The Advocate holds the corner of Hunter Square in Edinburgh's Old Town, a traditional pub a few steps off the Royal Mile and within sight of St Giles' Cathedral. It became a pub in the 1990s and has pulled locals and visitors onto its barstools ever since.
Who would love it: a drinker who wants a Belhaven pint, a dram and the football in one warm room. Who would not: anyone after a quiet cocktail lounge, since this is a busy sports pub that fills hard on match days.
The room runs to a single, roomy bar that seats a crowd of more than two hundred, with stools at the counter for drinkers who skip the food. Belhaven lists it as a Belhaven house, so Belhaven Best leads the taps alongside a rotating guest line and a short whisky back bar (Belhaven). The day crowd leans on lawyers walking up from the courts for a lunchtime pint, which gave the place its name.
Sport is the draw after dark. The Advocate shows every live match across Sky Sports and TNT Sports on screens around the bar, and the room turns loud and full for a weekend fixture. Edinburgh and South-East Scotland CAMRA lists the pub as a cask outlet, so the ale stays the point even when the screens are on (CAMRA).
The kitchen sends out Scottish pub food built for the long session. The sirloin Balmoral stacks an eight-ounce steak with haggis and a whisky cream sauce, and the menu runs to skewered Scottish salmon and the usual roster of burgers and pies. It is honest fuel rather than a tasting menu, and it keeps a table going through a full ninety minutes.
Marcus Webb's read for the discerning drinker: treat the cask line as the headline and the whisky shelf as the follow. A pint of Belhaven Best sets the tone, then a Speyside malt rounds off a match. Order the Balmoral if you want the whisky sauce to do double duty, and ask what guest cask is on before you commit to the keg.
Live music fills the off nights. A Friday slot brings a regular performer to the floor, and Sunday turns over to a laid-back acoustic session, so the pub keeps a pulse even when no fixture is on the screens. The mix of sport, ale and music is what makes it a default Old Town stop rather than a single-purpose room.
What guests flag, across Tripadvisor and Edinburgh pub guides, is steady. The location beside St Giles, the friendly bar and the fair prices for a tourist stretch earn the praise, while the cautions are the crush on big match days and a room that gets loud at full tilt. Come for the game and the ale, not for a hushed pint.
Best time to go: a weekday early evening for a calm pint and a clear run at the bar, or kickoff on a weekend if you want the full match-day roar. The square outside catches the late sun, so a seat near the window suits a slow afternoon. The Advocate earns its place as a working Old Town pub that pours well and shows the sport.
It belongs on any short list of Edinburgh rooms for a match and a dram. See where it sits among the best sports bars in Edinburgh, browse more Old Town bars, and read our wider guide to the best bars in Edinburgh for the full picture.
Pair this bar with
For a cask-led Old Town pub a short walk away, compare The Bow Bar Edinburgh. For a grand Victorian room with island bar, try The Cafe Royal Edinburgh. And for a deep whisky list nearby, Whiski Bar & Rooms makes the natural second stop.
Sources
Belhaven: The Advocate · CAMRA: Advocate, Edinburgh · Tripadvisor: The Advocate · Google Maps reviews (2026)
Reviewed by Marcus Webb, barsforKings. Published Feb 25, 2026 · Last reviewed Jun 13, 2026.
