Hidden Scotland
Sign in
Mary's Milk Bar in the Grassmarket, a queue at its pink-lettered window.
Edinburgh

Mary's Milk Bar

A small gelato and chocolate shop in the Grassmarket, where Mary makes the day's gelato every morning and the flavours change daily.

Visit website
Welcome

In the Grassmarket, with the castle rock rising directly above, a small shop with soft pink lettering over its window is Mary's Milk Bar, and on a warm afternoon the queue for it stretches along the pavement.

Mary makes all the gelato and chocolate herself, fresh every morning, and the flavours change each day and each season. The counter might hold malted milk, cherry and cream, peanut butter and chocolate, or liquorice and passion fruit, each tub marked with a paper cone. The hot chocolate float, a glass of thick hot chocolate crowned with a scoop of gelato, is the shop's signature, and there is a spaghetti sundae too. Inside, the little bar and its stools are made from recycled milk bottles and their bright tops.

The hours change with the season, and the day's flavours go up on Instagram each morning.

The Daily

Arrives at 5am every day.

A free morning email to see what’s on this week, catch up on what’s happening in Scotland and find somewhere new to go.

The Daily for 27 October, from Scotland with love. An aerial view shows a sandy cove between rocky headlands, a white house standing on the autumn-toned hillside above the turquoise sea.
A short drive awayJolly JudgeA small pub at the foot of James Court off the Lawnmarket, with low beamed ceilings, a warm fire, real ales and a long list of malts.4 min by roadSee itJolly Judge
Before you go

Hours change with the season, and in winter the shop opens from Wednesday to Sunday.

The day's flavours are posted on its Instagram each morning.

Where
19 Grassmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2HS.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
Closed
Tuesday
Closed
Wednesday
11am–7.30pm
Thursday
11am–7.30pm
Friday
11am–7.30pm
Saturday
11am–7.30pm
Sunday
11am–7pm

Eaten here? Tell others what to order and when to go, and the best go on this page with your name.

Add your tip
Where it is

In the Grassmarket, below the castle rock.

Close byThe Grassmarket.
  1. The green front of Maggie Dickson's on the Grassmarket, gold lettering over the door.Maggie Dickson’sA pub at the east end of the Grassmarket, with 92 whiskies.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. DragonflyDragonflyEdinburgh's oldest cocktail bar, in an old fire station on the West Port.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. Bedrock Coffee, EdinburghBedrock CoffeeA small coffee bar on the West Port, opened in May 2026, pouring coffee from Leith roasters through a vintage lever machine.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. Armchair BooksArmchair BooksUnder a mile 1 min by road
  5. The deep blue shopfront of Edinburgh Books on the West Port, books in both windows.Edinburgh BooksEdinburgh's largest second-hand bookshop, on the West Port.Under a mile 1 min by road
  6. Vennel StepsVennel StepsA steep stepped lane with one of the best-known views of the castle.Under a mile 3 min by road
Directions
The red front of W. Armstrong & Son at 83 Grassmarket, established 1840, with a vintage bicycle and dressed mannequins outside.ShoppingW. Armstrong & SonA step away
Green booths and mustard chairs fill a café with exposed stone walls and black pendant lightsCafeHula Juice BarA step away
Bicycle parked outside The Red Door Gallery, edinburghart.com, on cobbled streetShoppingThe Red Door GalleryA step away
Whirlybird's dining room on Victoria Street, with wooden tables and chairs, a stone wall, fringed lamps and a tall window onto the street.RestaurantsWhirlybirdA step away
Red-fronted shop "The Enchanted Galaxy" on Victoria Street, EdinburghShoppingThe Enchanted GalaxyA step away
Blue, pink and grey terraced buildings above the Oink hog roast shopRestaurantsOinkA step away
A breakfast roll with fried egg and cheese and two scones with jam and butter on a table at Preacher's Patisserie.CafePreacher's Patisserie0.2 miles
Timberyard sign above red-framed windows on a grey shopfrontRestaurantsTimberyard0.2 miles
Green corner shopfront reading "I.J. Mellis Cheesemonger" with cream awning and wooden bench outsideShoppingI.J. Mellis0.2 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near Mary's, and when each is next free.

A round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.Moment George IV Bridge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Mary's Milk Bar
Check datesA hotel studio room with a beige fitted kitchen unit and stainless sink beside a bed dressed in white and teal cushions, a wall of black-framed pictures above a patterned headboard.Old Town Chambers
  • To stay
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Mary's Milk Bar
Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Mary's Milk Bar
Check datesA turreted sandstone building with conical spires catches the evening light above rooftops, a large pine tree standing beside it.The Scott Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Edinburgh
  • A mile from Mary's Milk Bar
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in EdinburghAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

We want to show you the best that Scotland has to offer. The makers and the creatives, the enduring experiences, the evocative tales, the concealed corners. The roads less travelled that take you to places that matter. The adventures that gather you up and sweep you away. The blend of the wild and the artistic that makes Scotland what it is. We’d love for you to join us.

Get Issue 13Read it here
Read on

What we have written about it and more in Edinburgh.

From the magazineInside 101 Bakery: Southside Sweet Fix with Rosanna
More in Edinburgh
Find out more

For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .