The Empress in Edinburgh, City of

Don’t go awful rude aggressive staff OMG apparently I am barred despite never being there on accused night. Was told by the exceptionally rude aggressive finger pointing bar boy that I had apparently been there drinking at table 2 (wherever that is) “a while back” with some girlfriends and was drinking my own wine. He said if I gave my name he could say if it was me. I did and apparently he didn’t know the name of the person so therefore could not substantiate this ridiculous and offensive claim. Never in my life have I encountered such rudeness and unjustifiable accusation. I would happily admit to any wrongdoings but being accused of frequenting a venue on a day/night that I wasn’t there and accused wrongly of behaviour that I would not commit in a bar that I have always paid good money in is beyond belief. Do not go - rude, inconsiderate staff who blandly tell lies and accuse innocent people Previous experience has always been great. I even have a discount card, previous staff wonderful - this young boy awful, no customer service and it is easy to say that it’s not acceptable in this day in age to actually finger point at someone and talk aggressively. He did actually point his finger at me with no proof. Nor had no name of the supposedly accused person or when I asked for the cctv camera proof he could not provide any evidencePlease don’t go, staff who behave like this should be trained properly or work in a different environment.

Ordinato un fish e Chips. Sinceramente non mi è piaciuto per niente. Vi ho trovato le spine. Le patate erano a mio avviso poche ed in generale a Edimburgo per lo stesso prezzo ho mangiato porzioni a mio avviso più abbondanti. Il posto è carino come stile ed in centro.

Stumbled across this pub and thank goodness we did. Atmosphere was buzzing on a Saturday afternoon! Haggis bonbons were yummy as was the fish n chips & I am assured the scampi n chips was just as good. Great location if you are going to the playhouse. We will definitely visit again.

Well worth the 4000 mile trip! Great breading on fish and quick service. Just wish we had found it sooner on our trip.

Great place for a few drinks, good selection of beers and whiskies, friendly staff, interesting decor.

popped in for lunch, yummy flatbread and yummy paprika halloumi chips, food prices are fair for what you get, friendly staff

Overall, great aesthetic but kind of a weird place to have lunch. Also, don't trust the soup of the day! Maybe better night life?

We visited here after work on a Friday evening and had flatbreads which were rather fabulous - this is not a negative but they are not exactly "snack" size and we were quite full afterwards. Good selection of beers and lovely staff too. We really enjoyed our couple of hours here and will certainly be back. The staff we very friendly and so helpful, particularly the lovely blonde lady (sorry don't know her name) who took our order. This place is so very welcoming and we will be making a habit of going here.

Went to this bar for flatbread pizzas there were a few to pick from with a good choice of toppings, I opted for the salami & jalapeño option which was really tasty, good beer good food worth a try

Mi amigo y yo buscamos a Trip Advisor para cenar en una de nuestras noches en Edimburgo. No nos decepcionó. Grandes comidas sabrosas, personal atento que fue muy servicial al seleccionar del sabroso menú de cócteles. Hazte un favor y visita The Empress al menos una vez durante tu tiempo en Edimburgo

Really lovely staff, couldn't have been more welcoming and attentive. Flatbread was delicious! Gin cocktail definitely recommended too. Worth visiting.

Me my partner and dog always come here when visiting from Glasgow. Food is exceptional great flavours and presented beautifully. My partner who's not a mad foodie asked for just plain cheese sandwich which they accomadated for us. The staff are truly brilliant making everyone that enters feel at ease. And there are a few that are easy on the eye which helps. :-):-P We truly love this bar are only complaint is there isn't another close to home!

Wonderful find! So many vegan options, friendly staff, and just a really relaxed atmosphere for nibbling and schlurping :")

Lovely pub close to the town centre. We ate the flatbread this time, delicious and simple. We like this place, nice, warm, typical. Friendly staff, fair prices, good choice of drinks and good food. Recommended

Well located at the top of Broughton Street, this is a really nice bar with a good selection of drinks and a well turned out interior. Have not eaten here but have been told that the food is very nice. Staff are on the ball and friendly.

Came here for the first time on a Saturday night for tea and was very impressed by the accommodating staff and the really delicious food. I had a bacon cheeseburger with fries and their home made pink lemonade and so far that was the best burger I've ever had so far. The lemonade was very tasty and refreshing. The staff is very nice and the place is very cosy. Must try.

Simple small city centre pub with good grub.

I love this place for its great decor and pleasant atmosphere. It's lively without being overwhelming. Great place for drinks with friends.

The colors just felt like something I would like to copy for my own home. The food was good and the service very friendly.

Had a quick drink here before going somewhere else on Broughton Street for a meal. Nice friendly service and not too badly priced. Menu looked good and food tasty.

Came in for three hours to have a chilled lunch while reading- was immediately greeted with a friendly waitress who brought water over without me even asking! Food was prompt and delicious with great vegan options. Really enjoyed my lunch here and would highly recommend to anyone.

Nice to see it's got a matriarchal name! The Emperor would have been a tad off-putting, for me: and I'm not a feminist! Inside there's all the attributes of the right kind of Atmospherics for both an individual, and a group. Friendly atmosphere, and attentive bar staff. There's a lot to see, along this iconic street, but make sure you spend some time, here!

I was in this pub tonight and ordered 3 drinks at the bar.I gave the barman £20 and I then saw him going round tables collecting glasses.I called him over and he went back to the till and gave me my £8 change.He was unapologetic. I was not impressed.

A pub is a pub but what makes it is the staff and their attitude. We had four visits here over the course of a weekend in Edinburgh and each time the staff were excellent and were willing and able to recommend something new to try each time.

a great pub with good drink and an excellent menu. Very good value for money had one of their all day breakfasts, thank goodness had the small one, could never have finished a large one

We visited the empress on a short visit to Edinburg. We stayed in a hotel nearby and found it by luck. The burger was the best burger I have tasted in a long time and the selection of beers just endless. The water was very nice and everything was served quickly. I totally recommend it!

In before the Scotland game for some food and beers with a group. Busy but well looked after. Breakfast was well priced, tasty and came quickly. Burgers looked good aswell. Will revisit to try.

Visited tonight burger ensemble very average. Scampi plate downright joke expected more.was looking forward to a bar food night.the photos you have are obviously staged should have rippled with the pre cooked ribs.

Here I am as a solo traveller in Edinburgh on a cold January night. They turned up the lights for me so I could read my book at one of the tables. They had a great range of beers on tap. And then I had the fish cakes (a”starter” - it was perfect-sized for supper) which came with a pesto/style sauce to die for. Literally, because I asked the chef for the recipe and he said he would have to kill me if he gave it to me. (While laughing... but still, dammit, not handing over the recipe.) Add this to your list of must-do Edinburgh places.

Stopped here for lunch. Interesting place. Very into the theatre scene. Pub area is as you enter, the restaurant is in the back. Atmosphere was good, staff was very friendly, and service was very good. I ordered the soup of the day, which was excellent. Located on Broughton Street just south of York Place. I will visit again. Give it a try.

Good food. Good service and the mulled wine knocks spots of markets! Also do hot apple toddy Brilliant!

A group of friends were here for a long weekend , it became our place for brunch for 3 days as we were staying close by on princes street and we thought the quality of food was excellent. The staff were attentive and helpful and the surroundings were very relaxing.

It is very close to Princess Street but away from hustle if the busy street. They serve a mean burger and a delicious dish of fries with sauces. Plenty if cocktails to choose from and a very friendly staff to help you chose.

Very cool place close to the city centre, walking distance from Princes street. Nice and warm place, we have been there for the second time and we enjoyed our stay. We had lunch there, sitting in a table, eating a flat bread with pesto, mozzarella and tomato, a burger and a salad. It was all good and delicious, fair price, friendly staff. Not too busy but it was on a Saturday late afternoon. Absolutely recommended!!!!

I recently visited this relaxed bar and no word of a lie i had one if not the best burger i have ever had! My companion was from the US and they also said this was one of the best burgers they have had. Strongly recommend this place. You will not be dissapointed. Great food and exceptional beers and selection of beverages. Great friendly staff and fast service. Well worth a visit. Well done to the team and hats off to the chefs.

Called here for a pint before heading out for dinner in a nearby restaurant. We had visited before and knew the service and beers were good. Slightly disappointed on this visit as there were 3 tables with reserved notices on them for 6.00pm and even though it was now 6.30 they wouldn't allow them to be used and hence the bar floor was crowded with patrons standing around. We left after 7.00pm and only one of the tables had been taken. It's not great to have customers standing when there are empty tables in the bar.

Friday night drink before Forth on the Fringe at the Playhouse (saw Jimeoin, but only realised it was him after the show!). Nice little bar with good selection of beers. Food looked good as well.

Buscábamos un pub para comer y en el Empress estuvimos muy a gusto.

Abandoned their local model and updated to combine cask beers with something more modern. Funny to see the under 20 (or perhaps 16) crowd up the stairs and the over 40 crowd at the bar.

The Empress offers a great menu and a very good craft beer selection (regularly rotated guest beers). It's cosy, dog friendly and in a great location.

Dropped into this bar as we were in the area and had a late lunch. The food was excellent, the staff polite and helpful and the atmosphere cosy yet quiet. We had a burger and the meatball flatbread, both of which were delicious.

Had never noticed this current incarnation, but so glad that we popped in this evening. We were only planning on drinks, but stayed for the quiz and ordered some snacks. Reasonably prized, great decor and good service, will definitely visit again!

Called here for a drink with friends and decided to eat after seeing the menu. Burgers and flatbread being their specialities. They also do a good fish and chips. My burger is one of the best I've tasted in ages. Very juicy and obviously made by the chef. Drinks here are good too from draft beer to cocktails. Staff were attentive and friendly and we really enjoyed this quirky pub.

We bought an itison deal 12 quid for 2 flatbread and two beers. Hubby ordered meatball flatbread and I had chorizo flatbread and we shared them. Also ordered a portion of Cajun fries as I had read reviews saying how good they were. The flatbreads were lovely we preferred the meatball one and the fries were lovely but at 4 quid for a bowl thought it was pretty overpriced. The beers were lovely. For what we paid it was fab don't know if I would have wanted to pay full price of £10 a flat bread.

My friend and I were to use our wowcher it was really nice now i know this pub we will come back. Service was good and we really enjoyed our flatbreads and our baby bottle of prosecco.. Thanks we will be back

Had a voucher for this bar, which included flatbreads and a drink, we opted for the cocktail.

Awesome burgers although i recommend the chilli dog! Staff are friendly and know their beers. Relaxed atmosphere, no pretentiousness and a true gem of a pub!

Beers good here, small and welcoming pub not yet tried the food so cant comment but looks good look forward to rying

Took advantage of a voucher to try out this eatery on a particularly cold Saturday. Plenty staff but little attention - took an age to place our order - had to ask to put in our request for drinks, then again for food - despite sitting in full view of the bar.

Delicious flatbreads...we had smoked salmon and crab and the veggie option was the feta and sundried tomatoes. Good music, great selection of beers (really recommend the Pilot Mochaccino), friendly staff...had a great night!

We had flatbreads and a wee drink here on Sunday. The revamped Mathers Bar is really good and atmospheric, and the menu choices ace. We had flatbreads which were superb, and the service was really good and friendly.

Very last minute decision to go eat. Found this amazing pub/restaurant run by Ryan with the best and most charming waitress Jessica.

This place is a wee gem. Great Beers, Great food, Great service and Great Music.

Nipped in for a bite to eat. There was a great range of beers and more, lovely flatbread and very friendly attentive staff. Really laid back atmosphere and good music. Would highly recommend!

This place has been great every time when going out for drinks and occasional quick meal ( burgers) in the evening.

Really lovely casual pub grub with a Hipster twist. Stumbled upon this gem on a wander back to our hotel. We both went for traditional Fish & Chips which was delicious. Bar staff are really down to earth and chatty and happy to offer recommendations.

Stumbled in here looking for some eaterie with a flea in its name , thought this was it , never mind , still happy

Was initially disappointed to discover my reserved table wasn’t available but Dave the Manager could not have been more helpful. A perfect example of how to turn the situation round. Found us a table and. Ade sure we were well looked after. Great atmosphere, nice pub food.

Great selection of local lagers and beers, casual food and cocktails on offer. Likely better for a drink than a meal, but either way, a great addition to Broughtom Street

Great selection of beers and good service to match. Not overjoyed with the two different burgers we ate, but after waiting more than half an hour for them, we were too hungry to care. Would try something different from the menu next time.

Vriendelijke bediening,wou een typisch Schots biertje drinken en mocht zomaar proeven van drie soorten om dan te kiezen.Ook het interieur is echt gezellig!Een aanrader bij een bezoek in Edinburgh

We stumbled across this bar and decided to have lunch here and were glad we did.

Loved this little gem of a hideout-staff great, food lovely and cocktails amazing. Will definitely recommend for a good night out and many thanks to the chef who was ever so obliging-top marks

ヨークプレイスにあるビルの中にあるダイニングバー。昼から営業しているので、カフェとしても使える。夜はビールや各種ドリンク。食事メニューとしてはハンバーガーなど典型的なバー料理がある。ハンバーガーを食べたが、ボリューム満点でおいしかった。

Come here all the time and love it. It's a nice bar to go to because it's still in a central location, but there is always plenty of seats available, which you don't always find in other bars across New Town.

Loads of great beers and interesting menu. Sadly the mussels and pulled pork had run out by the time we got there but the fish and chips and veggie burger filled the slots. Great staff and always a seat which is surprising.

Best bloody Mary in Scotland. Food is of a high quality and prices are cheap. I would recommend this place to anyone I know.

Saturday morning on Broughton Street Edinburgh, 2nd Sept 2017....10am ....looking for great breakfast and bloody Mary's. Two places wouldn't.t serve blood.y Mary's, but this place did....the manager made us two of the best bloody Mary's we've ever drunk....big generous, spicy and strong. Had scrambled eggs with smoked salmon. TOtally perfect. Top recommendation. Superb service and drinks and food. We are locals and we will be returning.

Met a friend here for lunch midweek. I had booked a table the previous week, it was busy so glad I did that.

Die Bedienung war sehr nett und hilfsbereit. Die Burger waren klasse. Und es gab sogar verschiedene Biere zum probieren um uns die Auswahl zu erleichtern.

Un restaurant fréquenté essentiellement par les Ecossais pour un dîner en ville bon marché.

Myself and a friend were in on Tuesday night for a few drinks after just having dinner elsewhere. It had a lovely relaxed feel to it and the drinks menu was great! (We had 2 cocktails each, can't remember the names but they were lovely!) Staff were friendly and attentive and the prices were good. Food menu looked good as well so we said we'd go back for food another time. The salt & pepper cashews were also very tasty!

This is our new local! It is a great bar with lovely welcoming staff who recognise us and tempt us with our favourite dark beer! Food is good (expect Edinburgh prices as it is in centre of town). Highly recommended. Five stars.

Bon accueil, cadre très sympa, artistique et original, service cool et bons plats (produits frais) pour une soirée jeune et décontractée. Je souhaite une longue et belle vie à cet établissement !

We had our lunch here. Staff very friendly and we're also very fast, Free wifi and food was very good. Would come back to eat here again.

Breakfast Food was just ok, but spent £20 bucks, veggie breakfast bendick and a hot chocolate Go somewhere cheaper and nicer restaurants in Leith.

Went in for breakfast. The Empress is some American tattooist. What I liked about the breakfast was that I was able to get 'eggy bread' without maple syrup etc. Coffee good, staff pleasant. Fine for breakfast.

Popped in for breakfast on Sunday and despite there only being one other table in who were only having drinks the waitress seemed to be going out of her way to ignore us

drink prices where very good here. no complaints on that front but staff where rude and continually ignored us when waiting to be served

simpel eten van hoge kwaliteit, grote keuze uit zeer verschillende bieren (per land), goede aanbevelingen van de gezellige obers, fijne muziek, bijzondere cocktails

Great place , love the music , attractive waiter . Good menu very good halloumi fries really tasty , would recommend over branded restaurants close by . Well done guys

My second time in the place and had an issue with something I ordered last time not being the same on this visit. The staff replaced it and even gave us 50% off our bill and a free drink. It was so unexpected and went above and beyond. I would have been happy with just a new flatbread! Food was delicious and really loving the new decor. Will definitely be returning for a third visit :)

Great atmosphere in here to watch the rugby.

Great atmosphere, really friendly team, and a good range of gins and cocktails. Not huge, but a good amount of seating on 2 levels seemed about right. Nice feel to the place and a great location on Broughton St - well worth trying

We are from the U.S. and are staying in Edinburgh for a few days. We have visited The Empress twice in the past 24 hours and can honestly say this is one of the best bars we have ever been to. Andrew, Pedro, and George have taken the best care of us and served us the best beers, whiskey, and cocktails. I highly recommend visiting. Superb service and quality, amazing environment. The best place we have visited on our journey to Scotland. Do not miss out on your chance to visit The Empress while you're in Edinburgh!

Just reviewed the empress under the name of mathers. Great food and staff very friendly. Bar looks kind of unfinished but I soon forgot about that and didnt distract from a good night out.

Stopped in for a glass of wine, was surprised to see it was no longer Mathers, but the bartenders seemed cheerful & I liked that it was dog friendly. So I tried to order food but after being given a menu nobody came back to ask for my order. Somebody even managed to sneak past me and clear the table nextdoor whilst avoiding eye contact.

Came in here with friends on a Saturday night for a few drinks and a laugh and we were asked to leave due to having fun!! What happened to the fun Mathers bar it use to be?? If you after a dull quiet drink this is the place to go now! Yawn!

This place seemed really nice. Then we got in trouble from the mgmt for having fun. Apparently it is not acceptable to have in jokes and laugh whilst enjoying alcoholic beverages

Love this place! Good beer/cider, dog friendly and super nice atmosphere. This place is quickly becoming our local

I visited with friends for dinner after we looking around to different places, i.e. omni centre, and could not find anywhere a table. I was actually very happy this happened because I had the best burger I had in a long time in a restaurant. I found the place nice and atmospheric. I enjoyed the food and had some nice drinks. I have to say that staff were extremely helpful and looked after us very well. Only thing that was not as good was that the music was a bit too loud for a place with food and could hardly hear each other.

We have been once at lunchtime and we found a very nice place. Very close to the centre, the place is nice and warm, nice atmosphere, it wasn't busy. Friendly personnel and comfortable place; the food was delicious, I ate a burger and my wife a couple of starters, including a good soup. Everything was well cooked and well served on a small wooden board. Everything was good, a nice discovery. Recommended!!!

Went in for breakfast, after being in the night before. Nice venue, nice staff, good food, nice selection of drinks available,... handy for the theatre (just round the corner)

Had lovely food & drinks. New decor is very nice & the service was fab....worth trying. The halloumi chips are a must!

Definitely recommend it here, food is amazing and prices are very reasonable. Staff are friendly too!