Discover dining options inside Edinburgh Castle and in the historic Old Town.
Edinburgh Castle itself has two on-site spots — the Redcoat Café in the New Barracks and the smaller Tea Rooms in the Queen Anne Building. For a proper meal most visitors head down the Royal Mile (5 minutes) or south to Grassmarket and Victoria Street, where the cobbled streets are lined with historic pubs and restaurants that have been serving travellers since the 17th century. Combine this with the visitors guide if you're planning a full day, and the opening hours for café times.
The Redcoat Café inside the castle does Scottish-style sandwiches, soup, hot pies (try the haggis, neeps and tatties pie) and cakes — set lunch around £14. Outside, The Witchery by the Castle at the top of the Royal Mile is a famously theatrical fine-dining restaurant (mains £30–50) in 16th-century rooms. The Devil's Advocate in Advocate's Close is a smart gastropub with Scottish small plates. For something more traditional, The Ensign Ewart directly opposite the Esplanade does a proper Scottish pub lunch (haggis, fish and chips) for £14–18.
Coffee at the Redcoat Café — espresso around £3, flat white around £4. For afternoon tea with a castle view, The Witchery serves a tea menu with Scottish cakes and shortbread (~£32 per person). Pubs along the Royal Mile serve Scottish ales and a deep whisky list — Deacon Brodie's Tavern on Lawnmarket and The Bow Bar in Victoria Street are the most atmospheric. Card and contactless universal; cash also accepted everywhere.
Walk 3 minutes down Castlehill into the Royal Mile, then turn south down Victoria Street — a Diagon Alley-curved cobbled street of bookshops, whisky shops and bistros — into Grassmarket, the medieval marketplace below Castle Rock with the best views of the castle from below. The Last Drop and Maggie Dickson's are historic pubs with outdoor terraces. For dessert, Mary's Milk Bar in Grassmarket does extraordinary gelato. Walk back via West Bow for the postcard view of the castle silhouetted above the city.
The smartest itinerary is a 9:30 castle slot, a sit-down break at the Redcoat Café around 12:00 inside the precinct, and lunch at one of the historic pubs or bistros down on the Royal Mile or in Grassmarket afterwards. From there it's a 10-minute walk back up Victoria Street for the postcard photo of the castle silhouetted above the Old Town, or down the Royal Mile for the afternoon to St Giles' Cathedral, the Real Mary King's Close and Holyroodhouse Palace at the other end.
If you're visiting in winter, time the day around early dinner at the Witchery (book at least two weeks ahead). Stay long enough to walk back through the Old Town under Christmas lights or the famous Hogmanay torchlight procession in late December. One of the most memorable days you can have anywhere in Scotland.
What's available, prices, and dietary needs