Biddy Mulligans

Great venison burger and wonderful atmosphere! Nice Irish pub in Scotland.
Enjoyed more than a few times while staying at the adjoining hotel.

Cool bartender.
Cool décor.
Cool pints of local ales.
Cool outdoor spot to get roasted.
Cool.
Nuff said.

In my opinion, this place was just okay. But, if you were to ask my husband, he’d tell you that it was good. Guess we won’t agree on this one.
We needed something to eat after kind of a hectic first day in Edinburgh, and their menu called to us the most. The place wasn’t very packed when we got in, so we snagged a small table in the back and took our time checking out the food offerings.
In the end, I went with the Irish stew (in a Scottish restaurant, go figure), and my husband got the Steak and Ale pie. We supplemented our orders with a beer for him and a cider for me.
It didn’t take long for the food to come out, but when it did, I was kind of disappointed. The stew was more soup-​like in consistency; it could have used a nice slurry to thicken it up a bit. And also, it was loaded with carrots and potatoes — all well and good, but it was meat I was hunting for (and not really finding). And finally, it was kind of bland. I had to add a bit of salt to give it some pep — and I never use salt on anything.
My husband loved his pie — meat and flaky crust served with fries and peas. At least, he had no complaints then, and still seems to enjoy the memory of the meal now.
Service wasn’t spectacular, though they didn’t outright forget about us, which is a bonus. The waiter was indifferent and mostly vacant, which made it hard for us to pay our bill when we were ready to leave.
So, yeah — not the best dining experience ever, but not the worst, either.

Ok, first to clarify — this review is only for breakfast. I can’t speak to other times/​meals/​drinks.
First off, the good — the food was decent, the server was super nice, and there was plenty of seating on a Sunday morning. And it opens at 8am, so if you have a real early start, ok.
But let’s be clear about some other things, too. First, to disagree with another reviewer, it’s Irish, not Scottish. No haggis for you! Second, it’s attached to a hotel, and has a definite hotel pub vibe to it (Fleetwood Mac playing while older folks drank their morning coffee). Third, there are only like four things on the breakfast menu.
Also, there’s a meat pie shop on the other corner at the same intersection that’s very good, and opens almost as early.
Anyway, like I said, the food was fine, and it’s quite comfortable, so if this is what you want, go for it. But the other reviews were so positive I felt a little bit misled (not the pub’s doing, of course, and maybe in the evenings it’s fantastic?). Wanted to provide a little balance, since I was not impressed.

It was a late Saturday evening in the summer, we has some dinner and wanted a drink for afters. We found Biddy Mulligans and their ‘wee bar’ annex’ a welcome retreat! Though it wasn’t as lively as I thought it would be — (possibly because the usual crowd of students has gone out to their free entries at night clubs?) — it was pleasantly filled up. Music in the Wee Bar annex wasn’t too loud and the whisky served with expert advise.
I’d say if you are in the area give them a visit.

Whenever I return to Edinburgh, whether it be by Plane, Train or Automobile, Biddy’s is the agreed meeting place to catch up with old friends.
Their drinks can be a little pricier being that it is situated right in the heart of the famous Grassmarket (they used to have public hangings here), but worth it for the atmosphere. The pub is in a great location, just off the Royal Mile, Castle and the Cowgate.
Biddy’s are open early and do a cracking Scottish breakfast with a pint of Tennents.
There is an outdoor seating area, which is nice in the summer months to watch the world go by. It can get very busy though. Not too far from Waverley train station and the main bus route to the airport, Biddy’s tends to be my last call before home also just to finish my trip off nicely.
Many good memories in this pub and hope to have many more.

On my recent vacay to Edinburgh, I stopped in here with some friends for a pint. Loved the live music and the atmosphere was great! Will be back again next time I’m there for sure!

Great pub — good food.

I visited Biddy’s quite frequently in my first year of uni and had some great nights out there. There’s always a good atmosphere, and the crowd is good banter. In the last few years I’ve barely been in, but I was in again quite recently, and they’ve done it up a bit. Well it’s hard to tell exactly what they’ve done when it’s rammed with people but the toilets have changed. The womens are now where the mens used to be and the mens have moved… elsewhere! One of the doors seemed to be missing off one of the loos in the ladies, but this didn’t stop anyone using them… with the help of an obviously good friend standing in front of them! There does seem to be more seating which I guess is a good thing. It’s still pretty dark in there though!

The beers are great, the service is good, the food is Delicious and the music selection is VERY good!(granted its 6:30pm on a Tuesday and we’re listening to an iPod) I give it 2 very enthusiastic thumbs up! Had the club sandwich with a side salad and Magners cider, yum! Definitely worth a trip for a great low key pub. :)

Apparently this bar is a local favourite. We stopped in here more than 4 times in 2 weeks, which is less than our travelling companions.
I was introduced to strawberry lime ciders here by recommendation. I’m glad I tried it. It’s delish. The staff is friendly. There is also live music.
I didn’t have a chance to try the food here. But the drink selection was good. The Joker beer is not…

Biddys! Me aul flower! How are ya, long time no see!
Popped in here recently as part of a ‘mini pub crawl’ after Christmas Lunch. It was different to how I usually see it on a Friday or Saturday evening. Last week it was almost empty (it was early on a Wednesday) and they were doing some repair work on the floors despite being open.
Biddys can give a bit of a cold feeling as it’s dark and has low ceilings, it makes you think of an old man with his Guinness after coming in from the rain! Usually, however, the place is madness with live music at the back and a generally good vibe about the place. Jammed with tourists (this is Grassmarket afterall!) Biddys is a good spot to chat to strangers (not pick up strangers mind, just chat) and have a bit of fun.
The pint is decent and an OK price, the draft cider tastes good.
Biddys (or Mulligans, if you prefer) has taken a different approach to ‘Irish Bar’ than say, Malones. The walls are wallpapered with Irish Newspapers and there’s Jerseys in frames on the walls.
I’d gladly spend a night here and not regret it whether through bad company or an empty pocket!

This is always the first and last place I drink at in Edi. I don’t know why. I just seem to land and leave here, but that is more than ok.
The last time I was there was my favorite time, mainly due to the company, a good friend I was drinking with and the lovely, and by lovely I mean the «oh my god I want to have his beautiful Norse god babies» Norwegian guy I met. We talked about golf and shared a cigarette and then went our separate ways. However, it is a memory which will last a life time.

If you’re looking for good food in Grassmarket, you’re crazy — it’s Edinburgh’s answer to Trafalgar Square. Just bad food all round. If that doesn’t put you off, here’s a review to do the job;
Typical dark cliché Irish pub tourist trap. More fool us for walking in (out of desperation and hunger and rain). The girl at the bar told us to sit at the back (in the pitch black) and someone would bring us menus. After 20 minutes of waiting — and having had the tables sprayed and wiped all around us, inhaling cleaning products, urgh — still no menus, waitress, attention or anything. So we left. The other 3 couples who came in and started waiting are probably still there… waiting for a menu. All the best gang, hope you packed a lunch!

I’ll admit — Biddy Mulligan’s would have been my archetypal stop about ten years ago, back when my liver was healthier and I had more interest in drinking and smoking than in much else. Now, sitting in the corner with the boy and a bunch of hammered university students, I can see the attraction… it’s a great student pub. But if you’re middle aged, sagging, and like drinking more for the taste than a pleasure akin to being on a ship in a storm, then bugger than, plenty of other opportunities. As for cheap, our two drinks came to a hefty 8 quid (with warm Magners at that…) — if that’s cheap, then I’m glad I was a student in the 90’s, and not the naughties or later.

Biddy Mulligans is a decent bar which has a friendly atmosphere and great service. It offers the standard drinks with a good range of beers, ciders, wines and spirits.
All the drinks are pretty well priced with most pints costing less than £3. Further, the décor is stylish and makes you feel at home right away with adequately comfortable seating and lots of tables to chill out at.
It attracts a good range of customers, from locals to students who all seem friendly and chilled out. If you’re in the area and after a relaxing drink with friends, this is the place.

Another of a plethora of pubs scattered in the Grassmarket area of Edinburgh. Rather than housing any special attractions, Biddy Mulligans seem to just nail the basics. Indeed (as many other reviews have stated) the bonus with this pub is the discounts available with an Student Recommended card (SR Card).
With this handy piece of plastic you can bag a number of cheap drinks. Although you’ll get nothing special (no ales on tap here). Nonetheless, everyone likes cheap cider, right? The central oval bar and rickety character add to the pubs charm too.

Je n’ai pas testé le coté hotel (je né savais même pas qu’on pouvais y dormir dailleurs).
Pub irlandais sympathique, chaleureux et presque intimiste les soirs «normaux», bondé et très convivial les jours de matchs et les week end (que les écossais soient des gens très ouverts y est surement pour quelque chose).
Comme tous les pubs du quartier, un concert y est organisé pratiquement tous les soirs à 22h.
On pourra y manger à toute heure les grands classiques: garlic bread (pain au beurre et à l’ail), le scotish breakfast (petit dej à l’anglaise avec en plus le célèbre haggis) à toute heure (plutôt rare), etc…
Personnel sympathique et souriant même lors des énormes rush lors des matchs de rugby, clientèle majoritairement jeune, même si on peut trouver de toutes les classes d’ages.
petit plus: en 2010 une guiness était offerte à chaque victoire de l’irlande aux 6 nations.

I had heard from a friend who worked in Biddy Mulligans that this place got rather rowdy with stag/​hen parties over the weekend, and had frankly avoided it like the plauge. However, having been persuaded to go along to Biddy Mulligans for a swift few pints under the promise it wouldnt be as bad as my friend had described, I must admit I have come to like this pub.
Yes, there was the obligatory Stag party — but truth be told, they wernt out of control, and rather added to the atmosphere of a lively and well enjoyed pub.
The drinks were cheap, but after the third round and finding out we could get a student discount card thingy — drinks became even cheaper. HAving been there for a little while, a live band set up who were rather good — if a bit hard to here over the general hubbb of Biddy’s.
Food is also available, and is pretty good if standard pub fair and the staff are frindly.
Over all, I have taken a shine to this place, even if i do have to put up with stag/​hen parties.

Slap bang in the centre of the Grassmarket, if you’re heading out for drinks in this neck of the woods then you should definitely stop in here for a few, whether afternoon or evening.
For starters, if you’re a student then you can bag yourself a Student Recommended card which gets you drinks from as cheap as £1.50. More importantly, they’re drinks you’d actually choose to buy and not just because they’re cheap as is usually the way in bars with promos — Magners is only £2.50 and a glass of wine is only £2.25, whilst you can get yourself a Vodka + Mixer for as little as £1.75. What’s more, with the outdoor seating area you can take full advantage of the few rare sunny Edinburgh days by enjoying your drinks al fresco.
Lots of people criticise this place, and the majority of the pubs in the Grassmarket along with it, for always being full of stag/​hen parties getting rowdier and more annoying by the minute. Yes, it’s true that a lot of these groups come here, but this place is more than big enough that you can always find a table out of range of their drinking games. In fact, in my opinion it makes for a much better atmosphere in the place when there are always people up for a good time.
That said, when the beers go to your head then I’d definitely recommend taking advantage of the Soup & Sandwich combo for £4… from personal experience I can say that the fresh crusty bread, heaps of fillings and home-​made tangy tomato soup will sort you right out for another few hours of pub-​going.
Aside from the tourists, if you’re into your sports then this is definitely your place. As far as girls go, I love watching the football in the pub with a few drinks and this place has so many screens up and so many different Sky Sports channels that they’re bound to be able to accomodate your requests.

The sign in the front says that everyone needs to learn to drink somewhere. It’s funny because it’s true!
Biddy’s was the first bar I was taken to in Scotland. They have live music some nights and decently priced beer. They also have food.
I went there on my birthday also. The friend I was visiting had to get up early the next day, so she left me with two guys I’d never met before. I had a great time with them. One of them met me at my hostel the next morning, and in return for a meal at Biddy’s, he showed me around Edinburgh while my friend was in class.
I ate haggis. It didn’t kill me. I wouldn’t eat it again, but more because it was boring than because it was «icky». It tastes like bround lamb with indian spices and oatmeal. So, imagine oatmeal… OK now brown some ground lamb meat… OK now put some cumin, coriander, and cayenne pepper in the meat… OK now mix it with the oatmeal!!! HAGGIS! Euan had Nachos, which he pronounced funny because he has an accent. Kind of like he’s about to say «natural» but then says nachos instead.
And and and… you can buy condoms and vibrators and inflatable sheep in the bathroom. Who doesn’t want and/​or need an inflatable sheep?

Sehr netter Pub am Grassmarket. Fuer Studenten gibts hier zwei Essen zum Preis von einem. Und die Burger sind sehr zu empfehlen. Meistens laeuft auch den TVs Fussball und manchmal gibt es abends auch Livemusik.