Mary's Milk Bar

Mary's Milk Bar is a tiny ice-cream shop in the Grassmarket, the long square at the foot of the castle's south side. Mary makes the gelato and chocolate every morning in the shop itself, and the flavours change every day, sometimes over the course of the same day. It's the sweet stop on a morning in the Old Town with children, or the treat after lunch on Victoria Street.

Flavours that don't repeat

There's no fixed menu: the day's flavours are posted outside the shop and on their Instagram, so you can decide while you queue. If it's cold, the hot chocolate float is hot chocolate topped with a scoop of the ice cream of your choice. The most unusual dish is the spaghetti sundae: milk ice cream shaped like spaghetti, amarena cherries as meatballs, toasted breadcrumbs with honey and grated white chocolate standing in for parmesan. It's served until 18:00. They also sell seasonal chocolate bars and ice cream in half-litre and one-litre tubs to take away.

When it opens and what the visit is like

It opens Wednesday to Saturday from 11:00 to 19:30 and on Sundays from 11:00; it's closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and takes two long breaks: from 1 to 8 September and from 24 December, not reopening until 6 February, so you won't find it open at Christmas or in January. It works as a takeaway: you queue outside, eight people go in at a time and the queue closes fifteen minutes before closing time. In summer, the shop recommends avoiding the 11:00 to 14:00 slot; in winter it's quieter.

With children

The ice cream is eaten standing in the square, so it's a short break between the castle and the National Museum. With a pushchair, bear in mind there's little space inside.