Address: 11-15 Cockburn St, Edinburgh, EH1 1BP, United Kingdom
Phone: +441312256843
Rating: 4.3
based on 147 reviews.
Staff and Service
Pros:
"Everyone working had a great personality and was a good time."
"Found the staff very helpful in finding us good beer and good food."
"Fantastic customer service. The last round of pints tasted a bit off - staff were happy to pour new ones."
"Bartender was kind enough to let my wife sample a couple of beers until she found the one she liked."
"The service was great with friendly staff and the cider is to die for."
"Great service from alan and Stewart."
"The hospitality was amazing, a warm welcome, further pints being brought to you table by genuinely friendly and efficient staff."
Cons:
"As my friend and I waited at the bar to order food and were next to be served, I nipped back to the table to grab our menu. When I returned (only a few seconds later) a female bartender was quite short with me, and abruptly told me that I had to wait and that I was last in line."
"Terrible service from a very cranky bar woman who obviously needs a holiday."
"Massively over priced with poor staff! £17 for two vodka and tonics!"
"Very rude bartendress told us immediately upon our arrival that there is no service, no hot drinks and kitchen not working until 1pm."
"Service disappointingly bad at the bar this time but they did seem to be getting swamped with the number of visitors during the festival."
"The Waitress named Lane was the worse worse worse waitress we have ever experience during our 17 days Holiday around UK."
"Called into this pub, Friday evening last... The two members of staff that we had dealings with, were very unfriendly and borderline rude."
Food and Drinks
Pros:
"Absolutely great pub, very safe... and the food is really tasty."
"Lovely place to call in for drinks and food, steak pie was delicious."
"I had the Bellhaven Steak & Ale pie and my wife had the Hunters chicken and both were delicious."
"Drinks good and staff friendly and efficient."
"Lovely Atmosphere, great Mulled Wine & best Guinness. All at amazing prices, and location, great for people watching."
"It has great food and the whiskey isn't too expensive."
"Their fish & chips is famous, and with good reason."
Cons:
"The sausage and mash was ok but could have been a lot better as the mash potato was hard and obviously instant."
"Food let them down. We had 2 burgers and a triple cooked chips. Burgers were lukewarm and pink in the middle, chips were cold and soggy."
"Cold plates, one tablespoon of shriveled Luke warm peas, seven pieces of scampi of varying sizes and what appears to be oven chips, tasteless and warm."
"The fish had more batter then actual fish."
"Food was sub par, my boyfriend ordered a steak and ale pie and it was literally meat in between a bun. My Mac and cheese was okay!"
"Meals were not good, we had to wait more than an hour for simple food and after waiting the wrong food was brought."
"We were very displeased with the service and the food at this restaurant. First our meals came out before our started even arrived. Half of our meals were cold and had minimal taste. It was over priced for the food."
Atmosphere and Location
Pros:
"The atmosphere was great, very busy, so cosy on what was an icy cold night."
"A true gem on one of Edinburgh's most picturesque streets, and a personal favourite."
"Good relaxed atmosphere in the busy center of Edinburgh."
"Also, location could not be better."
"This cosy little pub is situated right on the 'Royal Mile'."
"The Malt Shovel is a cosy pub in the heart of Edinburgh."
"Situated at the bottom of Cockburn Street, the Malt Shovel is very handy as a starting point to explore the nearby Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle."
Cons:
"Not a locals place, mainly full of tourists."
"Many of the options on the menu were unavailable, service was slow."
"The pub fails at being lively like what you would assume an Irish pub would be."
"Their hours listed on Google maps are till 1am... they announced last call, then kicked everyone out at 12."
"And the ladies - well broken seats, blocked drain and filthy - basins missing tiling what a very tired pub."
"dirty toilets, seemed to a lot of tiny flies behind the bar, which was a bit off putting."
"Was going to add the place to my list of locations to visit but when I saw that they are cashless now I knew that by the time it come to me visiting the area they would be out of business anyways."
Value and Pricing
Pros:
"A round of drinks for my mates was surprisingly inexpensive to what we were expecting it to be."
"Reasonable prices and kind stuff."
"The beer was excellent. The prices were very reasonable."
"Food seems reasonably priced for what they portray."
"Great service, friendly staff, great price for the food quality!"
"Excellent service and very friendly staff and standard pub food which is good value for money."
"Great spot for a drink & food. Atmosphere was fun with an awesome music selection."
Cons:
"Massively over priced with poor staff! £17 for two vodka and tonics!"
"Was quite expensive, both the beer and the food."
"We paid £42 for fish and chips and 2 pints of Guinness. For pub food. Albeit satisfactory. Minus 2 stars coz it's way overpriced."
"Food was poor at best....What happened to making food fresh? Claims 'classic pub food' but it was pre-made processed and tasteless."
"Change of shifts must have been happening, I ordered a Balmoral burger, what I got was the worst burger I have ever seen, burnt dry burger and bun, no taste of haggis, had to search for the cheese, one pathetic bit of bacon one onion ring, absolutely atrocious."
"The mulled cider was a lifesaver in the chilly November evening. We had the steak and ale pie and the slow cooked pork belly."
"This is a pleasant enough pub, but does have a slightly soulless chain pub feel to it."