If you’re doing an ice cream crawl in Edinburgh, Mary’s Milk Bar has to be on your list.

Mary opened her Milk Bar 13 years ago this month. If you like delicious gelato, views of a castle and good chat get yourself down to the Grassmarket in Edinburgh. They also compost their packaging so it’s full marks from us!

A bit of background on Mary’s Milk Bar and how it all began.  

I started the Milk Bar 13 years ago. I drew a picture of what I wanted it to look like on the back of an envelope and here we are today. I’ve mostly learnt on the job having had no formal training and luckily the Edinburgh public were supportive and patient!  

Most of my flavour ideas come from travelling or reading books or trying to recreate a memory of a taste I had as a child or a customer telling me about their favourite flavours.   

What’s your favourite gelato flavour? 

I don’t have an overly sweet tooth – I’d much prefer a bag of Seabrook’s crisps to a dessert so many of my favourite flavours are inspired by savoury combinations rather than sweet ones. I love the cheese flavours, like Goat’s Cheese or Gorgonzola and any of the herby ones. I’m particularly enjoying anything with fresh oregano at the moment so a recent sorbet of Peach, Oregano and Olive Oil is one of my current favourites. 

If your shop was a song, what would it be? 

I love a bit of Eurodisco so I think German singer Fancy’s ‘Lady of Ice’ would be my walk on music. I’m a big fan of darts and snooker so imagining my entrance to this excellent hit! 

What’s your favourite thing about working at Mary’s Milk Bar? 

It is wonderful to run your own business and tailor it to your needs. I had no money to begin my business, and it’s taken ten years to be able to finally take home a salary, but the satisfaction of making and meeting people who like your product is irreplaceable. I love being able to change the flavours everyday otherwise I would get pretty bored pretty quickly.

I have amazing staff who have been with me for many years and understand how important a small business is to a local community. We have many regular customers without whom we would definitely have had to close during the long Edinburgh winters, COVID, Brexit, increased business rates and recession (to name but a few interesting challenges over the years!) and who we are eternally grateful to. 

Why did you decide to join Close the Loop and any positive feedback about the service you have?

I have been a Vegware customer from the beginning, and I think Close the Loop simplifies what could be a complicated system. There’s a lot of confusing eco jargon out there so to know that our waste is actually used to make compost for Scottish fields is amazing!

Any other thoughts on the service and if it has made any improvements to your business’s sustainability goals?

Using the service has been so easy – waste collections and sorting can be a major stress for many small businesses. That fact that we don’t even have to think about it says a lot about how simple it is. I think many people don’t realise Vegware is a Edinburgh based business or that the food waste is actually used in Scotland which is wonderful. It would be nice to get the word out there. 

Find yourself in the neighbourhood? Give Mary’s Milk Bar a visit at 19 Grassmarket, Edinburgh, EH1 2HS and follow their Instagram to find out what exciting flavours they’re scooping this week.

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