Where to Eat & Drink in Grassmarket, Edinburgh 2026
The top independent spots to eat and drink in Grassmarket right now: Makars Mash Bar, Hey Palu and Gurkha Bar and Restaurant Edinburgh.
| Restaurants & Bars · ranked | ||
| 1 | Makars Mash Bar | ★4.810,163 |
Excellent traditional scottish comfort food. my husband and i had the lamb shank and chicken with cheddar mashed potatoes and bacon mashed potatoes. absolutely delicious and jess and anna were so friendly and speedy with their service.Google review · V.C. · verbatim | ||
| 2 | Hey Palu | ★4.91,018 |
| 3 | Gurkha Bar and Restaurant Edinburgh | ★4.93,313 |
| 4 | Salt Horse Beer Shop, Bar & Burgers | ★4.71,576 |
| 5 | Society Bar & Kitchen | ★4.86,528 |
| 6 | The Fox and Faun | ★4.6990 |
| 7 | Bucks Bar - Grindlay Street Edinburgh | ★4.8802 |
| 8 | Copper Blossom | ★4.51,405 |
| 9 | Vittoria on the Bridge | ★4.66,560 |
| 10 | The Piper's Rest | ★4.53,479 |
| 11 | Ka Pao Edinburgh | ★4.6689 |
| 12 | Tonic | ★4.5797 |
| 13 | La Locanda | ★4.61,294 |
| 14 | Cafe Royal | ★4.43,628 |
| 15 | Dine Edinburgh | ★4.61,230 |
| 16 | Albanach | ★4.43,158 |
| 17 | Le Bistrot - French Restaurant | ★4.4783 |
| 18 | Cannonball Restaurant & Bar | ★4.4766 |
| 19 | The Devil's Advocate | ★4.55,083 |
| 20 | Mother India's Cafe Edinburgh | ★4.53,341 |
20 independent venues, re-ranked monthly from real reviews — no chains, no paid placements.
Grassmarket Venue Map
What Should I Try in Grassmarket?
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Visiting Edinburgh, United Kingdom? Grassmarket — Tourist-facing but strong independents — is the neighbourhood with 20 ranked independent restaurants and bars our review-velocity ranking is tracking right now. All trending hot this week. Rankings refreshed monthly from 56,603 live reviews — no chains, no ads.
How to Get There
From Edinburgh Waverley station:
- Walking:10 mins south-west via George IV Bridge, or down the Royal Mile and through Victoria Street
- Bus:2 bus from Princes Street to Grassmarket, about 5 minutes
Lothian Buses Ticket Info
Single bus fare. The Grassmarket is easily walkable from Waverley - buses are more useful for the suburban zones.
Local tip: Walk down Victoria Street from the Royal Mile for the best entrance. The curving colourful street opens up dramatically into the Grassmarket square with the Castle above. For a quieter experience, visit on weekday evenings when the day-trip tourists have gone.
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Grassmarket FAQs
Makars Mash Bar stands at number 1 for a reason. They focus on proper Scottish comfort food, particularly their legendary mash variations with everything from haggis to steak pie. It’s solid, consistent, and always delivers a hearty meal.
For a serious drink, head to Hey Palu for well-crafted cocktails. If you're more into an impressive beer selection and a relaxed atmosphere, Salt Horse Beer Shop, Bar & Burgers is your spot with an ever-changing tap list and plenty of bottled options.
You'll find Scottish fare at Makars Mash Bar, excellent Indian and Nepalese dishes at Gurkha Bar and Restaurant Edinburgh, and Italian options at Vittoria on the Bridge. Bucks Bar serves American-style chicken, and Le Bistrot offers classic French cooking, so there's a good mix.
Society Bar & Kitchen offers a comfortable bistro setting that works well for a relaxed date. For something a bit more upscale but still informal, Copper Blossom serves good cocktails in a stylish space, making it a decent choice for an evening out.
For a filling and affordable meal, The Piper's Rest or Cafe Royal will give you good pub grub for around £10-£15. Makars Mash Bar also offers substantial portions for its price point, giving you decent value for Scottish classics.
Ka Pao Edinburgh made a significant jump, hitting a new peak at number 11. Dine Edinburgh also climbed up to 15, while Le Bistrot - French Restaurant and Cannonball Restaurant & Bar both nudged up to new best-ever positions. The Devil's Advocate moved up one spot, too.
Still have questions? The best answers come from locals at the venue.
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Ask DOW on ChatGPTDOW ranks venues with a transparent 100-point Hot Score, recalculated monthly from live Google data. Four signals: Velocity (30 pts) — text reviews over 50 characters in the last 90 days; Baseline (25 pts) — current Google rating relative to 4.0; Recency (25 pts) — 30-day weighted decay on recent reviews; Profile (20 pts) — phone, website, opening hours, description, photos, and category completeness on the Google Business Profile. Reviews written in the country's native language count 1.5× across Velocity and Recency — this is how DOW surfaces where locals eat year-round, not where tourists cluster in summer. No editorial picks, no paid placements, no chains.