Edinburgh
Old Town is the medieval core of Edinburgh, and most of the drinking history is hidden down its closes and vaults. The Royal Mile and the Grassmarket hold the city's oldest pubs alongside cellar cocktail rooms and a whisky bar with hundreds of bottles. Save this neighbourhood guide before your next night in Edinburgh.
Advocate's Close, Old Town · $$$
A vaulted cocktail bar down Advocate's Close, built around the Devil's Manhattan and a long whisky back bar in a former pump house.
Old Town · $$$$
A date night cocktail room known for the Cellar Manhattan and a quiet, candle lit fit out a short walk off the Royal Mile.
Royal Mile, Old Town · $$
A Royal Mile whisky bar stocking 300 plus Scotch bottles, with live traditional Scottish music most nights and a modern Scottish menu.
Market Street, Old Town · $$$
One of Edinburgh's oldest gastro pubs on Market Street, pouring the Doric Old Fashioned above a long running bistro.
James Court, Old Town · $$
A timber beamed real ale pub tucked down James Court, with a low painted ceiling and a rotating cask list.
Grassmarket, Old Town · $$
A brewpub on the Grassmarket with a rooftop terrace facing the Castle, pouring Cold Town Lager at source.
Old Town packs centuries of drinking into a tight grid of closes, which is why one evening here can run from a cellar cocktail bar to a Castle facing rooftop on foot. That is the value of a neighbourhood guide: pick a starting room on the Royal Mile, follow the slope to the Grassmarket, and let the closes do the rest.
The order is a working ranking rather than gospel. Read the notes, pick the room that fits the night you are planning, and treat Old Town like locals do by ducking off the main mile early.
Every recommendation below is independent, and barsforKings does not take payment for editorial placement, ever.