Must-see nightlife in Edinburgh

With outdoor tables on sunny afternoons and cosy candlelit intimacy in the evenings, this comfortably cramped Tuscan-style wine bar offers a tempting…

Tucked in a basement, the Bailie is a Stockbridge stalwart – a dimly lit, warm and welcoming nook with a large circular island bar, a roaring fire in…

An elegant traditional bar lined with gleaming wood, mirrors and polished brass, the Royal Mile serves real ale (Deuchars IPA and Edinburgh Castle ale),…

This spectacular bar, with its huge, chunky beer-hall tables, leather-sofa booths and polished black-and-white tile floor, makes a grand setting for the…

A cosy warren of timber-lined nooks and crannies housed in a single-storey red-brick building (once a waiting room for ferries across the Firth of Forth),…

A traditional-looking pub with dark wood and subdued tartanry, the Malt Shovel offers a good range of real ales and more than 40 malt whiskies, and serves…

A dark, downstairs den of traditional beersmanship, with bare wooden floorboards and dark wood tables and chairs, the long-established Antiquary has…

Housed in a former wine merchant's office, tiny Kay's is a cosy haven with a coal fire and a fine range of real ales. Good food is served in the back room…

The historic Beehive, a former coaching inn, is a big, buzzing party pub with a range of real ales, but the main attraction is sitting out the back in the…

Set in an 18th-century house with a cobbled courtyard, the Pear Tree is a student favourite with an open fire in winter, bright modern decor inside, and…

If you’re serious about spirits, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society has branches all around the world. Membership of the society costs from £65 a year and…

The Starbank is an oasis of fine ales and good, homemade food on Edinburgh's windswept waterfront. In summer there's a sunny conservatory and in winter a…