48 Hours of Drinking in Edinburgh

Badabing is Edinburgh's most respected Italian-influenced cocktail bar — Sopranos-themed, with a heavy Italian aperitivo and Negroni focus. The 28-seat room is Drop bags. Find a hotel-adjacent bar within a five-minute walk. Order something simple to anchor yourself to the city.

The Roof at the Radisson draws a steady local crowd in Old Town. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. The polished room you'd take a first date to. Sit at the bar. Talk to the bartender. Stay one drink — you're scouting, not committing.

Conan Doyle draws a steady local crowd in Picardy Place. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Walk into the city's drinking quarter (the heart of the night, not the tourist version). Two drinks, two rooms. Pace yourself — Saturday is the long day.

Bar 50 draws a steady local crowd in Cowgate. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Sunset. Find a rooftop. Order whatever the house specials around sundown. Take photos but don't lose 90 minutes to your phone.

Bar Soba draws a steady local crowd in New Town. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Eat somewhere with serious bartending built in. The right room is one you order both your dinner and your nightcap from.

Bon Vivant has been on Thistle Street since 2008 and remains the rare Edinburgh bar that takes both wine and cocktails seriously. The wine list runs to around 8 The bar that made you book the trip. The pre-research one. Reservation-only ideally. Stay until last call.

Bramble opened in 2006 in a New Town basement and effectively kickstarted the modern Edinburgh cocktail scene. Before Bramble, Edinburgh cocktail culture was th Mary, Mimosa, or whatever low-ABV house play the room runs. Eat. Pay. Walk.

Bramble Bar draws a steady local crowd in New Town. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Find the hotel bar at your departure airport equivalent — somewhere quiet, low-volume, well-staffed. End the trip on a martini and a clean conversation.