The Rooftop Garden Bar sits one flight above the Edinburgh Gin distillery, in the railway arches at the foot of East Market Street, and it was built for one hour of the day in particular. As the light drops behind the Old Town spires, the planted terrace turns the colour of the gin it pours. This is the only place that serves the distillery-exclusive Rooftop Garden Gin, and the room never lets you forget it.
Edinburgh Gin opened the terrace in August 2025, above its new distillery at Arch 16 of The Arches, a short walk from Waverley Station. The Spirits Business reported the launch as the brand's first permanent rooftop, set over a working still and a tasting room rather than bolted onto a hotel. It reads as a garden first and a bar second, which is the charm.
The room
Greenery climbs the rails, the planting softens the stone, and the sightlines run across the Old Town rooftops toward Calton Hill. The terrace is compact and angled for the sunset rather than the panorama, so it feels more like a private garden than a viewing deck. On a clear evening the seats along the western edge are the ones to ask for.
The drinks
Start with a Rooftop Garden Gin and tonic, since the gin is made from sixteen botanicals grown on the building and is sold nowhere else, per Edinburgh Gin's own distillery notes. The spritz list is the seasonal heart of the menu, with the Rhubarb Frosé and the Rooftop Iced Tea built for golden hour rather than a long night. Expect premium gin pricing, with most G&Ts and signature serves landing in the 11 to 14 pound range. The list is gin-led by design, so come for a measured aperitif, not a cocktail marathon.
The experiences
The distillery underneath runs Mix and Muddle cocktail classes and a gin-making bench, where you choose botanicals and bottle a bespoke spirit under your own label. Booking one turns a drink into an afternoon and gives you the room before the sunset crowd arrives. The terrace and the distillery share a door, so the two halves of a visit fold neatly together.
Who it is for
A pre-dinner aperitif before a table in the Old Town, taken slowly with the light. A gin enthusiast who wants the one pour they cannot find anywhere else. A small celebration that starts with a class downstairs and finishes with a spritz on the roof.
Best time to go
Arrive ninety minutes before sunset and claim a western seat, since the terrace is seasonal and weather-led, and Edinburgh gives up its golden light without much warning. The space is open daily through the warmer months, though hours shift with the season, so confirm the terrace is running before you climb the stair. A bright, still evening is worth the check.
What regulars say
Early reviewers consistently single out the Rooftop Garden Gin itself as the reason to come, treating the exclusive bottling as the draw rather than the view. DesignMyNight frames the venue as a distillery-and-bar pairing in the Old Town arches, which matches the on-the-ground experience of a tasting room with a terrace on top. The recurring note of caution is the size, since the roof is intimate and fills fast on a fair-weather Friday.
Drinkers also flag the planting and the calm as the difference from the city's hotel rooftops, a garden rather than a glass box. The brand's standing as Scottish Gin Tourist Destination of the Year, per its own awards record, sets the expectation, and the terrace mostly meets it when the sky cooperates.
The Rooftop Garden Bar earns its place in our guide to the best rooftop bars in Edinburgh. Pair it with a wider Old Town terrace crawl through Cold Town House in the Grassmarket, Nor' Loft above Market Street, or the seasonal deck at W Lounge Edinburgh. See the full Edinburgh bar guide or browse our rooftop bars collection.
