Royal Mile, Grassmarket and Old Town Area

Edinburgh's Royal Mile has stretched since the 11th century between Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyrood House - the Queen's residence in Scotland. Scotland's new Parliament building is at the bottom of the Royal Mile opposite the palace..

The old Parliament Hall, the Signet Library and the Scottish Supreme Courts are all here as is the 18th century Edinburgh City Chambers (Town Hall) and the High Kirk of St Giles, dating from the 15th century although a church has been there since 854 AD. Further down is the 17th century Tron Kirk (now a museum) where Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations took place for many years before the more recent world renowned party.

Bustling all the year round, the Royal Mile takes on a new look during the Festival and the Fringe in August and September. Pipers, Street Theatre, Music and a range of exciting and eccentric events take place in the street from dawn to dusk.

Over the centuries, many legendary figures have tread the Royal Mile's cobbles. From the romantic Mary Queen of Scots and Bonnie Prince Charlie, to the sinister Burke and Hare and Deacon Brodie. James Connolly was a street sweeper here and John Knox preached at the High Kirk of St Giles.

The Royal Mile boasted the world's first skyscrapers with tenements soaring high above the Royal Mile and even higher from Cockburn Street. Much of the street is built on top of older streets and closes, some now opened up to explore. A mix of classes lived in the same buildings - the better off furthest away from the smell!

This was due to the old Edinburgh habit of emptying waste out of the window, with the warning shout to passers by of "Gardyloo" - later to become the name of Edinburgh's sewage ship.

Luckily things have changed now and the Royal Mile is a charming street of history, of old closes (lanes), of ghost stories - but most of all a living street of bars, restaurants, shops and houses.

Acanthus (website)
Waverley Bridge
EH1 0131 556 2358
Once a railway building, stands between the ramps down to Waverley Station. Refurbished and has a beer garden to the side. Now has comedy nights (check out the oracle for dates). Entrance from Waverley Bridge and from the Princes Mall. New review to follow.

Alba
9/11 Grassmarket
0131 229 2665
Modern, trendy and spacious with long wood framed windows and a bare stone wall. This bar sells good range of lagers, if not ales, and has good value food - with very friendly service when we were there. Facing up the historic Grassmarket, the bar has been transformed from the old Fiddlers - which in itself was actually a modern mock-up of a traditional bar - but retains the cornice-work.

Arcade Bar
48, Cockburn St
EH1 1PB, 0131 220 1297
Newly refurbished 1999. Serves good food in a pub so typical of the area with a mix of locals and visitors. One of the first to be open all day when licensing laws changed. Used to be Jim's Bar.

Bar Salsa
3, Cowgatehead
EH1 1JY 0131 477 2655

Bannermans Bar
55, Niddry St
EH1 1LG, 0131 556 3254
A pace-setter when it first opened with good beers and late hours. An 'underground' feel, handy for late night festival venues. Cask ales, food day and evening and live music.

Bar Kohl
54 George IV Bridge
EH1 1EJ 0131 225 6936
Trendy and shiny. Big jugs of flavoured vodkas.

Bar Oz
14, Forrest Rd
EH1 2QN 0131 220 1816
Big Australian OTT (tongue in cheek?) theme pub. Food day and evening. Great big balcony. Popular with students and Australians. In the converted 'Oddfellows Hall'.

Baracoa
7, Victoria St
EH1 2HE, 0131 225 5846
Atmospheric and lively Cuban bar with food to match.

Beehive Inn
18-20 Grassmarket
0131 225 7171 (Reservations)

beluga (website)
30a Chambers Street
EH1 1HU, 0131 624 4545 (Reservations)
0131 225 7171 (Reservations)
New restaurant and bars (2001) in what was the dental hospital. Fascinating design on two floors. Restaurant upstairs with large bar and smaller cocktail bar down a sweeping staircase with pillars of slates. Comfy modernistic bar stools, cosier areas and smaller island tables with stools (lit by candlelight). Light drifts in from arched glass brick ceiling. Normal range of drinks including Stella, Calders, Strongbow etc. DJ music.

Belushi's (website)
9-13 Market Street
0131 226 1446
New American Bar, part of a national chain, with American and local beers on draught. Food served in this lively bar with internet access and a long glass frontage on to the Fruitmarket Gallery. Popular for 'nights out' and when we visited, with Australians.

Bliss
253-258, Cowgate
EH1 1NN 0131 557 2780
Trendy modernistic bar. Happy hours. DJ music.

Biddy Mulligans
94-96 Grassmarket
EH1 2JR 0131 220 1246

The Bow Bar
80, West Bow,Victoria St
EH1 2HH 0131 226 7667
A successfully revamped old style Edinburgh pub renowned for great variety of real ale and guest beers and a good selection of malts. Friendly local pub with no frills or themes. Sometimes frequented by City councillors and the occasional community education worker but still a great place. Only a 10 pace stagger from a brilliant cheese shop and a historically significant brush shop.

The Canon's Gait
232, Canongate
EH8 8DQ 0131 556 4481
Real ales, food lunchtime, comedy some nights. Locals and visitors to be found here

The Castle Bar
6 Johnston Terrace
Good bit of work gone into this traditional pub with friendly service and well kept beer. Nestles directly under the castle opposite The Hub. Refurbished in recent years and has outside tables at the back on Victoria Terrace offering a smashing view over the rooftops and down to the Grassmarket.

Serves food throughout the day. Was a haunt of fiddlers, guitarists and singers but live music has fallen foul of residents' complaints we are told. Nevertheless, the pub is a spacious and welcome respite from some of the Royal Mile pseudiness (August 2003).

Clever Dicks
119 High Street
EH1
Used to be Jocks bar, a locals boozer (oddly done in purple with a Scottish theme) and one of the cheapest in the street. Imagine the locals surprise then when overnight it turned into a bistro style uppish-market bar. It is attractive cosy and welcoming with enthusiastic staff. Proud of its food, and selection of real ales. Sister pub to Dirty Dicks in Rose Street.

Deacon Brodies
435 Lawnmarket
EH1 0131 225 6531
Themed on Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde - itself based on a real Edinburgh rogue. But not a new theme bar, rather a traditional style pub with great ceilings. Restaurant upstairs and bar food. Very popular with tourists but also with local lawyers, politicians etc. Pricey, but they all are here. Prime location on corner of Bank Street.

Dr Watts Library
3, Robertsons Close,Cowgate
EH1 1LY 0131 557 3768
Popular with students spending time in the 'library'.

The Doctors
32, Forrest Rd
EH1 2QN, 0131 225 1819
The Mortar in a previous life, its situation opposite the University and the Infirmary makes it popular with students and medical types. Big TVs.

Doric Tavern & McGuffie's Bar
15, Market St
EH1 1DE, 0131 225 5243
Traditional and cosy bar downstairs with a Bistro upstairs. Real ale, featured wines and imaginative food. Trendy-ish.

EH1 Cafe Bar
197, High St
EH1 1PE, 0131 220 5277
One of the first of the minimalist designer pubs. Used to be young and trendy, we haven't been for a while.

Ensign Ewart
521, Lawnmarket EH1 2PE
Named after the Waterloo hero this ancient pub (17th century) has a great mix of tourists and locals. Real beers, good whiskies, folk music some nights. Cosy but cramped sometimes. Nice wee corner at the back. Friendly reputation in past but recently dodgy if you speak at the bar when the music is on - or if you want to go to the toilet before going to the bar - you need a code! (Reviewed August 2003).

Espionage - website
Victoria Street, EH1 2EX
0131 4777 007
Trendy and popular bar and club complex on the site of what used to be the Place in the 60's. The Lizard Lounge, the Kasbar, PRAVDA and Mata Hari all have slightly different spy themes. The street level bar on Victoria street has fascinating portraits of Native Americans and nice candlelight. Usual beers and lots of special offers. Opens 5pm-3am.

Fiscal and Firkin
Hunter Square
An odd hotch-potch of sofas chairs and tables (and pool table) distributed at random. Lots of standing room. A new pub popular with young people. Real ales, reasonable prices and some live music - loud even without it.

Finnegans Wake
9b Victoria St
EH1 2HE 0131 226 3816
Huge chaotic Irish theme pub. Live music most nights.

Frankensteins
George IV Bridge
EH1
Edinburgh's latest theme bar (August 2000) which makes the gothic best of an old church. Basement and street level bars with a balcony and unusual lighting. S&N beers with a range of novelty bottles. Food all day, service good when we were there. Watch for the pitchers!

The Globe
3, Merchant St
EH1 2QD
0131 220 3833

Greyfriars Bobby Bar
34, Candlemaker Row
EH1 2QE 0131 225 8328
Opposite the famous statue of the wee dug and next to the graveyard. Popular pub which served food long before most others. Tourists use it as an essential photo opportunity.

Halfway House
24, Fleshmarket Close
EH1 1BX 0131 225 7101
A cosy, friendly and tiny bar in the close than runs from Cockburn Street to Waverley Station. A railway theme that is genuine from its clientele over the years rather than created.

The Hebrides
17 Market Street
EH1 0131 220 4213
Gaelic music jam sessions advertised in this Scottish with a capital 'S' pub. Cask ales, big range of whiskies in a small bar popular with locals and tourists.

Holyrood Tavern
9a, Holyrood Rd EH8 8AE
Big old style Edinburgh bar with smaller rooms. Real ales and food.

Jinglin Geordie's
22, Fleshmarket Close
EH1 1QA 0131 225 2803
A pub with principles. Closed last Hogmanay because locals couldn't get into it due to the limits on passes for the city centre celebrations. Used to be famous as the watering hole for local Labour politicians (near the City Chambers) and for journalists (it's just across the lane from the old Scotsman/ Evening News building). More recently you are more likely to see socialist ex-politicians and journalists who have the energy to get up from the new Scotsman building at Holyrood. Still it's cosy, friendly and welcoming.

The Jolly Judge
7 James Court 493, Lawnmarket
EH1 2PB 0131 225 2669
Subterranean bar now popular with MSPs from the Parliament's temporary home nearby. Real ales, lots of malts, historical surroundings, warm atmosphere, food and poor reception on mobile phones make this worth a visit.

Jacksons
40-44, Lady Lawson St
EH3 9DW 0131 228 4284
Real ales in a welcoming bar near the College of Art and the Fire Brigade Museum.

Last Drop Tavern
74 Grassmarket
EH1 2JR 0131 225 4851
So called because it is near where public hangings used to happen. Serves food and popular with young tourists. A huge range of real and spoof banknotes from around the world adorn the ceiling beams. Friendly cosy place.

The Living Room
235, Cowgate
EH1 1JQ 0131 225 4628
Some real ale. Serves food. Very lively at night especially with the younger set during the festival.

Maggie Dicksons
92, Grassmarket
EH1 2JR 0131 225 6601
Named in honour of the woman who escaped hanging because the rope broke. Surprise, she was 'good friends' with the ropemaker! Lively if macabre Grassmarket pub. Serves food.

The Malt Shovel
Cockburn Street EH1
A newish old style, almost theme, Scottish pub with a longish bar and a mezzanine area. Dark wood and low lighting, TV and games machine. Doesn't sound like it would have a range of real ales, lots of whiskies, including pricey but well worth it cask strength malts. But it sure does. Part of an ale trail covering a number of pubs. Get your card stamped at each and you get a prize. Do them in one night and you get a hangover.

Mary Kings Tavern
19 Cockburn Street
EH1 1BP 0131 225 1441
Themed on the famous Mary Kings Close under the City Chambers. More themed on the spooky aspects with skeletons on the wall. Advertises itself as being part of the Eerie Pub Co.

The Mitre
133 High Street
EH1 0131 524 0071
Ancient pub that still retains some original features despite its wish to become a bistro. Food all day, outside seating with French style opening frontage.

The Old Fire Station Pub
52, West Port
EH1 2LD 0131 228 4543
Genuine old one appliance fire station that some can still remember in operation. Interior has a fire brigade theme. Lively, loud music, jumping at weekends.

The Royal McGregor (was Valentines) - website
154, High St
EH1 1QS 0131 225 7064
Great location on the Royal Mile. Re-opened after tasteful redesign in April 2001. Good chat and wide spectrum of locals and visitors, young and trendy and the rest of us. Excellent value steaks and generally good food from own kitchen. Keg and cask ales plus Bruichladdich. Fewer advocates come in than used to but still attracts local trade union hacks and politicians as well as sensible people.

Royal Mile Tavern
127 High Street
EH1 0131 557 9681
Real ales, lots of whiskies and good food. An up-market-ish move from its previous more local based custom.

Royal Oak
1, Infirmary St
EH1 1LT 0131 557 2976
Small local bar with planned and impromptu live music nights downstairs and upstairs. Used to have the reputation of being open when most others had gone to bed and still does.

Sandy Bells (The Forrest Bar)
25, Forrest Rd
EH1 2QH 0131 225 2751
A legend in its own opening time. Good beers, fair whisky selection and the traditional home of good folk musicians offering impromptu sessions. Not yer 'hee drum ho' but the good stuff.

Scruffy Murphys
49, George IV Bridge
EH1 1EJ 0131 225 1681
Irish theme, big screens for sport on TV, food, fair selection of beers. Pricey, but they all are in this area.

Scotsman's Lounge
73, Cockburn Street
EH1 1BU 0131 225 7726
Music: Live bands (mainly trad Scottish), and very noisy pipers. Open late.

Sneeky Petes
73, Cowgate
EH1 1JW 0131 225 1757

Tass
1 High Street
EH1 0131 556 6338
Rabbie Burns icons abound. Real ales, live folk music and better than the usual food.

 

Three Sisters (website)
139 Cowgate, Edinburgh,
EH1 1JS 0131 622 6801
Named after three sisters reputed to have stayed nearby and performed at the Tailors Hall which used to be a playhouse. Three bars: Popular courtyard with well, Outside bar & BBQ: American, Irish and Gothic bars and upstairs Disco. Food and large TVs.

Tolbooth Tavern
167 Canongate
EH8 0131 556 5348
Traces its roots back to 1557 but now has more of a modern 1700's look about it. Open early. Food, ghosts and some live music. A warm wee bar.

W.J. Christie and Sons
West Port
EH
A busy bar with good live music, regular bands and downstairs bar for live music/ disco. Friendly service. Bar is looking for bands, so it would be worth contacting the bar if that's what you do.

Waverley (website)
St Mary's Street
A real pub! The horseshoe bar takes up half the place, backing on to the windows. Hard to set a point in time with old (Victorian?) fittings, yet 50/60's 'contemporary' orange lamp shades in the window. Keg beers served really well and at the right temperature. Sports an Edinburgh Festival 1998 logo on the door and posters on the ceiling. Folk music upstairs and a Fringe venue, the Waverley has a long history of developing and hosting some of the biggest names in Scottish folk music.

 

The White Hart Inn
34 Grassmarket
EH1 0131 622 7118
Sometimes claims to be the oldest pub in Edinburgh but only if you argue that the Sheep's Heid is in Duddingston. Still there is evidence of it going back to the 1500's and Robert Burns is known to have stayed there on his last visit to the city in 1791. Some real ales, food served.

White Horse Bar
266, Canongate
EH8 8AA 0131 556 3403
Small locals' pub. Live music and bigger drams!

 

Whistlebinkies
4-6, South Bridge
EH1 1LL 0131 557 5114
Basement music venue with live bands and dancing and a warren of wee private rooms for your party. Noisy, busy and lively.

Worlds End
4 High Street
EH1 0131 556 3628
With the Flodden Wall marked in brass cobbles on the street outside, the name derives from a somewhat parochial view of the once Edinburgh city limit. Things are different now with English tourists welcome past the wall built to keep them out. Some real ales and traditional bar food in this low ceilinged olde worlde pub. Some live music.