Edinburgh's Mary’s Milk Bar on Grassmarket named best ice cream shop in Scotland

Customers are sweet on the quirky flavours of ice cream from the vintage-style parlour.
By Jolene Campbell
Published 13th Jul 2023, 14:15 BST
Updated 13th Jul 2023, 14:15 BST

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An Edinburgh ice cream parlour has been named the best in Scotland, and among the best in the UK.

Mary’s Milk Bar on the Grassmarket ranked fifth in the UK for best places to indulge the sweet tooth, making it the only Scottish venue to claim a spot in the top ten. Scores are ranked based on the number of hashtags each location has racked up on Instagram, as well as Google and Tripadvisor reviews, ahead of National Ice Cream Day on Sunday 16th July.

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Retro ice cream parlour Mary’s dishes up an impressive array of unusual flavours, like cumin and mango ripple, peanut coconut and fresh mint, cherry and cream and Sicilian pistachio. Gorgonzola gelato is also on the menu. Fresh ingredients are used to make the ice cream every morning.

An ice cream on a sunny day in Edinburgh Photo by Ross MacDonald/SNS Group via Getty ImagesAn ice cream on a sunny day in Edinburgh Photo by Ross MacDonald/SNS Group via Getty Images
An ice cream on a sunny day in Edinburgh Photo by Ross MacDonald/SNS Group via Getty Images

The popular spot is a quirky vintage-style hangout with changing ice-cream flavours every day, artisan chocolates and views of Edinburgh Castle.

Mary was formerly a chocolatier trained in Bologna, Italy, at the prestigious Carpigiani Gelato University. She is from Yorkshire and has fond memories of holidays in Scarborough, Whitby and Morecambe, all still home to original milk bars.

A family-run business in Cheshire located in their family barn claimed the top spot. Parlours in Cheshire, Brighton, Huddersfield and Cornwall ranked in the top four. While Mary’s took joint fifth spot with ice cream parlours in Blackpool and Cambridge.

Betway pulled together the scores to map out the best places to get an ice cream treat this summer.

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Related topics:EdinburghScotland

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