HE LEARNS FROM BUDS UNFOLDING, FROM EACH TIGHT LEAF UNFURLED, THAT HIS OWN HEART, EXPANDING, IS ONE WITH ALL THE WORLD.
Garden Magic – Marie Nettleton Carroll
OUR SUPPLIERS & FRIENDS
Our main goal is to create as much as we can in house. We are currently making our own scotch eggs, both our meat and veggie haggis, we are growing our lion’s mane mushrooms and making our own skirlies sausages. And when we’re not making things ourselves, we look for friends and suppliers who do a great job and share our values.
Scotland is blessed with an abundance of local produce grown and shared all over the world.
At Makars we are passionate about sourcing both classic and new ingredients straight from the farm. Mindful of the environment that we live in, we try wherever possible to use local suppliers and are dedicated to using fresh seasonal produce.
We are a proud member of the Scotch Beef Club, serving Scotch Beef PGI; with traceability and unique assurance which begins on the farm of birth, Scotch Beef is high on quality and taste.
CRAFT BEERS
Stewart Brewing is Edinburgh’s local, independent brewery producing multi gold award winning beers of the highest quality.
A visit to Boston sparked the idea in 1996. In 2004, after years of perfecting home brews, their first range of cask beers was launched.
In 2020, they opened their on-site pizzeria and shop to enjoy their beer and the company will turn 18 in 2022.
We have worked closely with Steven Stewart since his launch, and are privileged to be a premium site for Stewart’s beers, regularly showcasing new launches.
ROOSTER POTATOES
The Rolls Royce of mash “tatties”. The “Potato People” at Albert Bartlett are winners of multiple awards home and abroad. From the Scottish Food & Drink Excellence Gold award to the Saveur de L’Année – France’s premier food award. Roosters stand out with their deep, russet red skins and distinctive shallow eyes. The Rooster’s full, buttery texture and distinctive, nutty taste make it the perfect choice for mash.
At Makars we go through a staggering +100,000kg per year, we work with several Scottish Farmers who use the Albert Barlet seed for their crops. Our potatoes change with the season & over the years we have perfected tweaks to our recipe & preparation methods to match the changes in starch & flavour through the seasons.
DRINKS WITH BENEFITS
YOU + I are based in Glasgow and believe in making products that are the best for themselves and their customers.
Canadian born Kelsey is the creative energy behind You + I. Alan is the man in charge of the all important number crunching and is available to lend a helping hand when it comes to any heavy lifting, maintenance or product sampling.
They create a range of contemporary health drinks that will make you feel a world of good.
They are committed to using only the highest grade of natural and organic ingredients to create their healthy drinks.
Their goal : to share purposeful alternatives to the mass produced and unhealthy drinks that saturate the market.
HAGGIS CHOICE OF HARRODS & 10 DOWNING ST
While Ramsay used to create our haggis from a custom recipe, we have now decided to produce our own haggis in-house.
Nowadays Ramsay create our all-important wild boar sausages. The Bangers to our Mash.
In the words of Ramsay of Carluke :
“The finest ingredients to grace anyone’s pantry, freshly packed for overnight delivery!
Family butchers for over 150 years, Ramsay of Carluke takes great pride in the exceptional quality, flavour and texture of our traditional meat products.”
ARTISAN SOFT DRINKS
Bon Accord soft drinks were founded in Arbroath in 1903. Their iconic glass bottles were seen across Scotland for generations.
Back in 2016 after a 16 year break, their soft drinks are 100% naturally sweetened with honey, coconut nectar and fruit juices.
Bon Accord – a healthier, naturally sweetened, more flavoursome soft drink – is a feelgood boost to better everyday and lift any occasion.
The drinks are a really great alternative to alcoholic drinks and go amazingly well with our dishes.
Makars is delighted to be working with such an icon of Scotland’s history.
MADE IN LEITH – EDINBURGH
Pilot brewery is a small brewery located in Leith, their family and community values are second to none.
Pilot has a fundraising initiative Drinklusion which helps loads of places and causes across Edinburgh. You can read more about it here.
They also operate as a foodbank donation point – we think they’re an excellent company !
As they say “from the very beginning, things have been hands-on at Pilot: from brewing to branding, kegging to canning, sales to social media, we do it all ourselves. This hasn’t always been easy, but it has got us where we are today: a small team doing big things.”
We’re particularly happy to be serving their Gluten Free lager !
DELICIOUSLY THISTLY SCOTTISH CIDER
Founded in 2008 by Peter Stuart, Thistly Cross is Scotland’s leading cider producer located just down the road from Makars Edinburgh in East Lothian (one of the sunniest areas of the UK!).
Since creating their Original Cider, their small and passionate team has developed a unique range of award-winning ciders all using locally sourced apples which are hand pressed on site.
“To this day, Thistly Cross remains at the forefront of the craft cider movement and we continually strive to ensure each cider is as Deliciously Thistly as the next!”
And you guys seem to love them just as much as we do !
THE UK’S FIRST VERTICAL WHISKY DISTILLERY
Aptly located in the Port of Leith, this already iconic distillery is sure to become a landmark.
It started when Ian & Paddy, two whisky fanatics from Edinburgh, started ‘experimenting’ with whisky production in their back garden.
But it’s not just about spirits. As a distillery deeply rooted in Leith’s maritime heritage, they help bring new life to our coast by working with Edinburgh Shoreline.
Edinburgh Shoreline has the expertise and passion for coastal restoration.
Port of Leith Distillery support oyster restoration efforts in the Firth of Forth, adapt to climate change and its impacts on local waters, and trial new ways to engage the community in coastal conservation that enhance drive for sustainability.
ALCOHOL-FREE BEER FROM EDINBURGH
“It’s time to Jump Ship into a new world of full-flavoured alcohol-free beer.”
If you want to enjoy a beer but don’t want “the alcohol or fuzzy head the next day”, look no further.
It took them nearly a year to perfect their first beer, Yardarm, but it was worth it as it was awarded best no and low alcohol lager in the World Beer Awards 2021.
“Not bad for a wee start-up from Edinburgh!”
What’s more is they want to do more than brew great beers so are committed to giving at least 10% of their profits to charity !
ENGINEERED FROM 9 BOTANICALS
Pickering’s Gin and Makars share a common space – Summerhall – and a common goal – sustainability.
The team reached out to let us know they were doing refillable 5l drums for hospitality so we immediately decided to get them on our menu !
Thus saving countless glass bottles and a vast quantity of fuel by reducing the weight. Not to mention, we’re pretty much neighbours.
They built themselves what was then the first exclusive gin distillery established in Edinburgh for over 150 years.
NON-ALCOHOLIC SPIRIT
By far the most popular grown-up alcohol-free drink on our menu.
Mix it with ginger beer, soda, tonic, … you name it, to make deliciously refreshing drink.
In the winter of 2023 we collaborated with Talonmore to pair some of our dishes with their signature cocktail.
Their version of an old fashioned and a hot toddy are something else.
But if you need another reason why we should work with them, this sentence sums it up perfectly : “Talonmore Drinks Company is a Scottish based, family run business, established in Edinburgh”.
SCOTTISH SPECIALTY MICRO-ROASTERS
Gustavo and Michael created Artisan Roast in 2007. They believe that “Great coffee isn’t just a drink, it’s an experience”.
In 2012 they were awarded the Glennfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award for their “outstanding contribution to the food scene in Scotland”.
While they are dedicated to making the best possible coffee, for the last 7 years they also “have been actively involved in a number of sustainability projects”.
Making food and drink into a delicious experience and caring about sustainability are two pillars of Makars so it made sense to work with Artisan Roast.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Graeme joined Makars as official photographer in 2024.
A passionate baker, avid gym-goer and photography enthusiast, he’s behind all those super-crisp shots you can see on our socials and our website.
If you’re looking for content or social media management, we can only recommend you get in touch with him !
PROMOTING THE SALE OF ALCOHOL FREE DRINKS
Andy started the Alcohol Free Drinks Company when he went teetotal.
Part of the problem he wants to solve is the lack of choice in restaurants for people who don’t drink alcohol. Somehow, diet coke doesn’t go as well with a meal as beer does.
His story is beautiful and inspiring (read here) and we’re grateful to Andy for working with us, opening our eyes to this great cause and for introducing us to the amazing people making great tasting alcohol free drinks.