The Best Pubs in Edinburgh

Folk pub with sessions every night at 9pm. The whisky list is comprehensive. The room is small and the regulars defend it. Open daily.

Cask ale specialist with eight rotating real ales and 350 plus whiskies. Knowledgeable bartenders. Open daily.

Heritage Victorian pub with stained glass and Doulton tile murals. The Royal Circle is one of the most beautiful pub rooms in Britain. Open daily.

Possibly the oldest pub in Scotland, established 1360. The skittle alley is original. Worth the trip from the centre. Open daily.

Cocktail-pub hybrid with a serious whisky focus. The bartenders are knowledgeable. Open daily.

Leith dockside pub with live music several nights a week. The crowd is local and committed. Open daily.

Ryrie's sits beside Haymarket station in a listed Edwardian building, a free house with a carved gantry, stained glass and a focus on real ale and Scotch. An upstairs lounge runs as a cocktail bar. Best for a pre-train pint in one of the city's older pubs.

The Standing Order fills a former Union Bank hall on George Street, its high ceiling and granite pillars intact, run as a Wetherspoon with budget food and drink from morning to late. It has been voted the chain's best pub in Scotland. Best for a cheap pint in a grand New Town room.