Itinerary
Six stops, one evening, walkable. The night you'd take a friend on a Friday in Edinburgh.
17:30 — Aperitif · City centre · $$$ · Cocktail Bars
Badabing is Edinburgh's most respected Italian-influenced cocktail bar — Sopranos-themed, with a heavy Italian aperitivo and Negroni focus. The 28-seat room is Start polished. Order something stirred and bracing — a martini, a manhattan, or whatever the bar's house spec is. You're warming up the palate, not chasing trends.
19:00 — Cocktails · Old Town · $$$ · Rooftop Bars
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. Now move into the city's cocktail-bar heart. Order off-menu if you can; if the bartender has a single-drink-special-of-the-week, that's the one.
20:30 — Wine break · Picardy Place · $$ · Sports Bars
Conan Doyle draws a steady local crowd in Picardy Place. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Hit a wine bar before the second cocktail run. Two glasses, a small plate, a reset. Keep your conversation in here — the rooms after midnight aren't for talking.
22:00 — The destination cocktail · Cowgate · $$ · Cocktail Bars
Bar 50 draws a steady local crowd in Cowgate. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. This is the room you booked for. Lights are lower, prices higher, drinks are tightly built. Stay an hour, no longer.
23:30 — Late-night listening · New Town · $$ · Cocktail Bars
Bar Soba draws a steady local crowd in New Town. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Move to a music room. Jazz, soul, or a DJ at modest volume. You want a soundtrack, not a club.
01:00 — Last drink · City centre · $$$ · Cocktail Bars
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 End on something simple. A clean martini, a Negroni, a whisky and water. Tip your bartender. Walk home or take a quiet cab.
The order matters. We start polished, peak in the middle, end somewhere quieter than we started. You can swap any room for a closer alternative — every bar listed has at least two backups within a five-minute walk.
Total time: about seven hours. Total spend: depends on you, but plan £80-£150 per person across the night. Save this page, send it to whoever you're meeting, and treat the timings as guidance, not gospel.
Each stop links to the full bar page if you want to dig deeper. Treat timings as guidance — adjust to your pace.