The Fiddler’s Arms

Love love love! We were intrigued by the outside of the building. Traditional Scottish atmosphere. Awesome service. Delicious food! Totally recommend getting the pie of the day! You will not be disappointed!

Good service, good food. I ordered beer-​battered Haddock with chips and salad. The hunk of Haddock was so large that I couldn’t finish it! Only reason I’m giving it 4 stars is because I ended up sitting by myself at a 4 person table, which turned away many potential customers due to lack of space. I asked them if I should move to the bar, but they said it would be fine. Oh well, it’s their business.
If you’re staying at a nearby Hostel, they will most likely offer a discount here. I paid £7.95 for my meal instead of £10.95.

Typical Scottish pub located at the foot of Edinburgh castle right at the end of Grassmarket Square. So what made this place so memorable? The Haggis ! It was absolutely amazing ! It was my first time eating Haggis and I was not disappointed ! I was actually expecting something quite different after hearing about this dish for so long that when I got my plate I was a bit thrown off at first. But that first bite just solidified my love for it. The presentation of it was really nice as well, it comes in a cylindrical shape sitting on top of a layer of mashed potatoes and turnips and then is covered with a whiskey cream sauce with some green on top. It looked just as good as it tasted. :)) And while we’re on the topic of exotic delicacies who can forget the oh so famous deep fried mars bar? I was a bit apprehensive about ordering it myself due to the fact that it’s a heart attack waiting to happen on a plate but curiosity won out in the end and we ordered one for the whole table. Really decadent tasting, I only had about two bites but that was enough for me. All in all a really nice place with really good food, the service is also very friendly. Overall I found the Scottish people to be polite and friendly and this place was no exception. Next time I am in Edinburgh I will be back !

Pub situé dans la vieille ville, l’avantage repose dans le fait qu’ils servent à manger assez tard dans la soirée.
Restauration typique de pub: burgers, sandwichs et haggis!
Né vous attendez pas à boire avec des locaux ici, clientèle intégralement composée de touristes.

Endroit génial!
L’ambiance est vraiment top, la musique vraiment sympa et le service vraiment aimable.
Une super expérience!

DEEP FRIED MARS BARS! That is the main reason I was told about and came to this nice little pub.
Typical little pub in nice location of town good looking bar too.
Ordered Bangers and Mash which was plenty good and the. Sausage is different every week.
I can hardly find the words to describe the Deep Fried Mars Bar we had but it was amazing. You can imagine it but you still have to try it for yourself to truly have checked something off your bucket list. If I ever visit Edinburgh again I will be back!

El servicio fue perfecto, la mesonera estuvo atenta toda la comida, nos ayudo a elegir el postre y acertó.
Pedimos dos entrantes, un plato principal y un postre para comer y de bebida, dos pintas de Tennents, en total más de £30. Las raciones eran generosas, y muy sabrosas.
En general salimos muy contentos, lo único malo fue el precio de las pintas, demasiado caro.

Friendly and attentive service. I had the Traditional Haggis, Neeps & Tatties and my wife had the Fish and Chips. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect for the Haggis, but it turned out to be delicious! My wife thought that the Fish and Chips were OK. For dessert we shared the Sticky Toffee Pudding. It was very tasty, with a nice presentation.
They have free WiFi. Be sure to ask for the password.

This place is poppin! The food presentation is really good and that’s what drove me to this place. It’s right outside kickass hostels too! The bartender was also the sweetest guy on earth especially towards Americans ! He was so kind in explaining what things were since everything was foreign to us! And so I ordered an Edinburgh burger! From America, I have high standards for burgers and it was delicious actually! Such a tasty burger! Highly recommend!

Great attentive service, perfect pour on the Guinness, awesome sticky toffee pudding.

We were looking for a nice pub to have a good lunch in on a very cold day in Edinburgh and the Fiddler’s Arm delivered. It was comfortable and had a large menu with plenty of vegetarian options! As a veg this is very appealing to me, they even had vegetarian haggis although I did not try it out.
I ordered the baked potato with cheese and it is super delicious and warm and beautiful. I also had the vegetarian sandwich, which was okay but still pleasing.
The cappuccino was great as well, and the staff was very friendly and the place was clean. I’ll stop in next time I’m in Edinburgh!

Do you like your burger with a side of mouse? I wish I had something nice to say about this place. It looked to be a warm haven on this cold night. But apart from the company I must say my experience at The Fiddler’s Arms was less than pleasant. It was lucky I saw the mouse scurrying around the dining area AFTER I ate. The nonchalance of the wait staff was confounding, particularly when I mentioned there was a mouse running around. The food itself was less than inspiring: tasteless chips, fatty bacon, and the side salad was 1 part red onion and 1 part salad leaves… that’s not a salad. Burger and chips and a glass of wine: £16.85 — rip off!

Ok as far as it goes but there are better pubs around. The only true hand pulled ale on was Deuchars — which is OK — but why do they ruin a classic like Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted but cooling it and pushing it through a keg tap??? One barmaid was brilliant, another didnt seem too keen on my english currency but was quick enough to snatch it out of my hand.
I will look in again but it won’t be my number one choice of pub in Auld Reekie.

If I could, I would rate four and a half stars. I only docked a star because my macaroni had tomatoes in it, so it tastes a little weird. Besides that, I would like to come here again. But I don’t live anywhere near Scotland, so I’ll just have to wait until the next trip!

First visit and the last. Three of us visited and two of us didn’t enjoy meal. Horrible reheated chips with not very good soggy battered haddock.
Irish waitress nice. Toilets horrible and badly in need of renovation. When I see poor toilets, I wonder what the kitchens are like. Won’t recommend and won’t be back as too many other places to try.

Bien située dans le quartier Grassmarket, bonne sélection de bières.

I will be the first to admit that my visit to the Fiddler’s Arms was not conventional – I went for Scottish breakfast on my first morning in Edinburgh with a few friends. We joked that we should perhaps order a pint to make it seem more Scottish, but settled for warm drinks to prepare for a day touring the castle in the cold.
They offer a nice Scottish breakfast, with a sampling of all the important things: sausage, beans, eggs, tomatoes, haggis… Yes, that renowned mystery meat. And I did try it. It wasn’t my favorite, though a friend with me said that his haggis on a bun was quite excellent.
The Fiddler’s Arms has a nice atmosphere, with hanging potted plants outside and a view up the street. The booths and chairs and tables all add character, and sitting at the bottom of Grassmarket is a definite plus, no matter what time of day you visit.

Four of us went to The Fiddler’s Arm on a Monday night for dinner. Despite the restaurant being slow, the services was awful! Our drinks took forever as the bartender forgot them. The first two meals came out, and one was slightly cold. Being polite, we said nothing. After those two meals we almost half eaten we were still waiting for the two remaining meals. We went to the bar to find out where the meals were, and were ignored while the daft hostess talked on the phone with her friend. When she got off the phone, she walked away from us, got the two meals and delivered to our table. She acted like the meals had just been cooked, but they were in fact room temperature. Our guess was that she brought out the first two meals, but forgot about the later two. We will never go back!

Once, I came here and there was an old-​ish guy playing an accordion. Nobody but Sal and I cared. I loved that accordion dude. He looked like an accountant living a secret fantasy. Every now and then he’d look up at the crowd and give a shy smirk, and all I could think was ‘does your wife know you’re here?’. I hope he’s here building up the courage to busk during festival time. Then he could make heaps of money for that flight to Havana, Cuba he’s been holding out for. They like them some secret accordion players in Havana.
If secret accordion man played here weekly, I would come weekly.
The rest of The Fiddler’s Arms is pretty average. Average prices, average staff, average atmosphere. I do really like the men’s room though. A fantastic idea! I won’t reveal what I’m talking about here, there are ladies present and that would be untoward. But the men’s room is cool.

The Fiddler’s Arms is what was formally Bar Alba, and having looked quite intriguing when passing, I went in for a drink to see if its just another irish themed pub in the grassmaket or not.
Short answer is no, I actually quite liked this place. First of all, the décor (while obviously going for the ‘traditional irish bar’ feel) actually seemed quite natural and not anywhere near as gimmicky as some places. It was obviously designed to have a slightly dated feel, with lots of worn wood and old fashioned candle stick holders, but again it was more subtle than many places and actually felt really warm and inviting.
The biggest problem with Bar Alba that is replaces was that when it was quiet it was quite uncomfortable to be in, no atmosphere at all, or on the flipside it was rammed with the usual crowd of rowdy drunks that the grassmarket is famed for attracting. The Fiddlers Arm’s though had a great atmosphere despite being quite quiet. There was some live music from a guy in the corner playing the acoustic guitar, but more as background music, which was most welcomed.
Not sure how it would be on Friday or Saturday night, but for a chilled out mid-​week drink it hit the spot nicely. I am likely to go back again and it definitely has to potential to move up to 4 star after spending a bit more time there on a different night.