The Castle Arms Reviews Summary

Service

Pros:

• "Thank you to your staff who were so attentive, especially to my 98 year young mum!"
• "Karina, my server was very friendly, polite and professional."
• "The bar was good, friendly and quick service and good prices."
• "From the moment that we walked through the door the staff on duty made us feel at home and they shared their knowledge of the food and drink to help us decide."
• "The staff especially Mati & Hubert were so accommodating."
• "Been a couple times during the afternoon, and each time was served and greeted by friendly and helpful staff."
• "The staff were really friendly and efficient, and were happy to accommodate our needs."

Cons:

• "Severed people that came in after us. We waited an hour for food and only when we got the waiters attention did they give us our food."
• "It took almost 20 minutes to be waited on."
• "We were forced to pay before the food arrived."
• "The worst thing was how the manager treated us."
• "The service was awful."
• "Worst service ever. Lovely menu and great setting. Pity the waiter had no intention of serving us."
• "The service was very poor."

Atmosphere

Pros:

• "The location as a whole was exciting with many decorations on the walls & art on the ceiling."
• "Fun, large place on many floors, terraced area above Victoria Street overlooking the famous street."
• "Love this place. Make sure to check out the seating area outside at the back! Great people-watching."
• "It was the perfect cozy and lively environment for a cold winter night."
• "Just off the Royal Mile and a two minute walk from the castle, this pub was a great atmosphere with friendly staff and great food!"
• "If it's a fun and lively atmosphere u looking for... This the place."
• "Nice place with a great view from the terrace over Victoria Street."

Cons:

• "Full of tourists, especially in August so got quite busy / hectic."
• "Disgrace of a pub, made to feel extremely uncomfortable by one of the intimidating foreign locals."
• "Empty and refused to put audio for football on when no one was there for the music."
• "Pub was quite empty."
• "Very disappointed with this place. I used to come here after performing in the Edinburgh Tattoo - was always a great atmosphere. I came here this weekend and it felt quite unwelcoming to be honest."
• "Had a very uncomfortable experience here. No social distancing at all."
• "I felt like it was a bit of a restaurant/pub hybrid in parts which ruined the pub atmosphere for me a tad."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "They really enjoyed their meal."
• "Had fish, chips and peas, very tasty and served piping hot."
• "The haggis neeps and tatties were good, despite the 80’s frozen thin tube carrot things with frozen peas."
• "I would give 100 stars for the food."
• "The Yorkshire pudding and fish & chips we ordered were so legit."
• "Food was very tasty."
• "The food is typical and very well done, the haggis is a must to try but also the lamb shank was very tender and juicy."

Cons:

• "But hamburger was too dry and tasteless."
• "Tourist trap with bare minimum quality food."
• "The food sucks, the service sucks and you'll spend over an hour sitting around for your food."
• "The food literally came within 5 minutes of ordering, never a good sign and it tasted like cardboard."
• "Food was average, cheap sausages and peas spoiled the meal."
• "Our food, which included what can only be described as a pathetic excuse for haggis, went cold as we dealt with the billing fiasco."
• "Awful food."

Price and Value

Pros:

• "The food was perfectly acceptable for the price."
• "The quantity is awesome for the price."
• "Good beer and not too expensive considering its location."
• "The price is really good consider the position and the portion of the food."
• "Simple dishes for a good price that just work."
• "Food was reasonably priced and of good quality."
• "Prices are about average."

Cons:

• "The bill came and the service charge of 10% was deemed ‘optional’ yet was put on the bill anyway."
• "Overcharged."
• "Why does half a cider (£2.40) cost 40p more than half the price of a pint (£4) of the same cider?"
• "Not impressed by the food at all.. Ordered the fish and chips.. Received soggy fries and an anorexic portion of batter which apparently contained fish somewhere."
• "Fish n chips were average, but £17 for what was possibly frozen is not acceptable."
• "6 of us booked a table and were pushed into a corner where 2 small tables were stuck together, absolutely no room."
• "Irked by the automatically applied 10% ‘optional service charge’."