A chocolate-caramel Mars bar dipped in fish-and-chip batter and deep fried. Edinburgh's late-night Royal Mile tourist novelty since 1995; locals roll their eyes and order anyway.
Where to eat it: 1 restaurant across 2 cities.
The deep-fried Mars bar was invented at The Carron Fish Bar in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire in 1995, and spread south through the Scottish chippy circuit within a decade. Edinburgh's Royal Mile fish bars now carry it as a standing menu item, particularly Clamshell on the High Street and a handful of late-night counters near the Cowgate. The dish is genuinely terrible and genuinely long-favored; the chocolate melts inside the crisp batter sheath. The NHS Scotland regional health board issued a formal warning against it in 2007, which only made it more popular.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy
Tip from the editors. This is not health food and nobody is pretending. One bar between two is the right amount; a whole bar each is committing to bed by 22:00.
L'Alba D'Oro on Henderson Row in Edinburgh New Town, open evening-only since 1975, the city's most decorated chip shop serving fresh-chipped Scottish haddock.
Try: Battered haddock and chips
Tip: Closes at 21:15 sharp. The post-theatre window is 20:30-21:00; go straight there from the Lyceum or Usher Hall.
Featured by TableJourney as a signature dish of Glasgow. See the Glasgow signature dishes guide for the canonical version.
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