Mary’s Milk Bar | Bouquets & Brickbats

15/10/26

Victoria Street, Edinburgh

We’re halfway through painting our kitchen. It’s not a difficult job (we have a small kitchen and a banging playlist) but there are two negatives:

The flat feels messy with all our kitchen stuff cluttering up the living room; and
It’s difficult to cook.

If only we lived in a foodie city with lots of options for a decent lunch.

Oh, wait…

Of course, we have our go-to favourites but today we feel like trying somewhere new. Whirlybird has been popping up on our TikTok and Instagram feeds so we decide to check it out. Predictably, we’re not the only ones who’ve caught the social media hype, so – even on a dull October weekday afternoon – the restaurant is busy and we can’t see any spare seats. No matter, it’s bigger than it looks, with a spiral staircase winding up to two further (and just as stylish) dining rooms, all warm tones and exposed stone.

The staff are friendly and knowledgeable, reassuringly matter-of-fact about gluten-free options. We order drinks (a ‘Nae’ alcohol-free pale ale for Phil, from Leith’s Newbarns Brewery and a Bon Accord rhubarb soda for me) and begin to peruse the menu.

We’re focused on the ‘lunch favourites’ section because neither of us wants a heavy meal in the middle of the day (we’ve still got painting to do). I opt for the brûléed goat’s cheese with heritage beetroot, pickled pear, a balsamic reduction and pecans. I also order a side of chicken-salt fries, while Phil goes for the chargrilled chicken, which comes with fries already included, as well as sourdough, feta, poached plum, jalapeno and mint.

I enjoy my meal. The goat’s cheese is thick and creamy, the flavour enhanced by the charring (or brûléeing). The beetroot and pear complement it well. The chicken-salt fries are delicious – and very necessary, as I think I’d be hungry without them.

Philip gets a lot more bang for his buck; indeed, all of the other lunches we see are more substantial than the goar’s cheese. The chicken is succulent. the feta punchy and the poached plums “just perfect.”

All in all, we’re very happy with our lunch. Whirlybird is a rare creature, managing to be “quietly Scottish,” understated and authentic, despite its tourist-trap location on Edinburgh’s most photogenic street.

In that same vein, it’s time for an Honourable Munchion. Our way home takes us through the Grassmarket, so of course we have to stop at Mary’s Milk Bar for a scoop of the city’s finest ice cream (pumpkin and berry jam for me; cherries and cream for Phil).

Some places go viral for good reason.

Now, where’s my paintbrush?

4 stars

Susan Singfield

28/06/18

The Grassmarket, Edinburgh

When the temperature soars, a person’s fancy turns inevitably to thoughts of ice cream. Visitors to Edinburgh’s popular tourist magnet The Grassmarket cannot fail to have noticed the habitual queues arranged haphazardly in front of a tiny, unprepossessing cafe called Mary’s Milk Bar. The place is a bit of a legend around the city and, unusually in such cases, there really is a Mary, who hails from Yorkshire, and who trained in Bologna at the prestigious Carpigiani Gelato University. She takes her inspiration from the milk bars of the 1940s and makes all the ice creams fresh every morning, then serves them until they’re gone, which – given the current heatwave – doesn’t take very long.

The place offers a few other things, of course: coffee, milk shakes, chocolates – but, frankly, it’s the ice cream that’s king here, ranged in a handsome display case and featuring a myriad brilliant colours and some pretty unusual flavours. Peanut butter and toffee, anyone? Liquorice and passionfruit? Green tea? Or will you just go for plain old milk flavour? There’s something here for everyone.

But, you may say, those are pretty long queues. Is it really worth the wait? Well, I have to tell you that my first mouthful of their famous salted caramel confirms that this is a reputation founded not on fresh air, but on flavour. Indeed, this just might be the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted and it’s certainly amongst the finest to be found in Edinburgh, which really isn’t short of decent ice cream parlours. It’s good value too: a generous helping, served up in a crunchy sugar cone that – important this – offers ice-cream right down to the very last bite, costs only £2.50 (£3.50 for a double scoop).

As you lick happily away, you can’t help wondering how Mary’s business does during the colder months but, like Groucho Marx, I hate hot ice cream and, anyway, while the weather’s so clement, it’s imperative to get down to the Grassmarket, tag on the end of that queue, and wait patiently for your turn to choose your favourite flavour.

Trust me. You won’t be disappointed.

5 stars

Philip Caveney