Edinburgh
The decor at the Royal Dick alludes to its past as the home of Edinburgh University's veterinary school: there are shelves of laboratory glassware and…
Must-see nightlife in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Situated beside the King’s Theatre, Bennet’s (established in 1839) has managed to hang on to almost all of its beautiful Victorian fittings, from the…
Old Town
An atmospheric warren of stone-lined vaults houses this self-consciously 'alternative' club, which eschews huge dance floors and egotistical DJ worship in…
Old Town
One of the city's best traditional-style pubs (it's not as old as it looks), serving a range of excellent real ales, Scottish craft gins and a vast…
Leith
Cute, quaint, and decked out in flowered wallpaper, old furniture and rose-patterned china (cocktails are served in teapots), the Roseleaf could hardly be…
New Town
This tiny, black-and-white bar is all about the number 13: 13 bottles of base spirit are used to create a daily menu of 13 cocktails. The result is a…
Leith
Drawing on Leith’s trading heritage with retro maritime design and themed cocktails, Nauticus is a traditional community boozer gone hipster. The…
Edinburgh
This cosy, dimly lit basement bar is unpretentious and just a little bit grungy. The cocktails are outstanding, with an extensive list including the…
New Town
Perhaps the classic Edinburgh pub, the Café Royal’s main claims to fame are its magnificent oval bar and its Doulton tile portraits of famous Victorian…
Old Town
Owned by a local arts charity, the weird and wonderful Bongo Club has a long history of hosting everything from wild club nights and local bands to…
New Town
One of the few pubs in Rose St that has retained its Edwardian splendour, the Abbotsford has long been a hang-out for writers, actors, journalists and…
Old Town
A friendly cafe, bar and restaurant with a comprehensive menu including breakfasts, bar bites and substantial mains, Checkpoint is gaining a reputation as…
Old Town
If you like your student bars grungy and unpretentious, with affordable left-field cocktails (Buckfast Daiquiri, anyone?), delicious vegetarian soul food…
New Town
One of the city’s best top spots to enjoy an espresso, this is all basement-chic cosiness, built-in iPads and bare-bulb lighting. Another branch, on…
Holyrood & Arthur’s Seat
A successful attempt at reinventing the local neighbourhood pub, with polished mahogany, stained glass and snug booths, the Kilderkin stages regular…
Edinburgh
You'll need to take a seat to peruse the 25-page drinks menu at this 'concept pub', themed around the exploits of a fictitious Victorian adventurer called…
New Town
Swirling textured wallpapers, glittering chain-mail curtains, crystal chandeliers, and plush pink and gold sofas have won a cluster of design awards for…
Edinburgh
Nicknamed for the cemetery across the street – gravediggers used to nip in and slake their thirst here – the Diggers dates from 1897. It’s still staunchly…
Leith
The delightful Old Chain Pier enjoys a brilliant location overlooking the sea – the building was once the 19th-century booking office for steamers…
Old Town
The art college's Wee Red Bar has been around so long there’s a danger the authorities will slap a blue plaque on it and declare it a national monument…
Edinburgh
One of the newer additions to Edinburgh’s burgeoning coffee scene, Cult Espresso is an intimate, industrial-chic cafe serving single-origin coffees to the…
New Town
The Basement is a laid-back bar with a rustic Latin American vibe – check out the weird, welded furniture made from tank tracks, camshafts and motorcycle…
Old Town
A brass plaque outside this pub proclaims: ‘In the White Hart Inn Robert Burns stayed during his last visit to Edinburgh, 1791'. Claiming to be the city’s…
New Town
Immortalised as the stereotypical New Town pub in Alexander McCall Smith's serialised novel 44 Scotland Street, the Cumberland has an authentic,…
Leith
Duke St was always one of the rougher corners of Leith, but the emergence of pubs like the Lioness is a sure sign of gentrification. Distressed timber and…
Old Town
Housed in the former advertising offices of the Scotsman newspaper, attractively refurbished with red brick, artistically arranged timber offcuts and a…
Old Town
The Edinburgh outpost of Scotland's self-styled 'punk brewery', BrewDog stands out among the sticky-floored dives that line the Cowgate with its polished…
Leith
In an area stuffed with choice pubs, Nobles might be the most loved by locals. This beautifully restored Victorian cafe-bar in the heart of Leith has…
Old Town
A superstylish lounge bar with a Raffles of Singapore vibe – it’s all crystal chandeliers, polished wood and oriental art – Dragonfly has won rave reviews…
Holyrood & Arthur’s Seat
Set among the glass-and-steel architecture of the redeveloped Holyrood district, Hemma (Swedish for ‘at home’) is one of a stable of Scandinavian bars, a…
New Town
Edinburgh’s coffee scene punches above its weight, largely thanks to Artisan Roast. The mothership, a tiny, dark cafe on Broughton St, is now one of three…
New Town
Lush leather sofas, red-satin cushions, fetishistic steel-mesh curtains and dim red lighting all help to create a decadent atmosphere in this drop-dead…
Edinburgh
A lovably eccentric pub, the Canny Man’s consists of a crowded warren of tiny rooms crammed with a bizarre collection of antiques and curiosities (a…
Leith
This good old-fashioned local boozer has been sympathetically restored – it appeared in the 2013 film Sunshine on Leith. Its nautical history is evident…
New Town
One of those places that easily earn the sobriquet ‘best-kept secret’, Bramble is an unmarked cellar bar (just an inconspicuous brass nameplate beneath a…
Old Town
A cross between a traditional pub and a pre-club bar, Villager has a shabby-chic, laid-back vibe. It can be standing room only in the main bar in the…
Edinburgh
Promoting itself as the Southside’s only ‘alternative’ pub, the Auld Hoose certainly lives up to its reputation, with unpretentious decor, gig posters on…
Holyrood & Arthur’s Seat
Possibly the oldest inn in Edinburgh (with a licence dating back to 1360), the Sheep Heid feels more like an upmarket country pub than an Edinburgh bar…
New Town
A century old and still going strong, Clark’s caters to a clientele of real-ale aficionados, football fans (there are three TVs), local office workers and…
Edinburgh
Housed in a converted manse (minister’s house) that once belonged to the next-door church, and furnished with well-worn, mismatched wooden tables and…
