This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s guide to Edinburgh
There are many good reasons to visit Edinburgh: the array of stunning buildings that rise from its cobbled streets, a rich history ripe to explore, the world’s premier arts festival held each summer and a picture-postcard medieval castle that sits atop its own volcano.
A chance to sample one of its many pubs would be another: from historic ale houses with roaring fires and a friendly welcome, to modern establishments highlighting the entrepreneurial spirit that gives the city the edge as the most vibrant in the UK behind its behemothic capital.
The guide below is a personal one, places where I would arrange to meet friends or recommend to visitors, so don’t be outraged if your favourite neighbourhood watering hole is not among them. Some of them do excellent food, and will also serve you a decent bottle of wine, but for the most part I would offer you a different selection of venues if this was what you had in mind.
I have also left off some of the better-known establishments that appear on other lists, such as the famous Cafe Royal, not because it’s not good, but simply because I’ve never really spent much time there. So happy drinking, slàinte mhath, and do leave your own nominations in the comments below.
The Bow Bar
80 West Bow, Edinburgh EH1 2HH
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Good for: Whisky
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Not so good for: Avoiding tourists
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Opening times: Daily, noon–midnight
Victoria Street must be among the most photographed in Edinburgh, a pretty cobbled lane filled with rows of colourful shops that curves elegantly to meet the adjoining West Bow. Here sits The Bow Bar, an authentic pub in the Old Town whose walls are lined with mirrors, long-forgotten beer and cigarette brands and vintage railway memorabilia. It is also a great spot to sample the country’s best-known export: whisky.
My enjoyment of the “water of life” was tarnished by excessive quantities of the cheapest variety while at university, so I will not pretend to be an expert. But there are several hundred to choose from here, ranging from a £4.50 “Malt of the Moment” promotion to a 40-year-old Highland Park at £230 a nip. The pub’s website keeps an up-to-date tally of what is available, and lists unusual bottles that have recently included a 1978 Inverleven from a distillery that closed in 1991.
The snobbishness that often surrounds whisky might make the uninitiated nervous about ordering one, but what struck me on a recent visit was how patiently the bar staff talked through the options with the steady stream of customers who came in without perhaps knowing what they were looking for.
This isn’t only a whisky establishment. There is also an excellent rotating range of beers on tap from independent breweries, including a Helles lager from Cromarty Brewing and Rational Creatures IPA from the city’s Bellfield Brewery, as well as various bottled beers from Germany and Belgium.
There is no shortage of other options nearby, including the strip of pubs on the famous Grassmarket around the corner, which are not as awful as locals pretend.
Sandy Bell’s
25 Forrest Road, Edinburgh EH1 2QH
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Good for: Traditional music
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Not so good for: Punk rock
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Opening times: Monday–Saturday, noon–1am; Sunday, 12.30pm–midnight
Visitors to Scotland might think that traditional music drifts from every boozer, but in reality it can be hard to find. Step forward Sandy Bell’s, a corner pub in the Southside that prides itself as being the centre for Scottish and Irish folk music in the city.
The establishment has been around since the 1920s, when it was known as the Forrest Hill Bar and under the ownership of a Mrs Bell. It was in the 1960s that it gained its current reputation, with Gerry Rafferty and Billy Connolly just two of the folk acts who played here. Around that time it also began to be known to regulars as Sandy Bell’s, a name that was formally adopted in the 1990s.
Entering the compact pub today, you are greeted with a graceful wooden interior, a waft of warm air and the sound of traditional music coming from the group of players who gather at the far end of the pub for its nightly folk sessions. Space is limited, and the pub is invariably busy. But if you are able to find a spot for the night, do not be surprised to leave with a newfound appreciation of the fiddle and the stark, haunting beauty of traditional Scottish music.
The beers on tap are mostly brewed domestically, including Schiehallion Lager from Harviestoun Brewery and Dark Island Ale from Orkney Brewery. As you might expect, there is also an impressive selection of whiskies.
If your foot is still tapping, then Captain’s Bar on South College Street is another folk pub within walking distance.
Sheep Heid Inn
43-45 The Causeway, Edinburgh EH15 3QA
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Good for: Ending a walk
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Not so good for: Proximity to city centre
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Opening times: Monday–Saturday, noon–11pm; Sunday, noon–10.30pm
This is the only pub in the guide that I had not visited before I began to compile this list, largely because it is located in an out-of-the-way neighbourhood. But one of my editors convinced me it was worth it. And so it proved as I arrived after a walk of about one hour from the city centre that took me through Holyrood Park in the shadow of Arthur’s Seat before I veered down to the quaint collection of cobbled streets that make up Duddingston.
The inn claims to be Scotland’s oldest surviving public house, dating back to 1360, when Scotland was an independent nation under the rule of the descendants of Robert the Bruce. It retains an olde-worlde feel befitting such a title, with copious wood panelling, stone floors, assorted black and white photography and — of course — the mounted heads of several sheep.
The vast majority of the customers on the Friday evening I visited had booked tables to eat from a menu that included pan-fried sea bass, Balmoral chicken (which is stuffed with haggis) and roast lamb rump. I settled for a Sheep Heid Heavy 80/-, a dark ale from the local Stewart Brewery, followed by a Hophead golden ale from the Dark Star Brewery in south-east London.
The inn has a pleasant courtyard for warmer days, and claims the oldest surviving skittle alley in Scotland. Having never seen such a thing in any of the pubs I have ever visited, I see no reason to doubt them.
Moonwake Beer Co
6A Tower Street, Edinburgh EH6 7BY
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Good for: Exploring the city’s craft-beer scene
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Not so good for: Oenophiles
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Opening times: Thursday, 5pm–10pm; Friday, 3pm–10pm; Saturday, noon–10pm; Sunday, noon–8pm
Independent craft-beer producers are booming around the UK, and Edinburgh is no exception. The Campaign for Real Ale lists more than a dozen microbreweries in and around the city, and the fruits of some of them have already been cited in this guide. Indeed, it is pleasing that most of the pubs on this list sell beers not made by the big producers. When I was compiling lists of London’s best, this was not always the case.
Many have an accompanying taproom where you can sample the beer made on site. Bellfield Brewery, Pilot Beer, Newbarns Brewery and Stewart Brewing are just some of the excellent choices in the city. I have chosen Moonwake here, partly because the beer is good and also because its location in Leith makes it easy for readers of this guide to get to.
Moonwake is a relative newcomer, established in 2021. The opening was almost delayed when the brewing equipment got stuck on a vessel held up behind the Ever Given container ship that ran aground in the Suez Canal. Thankfully, the hold-up did not prove too costly.
There were a dozen of the brewery’s beers to choose from on a recent Sunday afternoon when I visited, from the Cold IPA to the Gose sour beer and the Leith Helles lager. I took mine in the elevated taproom that overlooks the brewery, but there is also a space outside for balmier times.
The Ventoux
2 Brougham Street, Edinburgh EH3 9JH
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Good for: Bike enthusiasts
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Not so good for: Draught beer
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Opening times: Monday–Wednesday, 3pm–1am; Thursday–Sunday, 2pm–1am
In a future article for FT Globetrotter’s guide to Edinburgh, I will take you through my favourite cycling routes in and around the city. For now, we have The Ventoux, a bike-themed pub on Brougham Street, just off Tollcross.
The bar is named after the mountain that is among the most gruelling finishes in the Tour de France. The team behind it also owns The Tourmalet off Leith Walk, which honours the famed Pyrenean mountain pass that frequently tests participants in the same cycle race.
The Tour de France theme is also revealed by the fleet of vintage French-made bikes that hang from the ceiling. I was so taken by them that after one recent visit to the pub I purchased a similar 1980s Peugeot road bike.
The pub is spacious with a youthful vibe, and you do not have to be into two wheels to stop by for a drink. The beers on tap are fairly ordinary, but the pub does have an excellent selection of bottled beers from the other side of the Rhine. On my visit, this included two of my favourites: the Lagerbier Hell produced by Augustiner-Bräu, Munich’s oldest private brewery, and the Rothaus Pils from Baden-Württemberg. There is a small area outside to take your drinks on warmer days.
The nearby Cloisters Bar, one of the city’s best real ale pubs, is also recommended.
The ‘Oxford’ Bar
8 Young Street, Edinburgh EH2 4JB
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Good for: Spotting local actors
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Not so good for: Large groups
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Opening times: Daily, noon–midnight
The “Oxford” Bar is described as “centrally located yet not easy to find” by its most famous patron, which gives it the feel of a local despite being halfway between busy George Street and Queen Street.
The patron in question is the crime writer Sir Ian Rankin, who was frequenting The Ox long before his most famous creation, gnarled police inspector John Rebus, also began nursing his hangovers there.
Sir Ian is just the latest in a line of writers and artists whose association with the pub dates back to the 19th century. A portrait of an even earlier pillar of Scottish literature, poet Robert Burns, hangs proudly above the bar. Even the inverted commas around the pub’s name are down to the Oxford University Press, which had a depot nearby.
Stepping inside via the entrance on Young Street, you are confronted by the compact bar area, which does not require too many drinkers before it starts to feel full. There are a couple of window booths and standing room at the bar, but you will probably have more luck taking your drinks to the larger lounge at the rear.
The drinks menu is not as extensive as some of the establishments on this list, as this place is more about the atmosphere. I opted for an Innis & Gunn lager from the Edinburgh-founded brewery of the same name.
If you are in the area, you might try the rival Cambridge Bar a few doors down. Also nearby are the Thistle Street Bar, The Queens Arms and a range of options on and off Rose Street.
Malt & Hops
45 Shore, Edinburgh EH6 6QU
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Good for: A stop on a Leith pub crawl
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Not so good for: Impersonating characters from Trainspotting
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Opening times: Monday–Tuesday, noon–11pm; Wednesday–Thursday and Sunday, noon–midnight; Friday–Saturday, noon–1am
Leith has come a long way since the days when it was the setting for Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting, and now has fashionable bars and Michelin-starred restaurants, offices of the Scottish government and a tram link that opened to the public in 2023 after years of construction.
It is also home to the Royal Yacht Britannia, whose permanent presence is a nod to Leith’s history as one of the country’s foremost ports. The disastrous attempt to settle a Scottish colony in what is now Panama in 1698 sailed from Leith, and the town had previously been occupied by the forces of Oliver Cromwell. Much of this history can still be seen today if you have an hour to spare.
Choosing which of the area’s pubs to put on this list was not an easy choice, but I went for Malt & Hops on the Shore, where the Water of Leith meets the docks and the Firth of Forth. The historic pub has been around for centuries, and has a rustic charm helped by the old pictures and adverts for long-forgotten beer brands on the walls, the dried hops that hang from the ceiling and the open fire that burns in the hearth.
On the quiet afternoon I visited, I was able to grab the pew sandwiched between the bar and the window to watch the world go by. I also took my pick from the selection of taps, which included Orkney Best from Swannay Brewery, Tempest Polaris Pale from the Scottish Borders and an Oakham Citra session IPA from Peterborough.
St Vincent Bar
11 St Vincent Street, Edinburgh EH3 6SW
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Good for: Dog lovers
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Not so good for: Avoiding finance types
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Opening times: Monday–Thursday, 1pm–midnight; Friday, 1pm–1am; Saturday, noon–1am; Sunday, noon–midnight
The St Vincent Bar sits on the borders of Edinburgh’s Georgian New Town and the upmarket Stockbridge area, on the corner of the elegant Circus Lane mews.
The pub is popular with those working in the city’s sizeable financial community, many of whom are based in offices nearby. Edinburgh ranked 34 on the Global Financial Centres Index in September last year, second in the UK only to London and above the likes of Abu Dhabi.
As such it has a slight moneyed vibe, but not in a bad way. We were shown to our table by an affable staff member who returned at regular intervals to keep the pints of Guinness flowing and ensure we did not need to join the scrum at the bar.
There is a definite dog theme: a handwritten sign on the entrance proclaims “Dugs Welcome” (Scots for dogs), and at least three were spotted when we visited. Our table had a prime view of the “dog wall” featuring portraits of canines whose owners have drunk there.
The pub was packed on the Friday evening when we visited, and booking is probably advisable. There is a small outdoor area and a beer hatch if it does get too crowded.
The FT colleague and local resident who accompanied me on this leg of the pub crawl proclaimed The Stockbridge Tap down the hill to be superior. Certainly a decent option if you are allergic to dogs. The Cumberland Bar is another alternative nearby.
Bennets Bar
8 Leven Street, Edinburgh EH3 9LG
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Good for: Students
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Not so good for: Business meetings
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Opening times: Daily, noon–1am
Bennets Bar is a Victorian pub off Tollcross where beers have been flowing since 1839. The beautifully preserved interior of the main bar is the star attraction, with ornate stained-glass windows, huge wall mirrors and a spacious bar that shows off the more than 150 whiskies on sale.
Attached, but accessible via a different door, is the snug, or jug bar, a separate space where those who did not want to be seen could order their drinks and remain out of view.
At the rear, and also accessible via the entrance on Leven Street, is what feels like a different bar, with an emphasis on cocktails and a younger vibe that caters to the many students who live locally. I can happily enjoy a drink in either.
The beers are not bad, and if you were in the mood to try a pint of the once-ubiquitous Tennent’s lager you could do so here. There is also Jarl cask ale from Fyne Ales in the Highlands and a Caledonia Best, also from Tennent’s, at only £4.50 a pint.
What’s your favourite Edinburgh pub? Tell us in the comments below. And follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @FTGlobetrotter
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