The Sheep Heid Inn in Edinburgh, City of

Very tired 3 ladies from hiking to Arthurs Seat are very happy after visiting your place. Fantastic food, wonderful atmospere and fabulous service from Rhona, Ruk and Sandy. Thank you!

A great stop after visiting Arthur's Seat. Friendly staff and gorgeous pub garden.

Rhona, Ruk and Sandy took really great care of us. We really enjoyed it being here. Food was delicious and skittles were awesome ;)

Had a lovely time here in the beer garden! Our servers Skye and Harri were brilliant! Can’t recommend enough

My husband and our 2 girls had such a wonderful experience at the Sheep Heid. The waitresses were so friendly and told us to enjoy the Skittles Lane after our meal and told us a lot of history of the place , which we really appreciated and enjoyed. The food was absolutely amazing and the atmosphere was cozy and charming. We can’t wait to come back.

Just outside Edinburgh a pub with outdoor space. Apparently the oldest pub in Scotland

Scotland's oldest pub (1360). It's a 45 minutes walk from the Salisbury area in Edinburgh. Lovely walk over the hills, with a beautiful view of the city. Please visit the garden in the backyard, plenty of tables outside.

Lovely food in a quaint building in an obscure location.

The people are super friendly, the food is delicious and it is a very nice place.

The pub is great. The service and the food awfu.. Such a shame. Horrible service for Mother’s Day.

Visited on Sunday, Irena was our server. Food was lovely, and the service was amazing! Would definitely visit again!

I had a lovey mothers day meal at the sheep heid on Sunday. Irena looked after us brilliantly and the food was fantastic. Can’t wait to visit again.

It’s definitely one of our favourite pubs in Scotland. Good food and friendly atmosphere. Harry is a precious young man!

Had an amazing sunday roast a few weeks back. Such nice service, great food and overall super atmosphere. Perfect afer having been up to Arthur‘s Seat

Great meal and skittles. Our server Harry was great!

The oldest pub in Scotland still in existence. Established in 1360!!! Great food, great beer, great service.

Lovely pub to visit for a Sunday Roast after a walk on nearby Arthur's Seat. Harry and the team really looked after us and the food was both delicious and overall good value. Looking forward to our next visit!

Visiting the oldest pub in Scotland history was an unforgettable experience. A gem of a pub with a legendary barman. Sandy brought the place to life with his warm welcome, quick wit, and endless stories. He made everyone feel like a local, whether you were just popping in for a pint or settling in for the night. His knowledge of the pub’s history and his genuine love for it made the experience something special. Highly recommend!

Great staff and the food was beautiful.

Stunning location and amazing food! We had a delicious lunch. The steak sandwich was cooked to perfection with the most delicious beef dripping sauce. The strawberry and rhubarb crumble was absolutely amazing so tasty. Both of these dishes were recommended by Harry Who was super friendly and super helpful and made us feel so welcome from the very beginning. We will definitely be back

Great place to eat after going down Arthur's seat! Affordable restaurant given the food quality! The soup was the best starter and really heartwarming due to the cold weather.

Incredible roast dinner in a beautiful setting. Thank you Harry for excellent service!

Tasty food. Harry made us very welcome and provided excellent service.

Booked here for food on Saturday evening, staff very well presented & very attentive, very polite. The Sheep Heid had changed massively since the last time I was there(years ago). Very well presented, traditional Scottish theme & cosy & quiet, great service, food was excellent. I gave 3 stars for the location as from the bus there is a 15-minute walk, no parking spaces, so park in the Qeens carpark about 5min walk.

A great location which seems fly helps trading with the premises being packed at 4pm on the Sunday we visited. However the roast was reasonable rather than being exceptional. Roasties and veggies were just about warm and the pork belly was a tad dry. Ingredients were missing from our dishes and a meal was misordered which led to a delay however the server sorted it all with minimal fuss and professionalism. I'd like to give them another try but with so many other promising options in the area I'm unsure....

Great food and service and beer!

Took forever between our starter and mains. 40 mins approx. When the mains did come, it was obvious that one of the dishes was just blasted in the microwave and not properly prepared (fish and chorizo fish cakes). The buttermilk burger was average. I wouldn’t be returning for food, but a great beer garden to enjoy some sunshine, when it comes out.

The food was genuinely so bad , it was borderline inedible , the staff and location are fabulous but the food was expensive and genuinely disgusting, could barely eat more than a bite or two , would not eat here again

We had a lovely visit to sheep heid inn. The food was wonderful and the service was first class. Irena was very friendly, helpful and a credit to the team. 5 star experience from start to finish, and we will definitely visit again!

Good experience, good food. A nice place to hang out after hiking Arthur's Seat. It's also a very old pub. Beers are good. Good was great. More of a high end pub. Would recommend.

We liked the place, its decoration, the menu, its history and especially the treatment of the waiter Harry, friendly and prepared to attend to all our requests.

Great place. Incredible food, probably the best beef roast I’ve ever had. Very friendly staff. Kind of hard to get there on foot from the city centre, but nevertheless a great place. Will definitely visit again when I hopefully visit Scotland again.

Very nice experience, the waitress very friendly and cordial. Exquisite food

Food was great and the staff were so lovely. Shout out to the replacement eye on the sheep head 👁️ we were served by Daut - thank you!

We had Sunday Roast (Beef Duo Roast and the Roast Chicken), along with Halloumi fries and the Spicy Chicken bites for starters, then the apple tart and the poached pear for dessert. It was a birthday lunch for myself, and everything was perfect. We had a wonderful table upstairs, right by the radiator (perfect on a cold day!), and service was incredibly attentive and prompt. The food was perfection as always. All of it delicious, well-cooked and nicely-presented. The atmosphere of The Sheep Heid Inn is a blend of modern and historical, in a gorgeous location just by Arthur's Seat and the small village there, and we enjoy eating there each time we're in Edinburgh.

Amazing pub. Landlord very friendly, staff lovely, although the over use of the wprds nice and perfect were grating. 1/2 roast chicken was nice, and the pork was nice. I could have done with it hot rather than lukewarm. Very dog friendly If we are ever back in the area we will definitely visit again.

No steaks on a sat night Almost cold mash Date night dinner Malbec pie Pork belly and scallops Billionaires fries Garlic pizza A nice romantic dinner with my wife and seen all the reviews we may have expected too much A little disappointed ☹️

Very disappointed- asked before ordering if we could use my wife’s birthday voucher against the set lunch menu was told that would be no problem. Bill arrived and we had been charged £12 more than we should have. Queried and we were told that we had been misinformed by the members of staff. A manager (presumably) said he would sort it and came back with the same bill worded differently. Paid the bill but raging. Won’t be back. My main wasn’t that good anyway.

The pub's atmosphere is great, the staff were very nice but not very attentive, and the food was disappointing, especially for the price we paid. We visited last Saturday and there were people in but I would not describe it as busy. I am all for the ethos of good food doesn't come fast, but other than the meal I had ordered for myself (fish and chips) the rest of our party were very disappointed with the quality of their meals for the price we paid. We waited a long time for our meals to arrive. The children's meals, apart from the chips were inedible - unfortunately, the staff did not check back on us to see how our food was so it could not be rectified. We had also wanted to order more drinks which we had wanted but there was no one around to ask. The burger buns were stale and the burgers were very dry. They ate what they could as they were hungry after a long wait. I certainly won't be going there again for a meal. Would only go back for pints and chips.

Being at the Sheep Heid Inn with some friends during a 6 Nations weekend we had our best lunch in Edinburgh. This is a true and well-ambitioned "Gastro-Pub" with extremly delicious food - each of us had three courses - and very friendly service.

Loved every second there. Felt very welcome and had an amazing time :) big thank you to Harry , Ruk and Rhona for creating such a warm and friendly vibe 🫶

The place was beautiful, the atmosphere feels like being in 1700,food and drinks were great. Harry the waiter made our experience ever more exceptional! He took us to the skittle game room, he explained the history of the pub, he was polite, and I would definitely recommend this whole trip to anyone!

Ciara super friendly from arrival til when we left. Made us feel very welcome throughout and made sure our dog felt like the star. Thank you!

The atmosphere, service, and food quality were exceptional. I will definitely bring a date here again.

Don't trust the pictures. We turned up slightly early for our table booked way in advance. We immediately had mixups on our drinks, food, and timing of our food. The service was so slow despite it being practically empty, and we couldn't even finish our mains before they had begun closing up (we must've been there two hours with one drink ordered each, waiting, beforehand). Drinks were underwhelming and tasted watered down, food was bland with most of the menu unavailable. What we can only assume was the manager (from her tone of voice) preemptively brought out my friends main before I had even ordered mine, and then thought it appropriate to reprimand a member of staff right next to our table over what seemed to be a completely unrelated matter... This place was empty, and that's a back of house matter. I've no doubt they'll reply with the same insincere offer to contact them, as is the the case from other user reviews... I now know this isn't a one-off, but a serious drop in level of service that's been happening for a while now. It's sad, that a building with such a storied history is in incapable hands, but at least they'll still have their visit from the queen a decade ago to brag about. The staff came across as endearing, but definitely seemed to be under poor management. It's a shame I had to waste time and money there. £100 down the drain, and for the first time in my life, I just wished I walked out.

Amazing place! We’re very well served! Thanks Harry and Rhonda for your attention!

Great Sunday lunch at the Sheep’s Heid for a big family group. Excellent service from Ciara, fab food and drink. Not cheap but worth it. Was a tad chilly in the upstairs bar but it was 3degrees outside.

We booked the skittles alley and a table for dinner in the sheep heid after for 5 adults and 4 children. There was a lot of back and forth with the booking due to kids needs, but Ruk was so understanding and accommodating. The space was lovely and we had a great time. One of the lovely waitresses even brought in the birthday cake with candles singing. Afterwards we moved to the restaurant and the kids were pretty loud/wild, but our waitress was so great with them, and everyone was very patient, polite and helpful. The food was great and good value for money. The atmosphere was lovely. Felt like being in the country in the middle of a city! We would absolutely recommend, especially with children and would go back! (Also, there is a very handy car park!)

Met a friend here for a late lunch/early dinner, easy to find and parked in pub car park around back. Lovely place, lots of atmosphere, cosy but tables not too close together either! Huge choice of food on the menu & a good range of non alcoholic drinks too. Staff friendly & welcoming. Our waitress Ciara was very helpful with queries about things on the menu & happy to make smalltalk while we decided. Food was great & came in a timely manner. We sat for 3 hours & did not feel rushed at all or feel like we had to leave because we were finished. Highly recommended.

My wife, baby daughter and 2 friends went here for lunch last week. The venue is an attractive authentic pub. It may be old but it is clean, comfortable and had a pleasant vibe. They have a good menu, offering a variety of pub classics and also some unique dishes. The staff were young, polite and well-mannered. Although, I was a bit nervous when the lifted hot food over my daughters head. I feel like they should’ve went to the side of her. I also noticed that they didn’t tell us what the daily specials were. Nevertheless, for starters we ordered halloumi fries, beef ragu croquettes and the sticky chicken bites. All these dishes were excellent and arrived at an adequate time after ordering. I particularly enjoyed the halloumi fries. They perhaps lacked crisp but the certainly made up for it in flavour. The sweet chilli dip was marvellous. The croquettes and chicken bites were also very tasty and cooked well. For mains I was stuck between the surf and turf and the lamb rump. I asked the waiter for a recommendation and he didn’t really sell it but he suggested I went with the lamb. I commend this as the S&T was more expensive. For a side I got some mac and cheese. I think everyone else ordered a burger of some sort. Now this is when the review takes a dive. So our table was booked for 12:30 and we were hoping to get away for 2:30 so my daughter could have a nap (unnecessary details) but here we are and it’s 3pm and we are still waiting on our mains. The restaurant was pretty full and so I appreciate that they were very busy. The staff were nice enough to tell us that there would be a 20 min delay for our mains and then over 30 mins had passed (no offering of top up drinks) and they came back and again further apologised and said that it’ll be another 7 mins (wow, very precise) but we waited way more than this. Again, we m understood that it was busy and cut them some slack but nobody had food at their table around us. It was almost like the chef had finished early. By the time our food came I was hungry again and was expecting a beautiful feast of a meal. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case. I got a few pieces of lamb and some potatoes - Really?? I ate it in about 3 mins. It tasted fine but my expectation was way higher, especially at £24!! The mac and cheese was way overcooked, lacking any creaminess. Crisp on top and crisp on bottom. Very disappointing. Others felt their burgers were satisfactory, but as good as they hoped? Certainly not. They looked and tasted very basic and so did the fries. My friend upgraded to billionaire fries which was comical. They looked the exact same as the normal fries and we were about to tell the staff that there was an error with the order but he realised there was a little bit of parmesan on top. I didn’t realise that this is what makes them billionaire - wow! By the time we finished our mains were had grab the bill and quickly shoot off! This was a real shame because I was looking forward to having a dessert as they had a good selection. We didn’t fancy waiting another hour for these. If it wasn’t for the lovely starters I would give this place a 2 star. This further backs our theory that the chef left mid shift because the mains were significantly worse. Maybe the waiters had to make the food themselves? Thankfully the good company made up for the disappointing, and expensive, meal. 3 stars is VERY generous.

Great Atmosphere, friendly service, fab food

Visited today for the first time. Staff friendly and the pub looks just lovely. Unfortunately that’s the end of the good points. The food was really disappointing. We were in for lunch before 3pm and were told they’d run out of burgers. My pork belly was tasty, but some of my potatoes were undercooked. The crackling was the worst I’ve ever had, and I had three massive pieces. Couldn’t eat it. “Bottomless gravy” but you have to ask for it. Just as well, because there was not enough on my plate. Side order of chips was served cold. Won’t be hurrying back.

Really disappointing visit. Food took ages to come, was cold and had to be sent back. Not worth the money as had the look and taste of a supermarket frozen meal that had not been heated up properly. Serving staff were fantastic, friendly and run off their feet. We were seated upstairs and the room felt cold too.

Beautiful food, wonderful atmosphere, will be going soon. Our server, Harry was absolutely wonderful and polite, made our night absolutely wonderful. The sheep heid inn went above and beyond

The best spot for Sunday roast in Edinburgh

It is well worth a visit, but the loud music does nothing to make a better atmosphere

Old pub with great atmosphere in a beautiful location!

Came here for my mothers birthday and was extremely disappointed and unimpressed with the service the food took a long time to come and had many issues with the food such as my grandmothers meal was cold and so was mines not a generous amount of cheese on the Chese burger as well and the chips were very cold will not be back very unimpressed with the dirty cups as well my grandmothers food was sent back twice and still cold!!!!!

I had one of the best moments of my life in this place, specially because of Hari, brilliant soul - the waiter. The quality of the food and drinks are superb, plus the whole atmosphere of the place that is not less than enchanting!

The oldest pub in Edinburgh, so beautiful and great for a meal after a hike to Arthur’s seat. Tasty food and great service, especially Skye who took our photo in the high chairs the Queen sat in!

Same as it was 40 years ago - brilliant!

Beautiful place but was quite cold. Food was OK. Amazing, friendly, helpful staff.

Great little local pub but the staff could defo do a better job clearing the empty glasses from the bar, could easily have a few bar stools there for folk sitting but everytime i've ever been in half the bar space is taken up with dirty glasses.

Delicious lunch with friends in a beautiful quaint pub. I had the cod and chips which were outstanding. Nice selection of beers. Our server Harry was a real treat. Great service, he had great recommendations and was very attentive. We will definitely be back.

We had a great lunch and Harry made our stay perfect as our waiter! Thank you and we’ll be back

Had a reservation this time. This place was very highly rated and if I need to have a reservation my standards are higher. Firstly, 2 of us had steaks that were both cooked perfectly. No faults there. Food overall not well seasoned though, my peppercorn sauce didn't taste of much. Very disappointed in the burger. Very mid. Fries not well cooked, shrimp was hard. Shrimp linguini not bad but also not well seasoned either. Mid overall.

Food was EPIC! I went the pie, croquettes and chocolate bomb for dessert and could hardly move. Ciara was serving us and she was classic! Fun and hilarious and made the whole thing feel homely. Check it out for sure

Food is great, if a little expensive, would recommend the lunch menu with a set price for 2 courses. The staff are always lovely and the skittle alley is great fun (just remember to book ahead!)

We were recommended this place by the volunteer at CraigMillar Castle. And she failed dimension that it was the oldest inn in Edinburgh Scotland! What a great little place that had spectacular food and drinks

Had a wonderful evening here with friends. Really lovely food. Lovely ambience and the staff were absolutely wonderful. Couldn’t do enough for us and so friendly. Will definitely be returning.

The food was excellent. However, we found the service to be lacking. We were left standing by the entrance waiting to be seated for 15 minutes (we had booked a table for 530pm and arrived 2 minutes early) Once we were finally sat at our table, and our drink orders were taken. A 2nd waitress (who was amazing to be fair) came to take our food orders. A 3rd waitress/manager brought our appetizers about 30 minutes later but we still had not recieved our drinks as they had been left sitting on the bar by the 1st waitress who took the order. In the end, the food was good, drinks were watered down, and with the exception of the second waitress service was extremely lacking.

Booked a festive meal with family to celebrate Christmas as we worked the day. Disappointed in the quality of the meal, the turkey was nice but the potatoes were clearly reheated and very dry. The goats cheese starter was nice but the brownie for dessert was served cold (normally in other restaurants this would be warm). Service was slow and it took around 35 mins for drinks to arrive. Sadly disappointed as we had heard such good things. For the price of the meal didn’t match the overall quality.

We enjoyed our experience and it was a sweet little location. Parts of our mains were not to our standards, but for the most part, everything was wonderful.

We had a big party for Christmas lunch with lots of kids so slightly chaotic but Hari and the team were really excellent.

Lovely place with a great history, lovely staff, very welcoming pub with a dog friendly environment. Food was excellent and our server Skye was brilliant

Had a great Christmas dinner here, Rhonda and Ciara’s service was great and the food was amazing. Would come back again!

Booked festive lunch. Food really excellent. Staff are very attentive but not intrusive. Thanks in particular to Rhona and Chiara who are just fab! Highly recommended.

Very yummy food our waiter,Ciara, was very nice and pretty and very kind to us I loved the vanilla ice cream and the Mac and cheese was the best that Ive ever had in a restaurant and I’ve had LOTS of Mac and cheese the interior of the restaurant was very fancy I had the haggis for time there and it was delicious most definitely the best pub in Scotland Ps f’n brilliant

Fabulous food as always. We had the Christmas menu with the upgrade. Irena who served us was marvellous. Warm, chatty and welcoming. Thank you Irena

Lovely roast and the service from Henry made it even better :)

Back again for the 2nd year, food didn't disappoint. Great value for money and super tasty. Service was good too. Dog friendly with top water bowl service too!

Came to for an impromptu lunch! The host was very accommodating and got us seated right away! The food and service was very good! Thanks Harry and Ruk! You guys were amazing!

I had heard good things. Utterly disappointing in every way. Not sure what was going on but it all went wrong, from a 35min wait for the first drink to the kitchen telling us a well done 1cm thick steak WAS medium rare to the 'theres no pork belly' then serving the pork belly no one ordered because they were told there was none. Or the mash under the steak pie that would not have been out of place in a service station. I'll not go on. Such a shame, it was so bad the manager charged us 50% of the bill for 6. He knew.

When we arrived took chap behind bar a while to find our reservation. Offered table in back with distinct lack of space. Asked for another table but told nothing else available except table next to skittle alley door. This was constantly opening and closing against our table / seat when people going back and forth to bar. Ordered drinks, waited 15mins. Starters arrived at same time as pre dinner drinks. We were also having wine! One main was lukewarm, steak pie chewy and fatty. Roast potatoes with other main of chicken were dark soft and dried out (looked like they had been sitting all day and just heated up again) also no other veg included. We have eaten here a few times, albeit a number of years ago, and the food was always excellent. Also when reading information on the pub’s festive offerings it mentions lovely Christmas experience!! There was no Festive atmosphere or decorations other than a particularly old looking tree stuck in the window. Very disappointing visit and experience from what was always thought to be a very atmospheric old establishment.

Booked festive lunch. Food excellent with good choice on menu. Cooked just as I requested. Excellent value. Staff very attentive but not intrusive. Sometimes at this busy period standards slip but not at this establishment. Thanks in particular to Harry and other bar staff. Highly recommend

Fantastic food and outstanding service from Harry. Would definitely recommend.

we didn't have a reservation and were afraid we wouldn't get a table. But they squeezed us in after a short wait time at the bar. We had traditional sunday roast, it was fantastic. Our waiter Harry was very friendly and forthcoming.

Great location, lovely food and atmosphere, extremely helpful and kind staff.

Came in for Sunday roast and all fantastic. Irena was excellent and so lovely.

Excellent service by Rhona, she was awesome and the service was great. Food was amazing 🤤

Excellent service, delicious food and a stellar environment!

Harry is the best one, he recommended us the best IPA I’ve ever tried, and food was nice too. We came after after climbing Arthur’s seat - highly recommend it.

Wonderful tavern in a small town on the outskirts of Edinburgh. It boasts of being (perhaps) the first pub in the whole of Scotland... for over 600 years! Certainly fascinating, it's worth a visit, even just for the hot chocolate and apple pie after a nice descent from Arthur Seat

Good service, lovely food. Friendly staff. Thanks to Ciara for taking good care of our team.

We had a lovely Christmas meal today, thanks for the amazing service Ciara :)

Food was yummy. Lamb was well-cooked and the tarte tatin was interesting but the wait time for dishes was long.

Ciara was very friendly and professional. Great with our three year old and competent with the menu and service. Fab dinner

Great food and service from Oliver, Rhona.

The Sheep Heid Inn offered a warm, inviting atmosphere, and the service was exceptional. Harri, our waiter, was particularly attentive, making us feel right at home. The pizza and buttermilk burger were both flavourful and satisfying. It's a perfect place to enjoy great food in a cozy, welcoming setting!

Lovely staff, super attentive and friendly.