurant serving traditional Scottish and English cuisine. The service was a little awkward at times but for the most part we enjoyed the visit. Highly recommend lamb shank and sticky toffee pudding.

Popped in last weekend for food and drinks with a few friends. The atmosphere was really lovely, we were made to feel so welcome and all of the staff really went out of their way to chat and interact with us. Very knowledgeable on the city itself and had wonderful suggestions and tips that made our city visit go much more smoothly. We ordered several different meals and were all very impressed, we actually couldn’t agree on which was the best since we each enjoyed ours so much! The meats, the sauces even the veg - it was all so tasty and cooked to perfection. The deserts were also fantastic, we particularly enjoyed the cranachan with vanilla ice cream and the apple crumble. The service was also outstanding with everything ordered arriving quickly and our at times quite complicated drinks orders were never any hassle for the wonderful bartender. Apologies for probably being a little high maintenance but thank you all so much for going above and beyond to make our visit so special.

Its Just a nice pub a realy realy nice pub

Lovely food. Could have more veggie options. Watch out for added extras they don't tell you about but would definitely go back. Staff are lovely too

The place looks nice, the atmosphere is okay. Unfortunately the staff is unfriendly and bored. This was the worst fish & chips we have had in Edinburgh so far. Tasted like rancid oil, fries and onion rings too. 18 pounds for that is absolutely cheeky. We had to ask for everything, sauces, vinegar, cutlery. (Sauces in mini packets, super annoying) The steak sandwich was okay. £60 for 2 drinks and poor food for 2 people. No recommendation.

Great Service and great cocktails!

Lovely cosy pub. Bit noisy when busy.

James made us feel home. He made cocktails for us and we were pleasantly surprised! One of the best espresso martini and old fashioned ever (well done,James!). Love the vibe of the place. We went for a drink but ended up spending our whole evening,:)

Great dinner spot. Very good haggis

I would give this place zero stars if that was an option…Have been a few times before last year while on vacation but this time was dreadful. Went here earlier this week, the service was atrocious, no one came to greet us even though there is a sign that says “please wait to be seated” or whatever so we ended up just finding a seat ourselves and the young girl that served us was slightly rude, not sure what her name was but she had short blonde hair. My husband ordered a beer which tasted horrible and not just because it’s beer, i ordered a lager which was fine but i had tried it in another bar previously so nothing spectacular. We then tried the food which was almost inedible, the prices aren’t too bad but for the quality of food it’s a little pricey. Last time we went here it was good, the staff were friendly and always helpful. Now they all seem like they don’t know how to do anything which i surely do not blame them for as it is the managers duty to ensure their staff are trained. Definitely will not be returning if it stays like that.

Nice pub, I found the quantities of whiskey served very minimal

Gezellige bruine Schotse kroeg. Rumoerig en enorm gezellig. De bediening is vriendelijk en vlot. Het eten was erg lekker en vers bereid.

Good place to eat, we went a little late for lunch and they served us very well. The food was delicious.

Wonderful place, warm staff, excellent homemade food, and a humorous setting. Thank you for your welcome and your presence in Edinburgh! I recommend ++++++++

Not a bad pint but felt a little rushed by staff cleaning up

Great Scottish experience with amazing food and service!! Authentic Food, Yorkshire pudding and haggis. Drinks great also!! Go outside your comfort zone and try something new!! Here you will not be disappointed.

Walking into the pub it feels very lively. There isn’t much space between the bar and the tables which makes the atmosphere feel more energetic. They don’t play music which was strange initially but there are so many people that you don’t need it. We had the soup of the day, chicken and fish and chips. The fish and chips was fried perfectly with actual white fish but the sauce came in packets. The sauce was fake and frankly ruined their otherwise great fish and chips.

The atmosphere is very nice. The food was excellent. Staff super friendly.

Great store, everything okay...

Great pub, very centric as well, right by the Royal Mile. Great atmosphere, a rugby game was on. Food was absolutely incredible, best sausage and mash in Edinburgh!

We went here for a few drinks. Friendly and warm atmosphere. Staff were really nice. Drinks were lovely. The food here looked lovely from what we saw other people ordering!

5 stars from us the food the staff the atmosphere was superb .I recommend the haggis neeps and tatties , best i've ever had

A pretty rubbish place overall. First issue when we arrived was the two waiters clearly were new on the job and as they seated us prompted us to order food and drink and we had to say we've just arrived we need to look at the menu first. The waiters weren't unpleasant but just had no idea what they were doing. Next I ordered a pint of an IPA and they brought me the wrong drink which had to be swapped. When they finally brought me what I originally ordered it was an absolutely disgusting tasting and foul smelling pint. I took it to the bar and even the bar tender admitted it tasted off and they had already received multiple complaints about so why they kept serving it is beyond me. The pint was swapped but some of the waiters were adamantly denying it and it tasted how it was meant to. The next issue was that when the food arrived it was overall just very bland, nothing special at all. The real issue with the food was that my partners carrots were soaked in lemon juice. Clearly they cooked them all in the morning and soaked them in lemon juice to keep them fresh but it meant they only tasted on lemon and it ruined all the vegetables. Some of the staff were very nice and the atmosphere was decent in a nice space but in general the food was bad. Wouldn't recommend, go to another place instead.

Well known Pub just off the Royal Mile. Entry also from Bow Street Balcony near the Grassmarket. Local and touristic. Good food and drinks selection.More rooms downstairs.

Stopped for quick drink, was great place hadn't been to before, would go again.

Great experience, very friendly staff and good drinks. Highly recommended. Had a cherry drop and pint of edinburgh gold.

First visit at The Castle Arms and definitely the last one! Witnessed a very unpleasant, frightening situation while sitting in, 2 individuals walked in and one of them, a young man, started shouting at one of the bartender in a foreign language, the whole thing sounded like accusations, threats even, seemed like they knew each other, conflicts like that shouldn't be solved in a workplace, the incident made me feel very unwanted, uncomfortable and pretty afraid, wanted to leave right then!

Arrived at the pub, I must say it’s our favourite pub in Edinburgh, every time we come to the city it’s a must, and we’re greater by a gentleman who seemed to be in charge. He wasn’t too excited when he heard we are only popping in for a drink. ‘Grad a drink and seat at the bar if you are only drinking’. My partner ordered the drinks and I said before hand I want some crisps. As they were pouring the drinks, another member of staff was already handing the card machine for payment, upselling was definitely absent from his training. Sat down to enjoy a drink and all you could hear was the loud staff talking in a foreign language, who know what about, to the point where they managed to empty the pub before we finished our drink. Please invest some money in training you staff to start with. It’s such a shame to see a lovely place like this being so run down.

Been a couple of times, at foot of the castle, handy for all tourist attractions.

Cracking little pub with great views from the terrace fantastic breakfast

Very friendly bar staff, warm atmosphere, great drinks recommendations, prefect place to warm up after brisk walk around Edinburgh.

steak undercooked lamb was not that great gf left everything

I recently visited this place and unfortunately, it was a rather disappointing experience. Firstly, upon entering the establishment, I was immediately put off by the sight of a staff member rolling a cigarette behind the bar. Not only is this unprofessional, but it also creates an unpleasant atmosphere for patrons trying to enjoy their drinks. really??? To make matters worse, I observed that the same staff member, after handling money and rolling cigarettes, did not bother to wash their hands before handling food and drinks. This blatant disregard for basic hygiene standards is utterly unacceptable and left me feeling disgusted.Instead of focusing on serving guests, the employees seemed more interested in themselves. I noticed that they were talking among themselves, laughing, and generally ignoring the needs of the customers. This made the atmosphere in the pub very unpleasant, and I felt like I was an unwanted intruder. Never again

James and Samuel were very welcoming and accommodating, compliments to the chef for the breakfast we had. We had a great time, would recommend to those coming to Edinburgh. Will come back if I come back to Edinburgh.

Lovely place, great atmosphere with friendly staff! Maciej was very attentive and knew his stuff, with great recommendations and local knowledge. Will definitely visit again!

This is my first review ever, total waste of time! Poor service, incompetent staff, and zero regard for customers' time. Save yourself the frustration and go elsewhere!!!

Really welcoming place and staff, had a fantastic time here! Maciej made our experience even better, so friendly, recommended lots of places to go and just all round pleasant and enjoyable to talk to and spend time talking to whilst here! Would recommend to all everybody!

Fantastic staff, so friendly. The food was amazing - I’ve never tried haggis before until yesterday. Today feeling brave I tried the haggis tatties & neeps, such an amazing dish. My daughter loved the Yorkshire pudding, beef sausage & mash. The kids view was “best meal we have had so far on our visit”

No atmosphere, staff just speaking in foreign languages at the bar while we were the only customers made it feel awkward. Other than seating you, there was literally no other service wasn’t asked if we wanted more drinks or desserts (not that we did). I ordered a bottled beer that came with a dirty glass, and an Irn Bru that came in a marked up 59p bottle. (I know there’s a markup on all things but to show you the 59p and charge you the £2.60ish was a bit annoying. We ordered Sausage and mash having had it here a few years ago, when it was lovely. However, this time it came within a couple of minutes of our order so was clearly microwaved despite them saying food is cooked to order on their website. Extremely poor quality… especially the sausages which had large lumps of gristle in them. I was asked if I wanted peppercorn sauce or Mushroom sauce with it which I found weird, I just asked for gravy which was as bad as the rest of the meal, far from the red wine and onion gravy it came with a few years ago. Will never be coming back.

Very disappointed with this place. I used to come here after performing in the Edinburgh Tattoo - was always a great atmosphere. I came here this weekend and it felt quite unwelcoming to be honest. The staff were quite rude and very disengaged with the few customers they did have. Unfortunately I would not recommend coming to this place.

HUbert and Maciej were amazing barmen with a great banter and recommendations for our time in Scotland. Absolute babes and great atmosphere

Absolutely amazing experience!!! This place just felt like home, the atmosphere & the people/staff were just so lovely and lively I recommend everyone to visit<3. Hubert we love you 😆🫶🏽

I had the most lovely experience, great people and more than that the bar staff made my 25th birthday by going over and beyond. - Hubert you’re the best🫶🏽

The food and the service are incredible! My husband and I had a great time. We received a great service from Hubert and kris. Totally recommend! We are from the sunshine state in the U.S we travel a lot we had an excellent experience!

My daughter (16) & I were in Edinburgh last weekend. Before our visit to the castle we went for lunch. We decided to give The Castle Arms a try, it’s adjacent to the castle & looked like a nice spot, it also said had gluten free options when I looked it up. We went in and got a nice table. It was busy at this time. The server came over with the menus. I told her my daughter was coeliac and would just like even a bowl of soup if that was gluten free, no need for the bread. She said she needed to talk to the manager. When she came back, she said the manager said we’d be better off going somewhere else to eat. The girl was mortified and kept apologising, however the manager didn’t come near us to explain. We just had to leave, that was it. We were embarrassed as everybody was looking at us. Need to do better and be more inclusive. It’s not that hard. So if you’re a coeliac don’t bother going anywhere near the Castle Arms in Edinburgh

Typical Edinburgh pub - friendly staff!

Tasty food at reasonable prices. Was very busy when we visited but staff moved chairs around to sort us a table.

Taylor and the service was great!

Taylor, our waitress was wonderful!

Brilliant staff, great to have a drink on Hogmanay

Picked this place at random out of dozens. Felt we really chose well. Our bartender, Matthew, was great. Super nice and was extremely helpful in telling us about all their different whiskies, helping us choose which we would enjoy. Had a wonderful time with him and others there at the bar. Had a nice dinner there too. Beautiful place.

GREAT customer service , and great food, I recommend the fish and chips and overall the place was just great!

Taylor and Hubert where great 😊

Taylor and Hubert made it great, perfect cocktails/service. Would recommend definitely!

Climatic Pub in the city center just around the castle. Food was great, and also the service was really great.

Thanks Hubert, had a really nice time, good beers, and great place !

Great place! Good beers! And very good personals as Hubert! I recommend !

So happy I stumbled upon the Castle Arms. Had a great dinner (and drinks). Food was excellent and the staff were so friendly and attentive. Thank you to Hubert and the rest of the staff! It was the perfect cozy and lively environment for a cold winter night.

We went here to try and have a classic Scottish meal but unfortunately the service provided didn’t allow us to and we walked out. Guy behind bar seems in a bad mood and although pointed us to a table did not provide us a menu or drink options. Around 10 minutes later someone provided a menu but never came to take the order … 20 minutes later we left and went to another pub

Good service, very good food, correct price. There twice in this week, was top in oldtown. Top place to be and rest in edinburgh.

I came here for the weekend. I had so many disappointing experiences until I came here. The staff especially Mati & Hubert were so accommodating. Jules was also so patient. The staff are so friendly that I wish I could spend all my time here. Highly recommend. Best place in a wonderful spot.

Busy Sat lunchtime , but no need for miserable and some times rude staff . One bumped into me and nearly had me on other side of bar !! Gin and lemonade in a straight glass .. 👎 Fish n chips were average , but £17 for what was possibly frozen is not acceptable . Haggis/neeps /tatties came with tinned carrots/peas , which were cold , but no neeps !!!!!!! Shame because the rest of it was nice

Came to recreate a photo memory from 6 years ago. The staff loved it (cheers to Hubert) - and so did we!

It was with much trepidation, given the reviews, that we meet up with tourist friends for food and a meal here over the weekend. I can honestly say that it was fine. We all had 2 courses and a few bottles of wine and beer. We were shown to our table, ordered drink and food, the waiter was friendly and the place was clean, even the toilets. However, just after the starter was cleared the bill was presented to us! We said we’d pay later as we hadn’t had our mains yet and the guy apologised. Maybe it’s just a thing with the place as this practice has been mentioned in several reviews. All in all it was a good night and we may go back sometime.

Nice location. Very good staff. Clean restaurant Menus need a clean but not an issue Food wasn't special Steak sandwich was ok Sausage and mash. Hand made link sausage doubtful. Closer taste to Tesco's own sadly Would still go back Watch for service tip on the bill that they don't mention Didn't see it till we had left. Will come back though

Brutal food, looks and tastes like cheap pre cooked cr4p thats re-heated, and they couldn't get that right. My soup was cold and tastless. Asked for it to be heated, but still cold when it came back. Service as bad as food. PS. Make sure you don't want condiments.

simply PANTS service. asked for a whiskey and ginger ale and server acted like i was asking the bartender to denounce his scottish citizenship. Apologies if whiskey and ginger ale is an offensive drink order but i like it so eat my shorts 😼 asked for ice afterwards and his reaction had me too scared to ask for fresh lime too. waitress asked if we wanted any more drinks and we declined because we were still on our first drink, she didn’t seem happy with this and tried to push us to buy a beer anyways for some reason (respect the grind ig). When we asked for the bill the waiter scrunched it up and threw it at me like a basketball shot and yelled kobe. Okay that last part didn’t happen

One star is purely for food only, everything else was jarring. Our waiter judged my and my friend drinks choice, making some snarky comments about it in front of us. Excuse us for wanting something else than a pint of some piss beer! Drinks got no garnish at all but we decided to leave it cause a glass of ice was apparently a too big of an inconvenience already. When we got our food no one asked us if we need any sauces, salt, pepper nothing! After finishing the meal a waitress asked us if we want any drinks, we kindly declined as we still had our first drinks and she was still trying to pressure us to buy a pint. When we’re leaving this “pub” i said “Thanks, it was sh*t” I hope they heard me.

After a long walk we wanted just to sit and have few drinks. The bartender (who was rude) told us that if we wanted just drinks we had to stand by the bar. There were many tables available as the place was half empty but we were told that we had to stand and have the drinks. 1 star is too much to be honest.

Hubert is amazing! Love the old fashioned!

Amazing food and very friendly staff Herbert is super friendly definitely worth a visit

we called in today for lunch my wife is gluten free so she asked if they had anything gf . the server said the mushroom soup was gluten free when it arrived it looked like green sludge .i tasted this soup and it did not taste of mushrooms it had no real taste dont bother going to the castle arms

Super atentos y amables La comida fabulosa

recommend the Full Scotish Breakfast

Just off the Royal Mile and a two minute walk from the castle, this pub was a great atmosphere with friendly staff and great food! Definitely stop by the next time you're looking for a great dinner or drinks place!

Tried the Lamb Shank upon my bartender’s suggestion , as well as the mulled wine. I am travelling solo and Hubert, bartender, was very friendly and other locals super helpful and lovely to talk to! The location as a whole was exciting with many decorations on the walls & art on the ceiling. Portion of food is great!

Warm and cozy pub with friendly and inviting staff. Hubert was very accommodating and helped us navigate the Scotch Whisky experience. Highly recommend!

Ottima cena con prodotti locali e tradizionali. Personale cordiale

Eine Kneipe zum Wohlfühlen und Verweilen. Die Getränke sind lecker und preislich in Ordnung. Die Bedienungen sind freundlich und zuvorkommend. Wir sind hier immer sehr gerne hingekommen.

Absolutely lovely! From the delicious food to the nice staff, we loved everything. The decor and ambience are amazing and the music was great the whole time. Will definitely go back.

Still the best breakfast in the city. Never been disappointed. Friendly staff, clean everywhere. Very reasonably priced. Would highly recommend.

Avoid Castle Arms if you prefer your dining experiences minus the insult. Our recent visit was a disaster, marred by a waiter who seemed to think we'd bolt without paying, interrupting our meal to demand immediate settlement. The guy looked like a washed-up rocker, complete with gaping ear tunnels, and his service was as lackluster as his appearance. Asking for a split bill seemed to him as an unsolvable puzzle; it took him an age to even attempt it, and when he did, he got it wrong, handing us one bill for eight people. We ended up doing his job for him, splitting the bill ourselves while he hovered, useless as a chocolate teapot. To top it off, our food, which included what can only be described as a pathetic excuse for haggis, went cold as we dealt with the billing fiasco. It was soggy, tasteless, probably that whisky sauce saw whisky on a poster only ... and utterly disappointing. In short, Castle Arms is a no-go if you value your time, taste buds, and wallet.

Avoid Castle Arms if you prefer your dining experiences minus the insult. Our recent visit was a disaster, marred by a waiter who seemed to think we'd bolt without paying, interrupting our meal to demand immediate settlement. The guy looked like a washed-up rocker, complete with gaping ear tunnels, and his service was as lackluster as his appearance. Asking for a split bill seemed to him as an unsolvable puzzle; it took him an age to even attempt it, and when he did, he got it wrong, handing us one bill for eight people. We ended up doing his job for him, splitting the bill ourselves while he hovered, useless as a chocolate teapot. To top it off, our food, which included what can only be described as a pathetic excuse for haggis, went cold as we dealt with the billing fiasco. It was soggy, tasteless, probably that whisky sauce saw whisky on a poster only ... and utterly disappointing. In short, Castle Arms is a no-go if you value your time, taste buds, and wallet.

Nice food, good vibes! We enjoyed our stay for dinner and we had a good time :)

Lovely food and very reasonably priced , even more so as just under the castle . Good selection of home cooked food from Sunday dinners to club sandwiches and haggis fritters . Staff are great and attentive.

We were very well received, the dishes were delicious and plentiful. Hubert was adorable with my son. It's a place that I recommend to everyone.

We were very well received, the dishes were delicious and plentiful. Hubert was adorable with my son. It's a place that I recommend to everyone.

Great pub with exceptional staff. Drinks were bang on and was visiting the city for a birthday and was very well looked after. 100% worth a stop to hydrate and grab a bite to eat before continuing to explore Edinburgh.

Stopped in for early lunch - food was good for the most part (mash and chips slightly bland). Friendly and quick service

Underwhelming food. Irked by the automatically applied 10% ‘optional service charge’ by Hubert, whoever that was. Would not recommend. A disappointing experience. Plenty of other great places to eat nearby.

El lugar es tradicional y conserva el ambiente de taberna, ofrece comida típica de Escocia y está muy bien servida, la atención es amable y correcta.

I had an amazing time here for dinner. Karina, my server was very friendly, polite and professional, and the service throughout my dining experience has been fantastic to the end. I had a lamb shank for dinner accompanied with aperol spritz and finished with sticky toffee pudding for dessert. This is a very lively restaurant in the heart of Edinburgh and I will be back again soon

We visited Edinburgh for a city break and were struggling to find somewhere to eat on a Tuesday night as everywhere was fully booked. We seen the Castle Arms had 4 star reviews over 1000+ reviews. I don’t know what they’re putting in the drinks but they must be drugging people to get those reviews. We sat down and ordered food and drink, all seemed well….but then our food came before our drinks. One main came with the wrong side and didn’t have sauce either. Our drink then came and it was the wrong bottle of wine. The food literally came within 5 minutes of ordering, never a good sign and it tasted like cardboard. We had only just finished our food and the waiter asked if we wanted the bill. He did the same to the couple sitting next to us; who was still eating his food. The bill came and the service charge of 10% was deemed “optional” yet was put on the bill anyway. Stay away at all costs. Rude staff, terrible service and awful food. The questions ask “what food do you recommend?”, there was no option for none, so I’ll bang it on here.

The bartender was pretty rude and had a very poor attitude. Made fun of what we ordered and was yelling in Polish to all his workmates across the restaurant the whole time. Was like witnessing a place run by teenagers. Burger over cooked, poor service. Reading other reviews, management couldn’t care less. Avoid!

A disappointing experience with a very rude guy behind the bar. Only saving grace was the manager who came out to apologise for his behaviour and attitude. We just had a couple of drinks, lager with a huge head, and ale, which had no head at all. I politely asked the guy to sort them and he became very rude. Standard city prices without the quality of service. Thank you to the manager who came out to apologise, do you really want people like this representing your business?

If I could put 0/5, I would. We ordered a (very well done) burger for almost 15£. What I received was 2 pieces of dry bun, burn meat and 1 slide of onion. Yes, I didn't want tomato but trust me, it wouldn't save that burger ;) for the price, it was really a joke. We left with a discount, but hungry... On the other hand, I have to say that the waiter was really nice and apologized to us few times.

Super kelner, miły, kompetentny, profesjonalny, pomocny i wogole super

Hubert was so friendly and did a great service. We’ll definitely go back!!

Hubert is a funny bloke who made our time in Edinburgh top knotch

hubert was an amazing host. knowledgeable and quite dashing if you're a lady looking for love. visit the castle arms with no hesitation while in edinburgh