I miss going to the pub. Like a lot of people in the UK, pubs have been a big part of my adult life (and, let’s be honest, a few non-adult years too) . But as someone who is often quite socially anxious and probably could be described as an extroverted introvert, there’s something about the ritual and the practiced interactions of a pub that is particularly comforting. Sure, I do like a pint of beer, but I could drink a pint of beer at home. I like the busy privacy of a pub. You can be on your own but surrounded by people. You’re surrounded by chat and can maybe dip in and out of a conversation. You can be with pals and feel energised by the buzz in the room and that particular bit of the buzz that is around your table and your friends. You can leave when you want to. And you can go back the next week, month or year and it’s likely to be pretty much the same.
When I think about why I work in the performing arts, it’s partly because I’ve always felt most comfortable in spaces that hold transitory communities and shared experience. Neutral spaces where you come together with others for a collective moment and then disperse again to your lives. For people with a faith, those spaces might be churches, temples or mosques. For others they’re nightclubs or football stadiums. For me they’ve been theatres and they’ve been pubs. Quite often, over the course of an evening, they’ve been both.
I have fond memories of pubs in all the places I’ve lived – Abergavenny, where I grew up and went into my first pubs (at least two of which are now run by people I went to school with); Manchester, where I went to University and discovered the sort of pubs I really loved (looking at you Peveril of the Peak and The Briton’s Protection); Birmingham, where I discovered interesting beers at The Wellington, did some rudimentary food and beer pairing at The Barton Arms and went to some of my favourite gigs at The Hare and Hounds; Leeds, where I lived above two of my all-time favourites (The Reliance and The Brunswick); Brighton, where I had two great beer-focused pubs as locals (The Watchmaker’s Arms and The Urchin); London, where there always seems to be a great corner pub on a residential street whatever part of the city you’re in; and Nottingham, where I was a bit skint and a bit lonely but had a great cheap(ish) pub at the end of my street (The Lincolnshire Poacher).
But pubs in Edinburgh have a special place in my heart. My parents are both from Grangemouth so I spent much of my childhood visiting grandparents, aunties and uncles in various bits of Scotland’s central belt. I quickly fell in love with Edinburgh and it soon became my imaginary home in every fantasy of the future. When I left home and those family trips stopped, I continued to visit every year – getting a coach or train up from university and then, when I got a car, driving up to visit the relatives and spend some time in my favourite city, staying in cheap B&Bs in Mayfield or hostels on the Cowgate and getting to know the city and its pubs. I’ve visited at least twice a year, every year of my adult life. It’s been a place of refuge after every relationship break-up or in every moment of uncertainty. In 2015 having just quit my job in Birmingham and moved out the house I’d been living in, I moved to Edinburgh for three months, just to check I hadn’t built it up in my mind too much. And then finally, in 2018, I got a job here.
All of which is to say that some of these pubs are places I’ve had 20 or 25 year relationships with, and some are much newer to me. But they all hold special associations or memories. I say pubs, but I’ve also included some places that are definitely bars. It appears I really like places down stairs, and those with curved bars where you can sit on one side out of the way and watch what’s going on. Maybe those are both hangovers of watching too much Cheers in the 80s. And, of course, they’re really personal choices based on my taste, where I’ve lived in the city, and any good or bad experiences I may have had in places. If your favourite is missing it’s probably either cos of the latter, because I don’t know it well yet, or cos it’s just not my jam. These are in no particular order – just as they came to me (so there are some geographical proximities).
I hope all of these places make it through Covid and reopen. Lots of them have tried to adapt to every new rule or piece of guidance, often with very little notice of changes and very little support from governments. So I encourage you, if you miss pubs like I do, to support them when they’re able to safely reopen again.
Anyway, here are some pubs in Edinburgh that I miss:
1. Bennetts Morningside.
I used to live in Morningside and this was my favourite Morningside pub. Lovely design and as suitable for a pint of Tennents as for one of the fancy Belgian beers they have in the fridges
What I miss about it: Sitting on a high stool in the corner by the window and listening to the old fellas doing a quiz between themselves on a Sunday. Them occasionally asking me to help out on arts and literature questions.
2. Hermitage morningside
When I lived in Morningside it was my local. Reliable and friendly.
What I miss about it: Occasional weekend working at the high-top tables looking out on the high street.
3. Bennetts Tollcross
Beautiful pub that is both right next to a theatre and right next to the bus stop I used to use to get home
What I miss about it: Nabbing the private front room with the stained glass and getting to order your drinks through the little hatch to the bar. Going in late on a busy evening when the wait for the bus was too long and standing at the mantelpiece with a half.
4. Cloisters
Another beautiful building – this time an old church cloisters. Great beer and often lots of dogs.
What I miss about it: I miss going there after a walk in the Meadows. Maybe on a Sunday when one pint would become two or three and the spiral staircase down to the loos would become more tricky.
5. Ventoux
I love cycling and it’s a bar named after an iconic mountain used in the Tour de France, so I’m already happy. Plus they have lots of nice German beers and a cute outside area that get’s about an hour of sunshine if you time it right.
What I miss about it: When RP (my partner) lived in Bruntsfield and me in Morningside it was a regular hang-out. Watching the fish in the tank by the bench seat at the back.
6. Palu
A recent addition to Edinburgh in the spot that was previously the Fat Pony. Specialises in vermouth and amaro, which is nice.
What I miss about it: Another spot that RP and I would meet in. Sitting at the window seats, looking out at Bread Street, eating salty Italian snacks and drinking an Amaro feels dead fancy.
7. Blue Blazer
Reliable pub that’s generally full of people who’ve just been to the Traverse/Lyceum theatres or who work there
What I miss about it: picking over things I’ve seen at the theatre with arts pals, or just having a beer there before a show
8. Hanging Bat
Loads of beer choice, which is nice. Bit smelly and get’s too busy on the weekend but, if you time it right…
What I miss about it: Reading a book in that big armchair under the stairs. Sitting in the window upstairs and looking across at the beautiful friezes on the building opposite.
9. Monty’s
Coming back to Edinburgh from Glasgow I’d quite often get off at Haymarket just to go for a pint there. Loads of nice beer choice, dead small and loos you can access without going in the pub if you’re desperate and walking past!
What I miss about it: Sitting on the mezzanine looking down at the bar. Cheese toasties. Nice beer.
10. The Diggers (The Athletic Arms)
Probably my favourite Edinburgh pub. Beautiful big main room with a big curved bar, two little back rooms, those great little narrow tables fixed to the ground.
What I miss about it: Really nice atmosphere (maybe except when Hearts are at home – I’ve not been in then), nice cheap beer and the comfort of feeling like you’re drinking somewhere that’s been there forever.
11. Whighams Wine Cellar
It’s just a bit weird, which I like. Lots of cellar nooks and crannies and it’s down some stairs so obviously gets a tick for that too.
What I miss about it: The closest thing to having a private room is having one of those little cellar nooks with your pals. Perfect for gossipy, funny evenings.
12. Mathers
Another beautiful traditional Edinburgh pub with the opaque stained glass and the double doors (so no-one could see who was in there drinking)
What I miss about it: I used to do some work on Sundays that meant coming back into town on the Queensferry road. And occasionally I’d pop into Mathers for a little Sunday afternoon pint of Tennents before heading home.
13. Under The Stairs
Another of my favourites. Down some stairs, tucked away, and great food and drinks.
What I miss about it: For many years has been my favourite place for a drink after a day of watching dance at Dance Base down the road, often during the fringe. My favourite spots are the low seats by the fish tank (if I’m on my own) or the booth by the DJ spot (if I’m with pals).
14. Bow Bar
Epic whisky selection on probably the prettiest street in the city centre
What I miss about it: Super cosy on cold and rainy days. I particularly remember one really dreich Spring day visiting the city in my early 20s when, after a day of trudging round in the rain, I ended up in the Bow Bar and it held me and warmed me and made me glad.
15. Sandy Bells
Go for the beer, stay for the music
What I miss about it: Evenings or Sunday afternoons sat at the bar (my favourite is the bar stool just to the left of the weird little glass partition), reading a book and listening to the music.
16. Dagda
Small and cosy with a very pleasing symmetry
What I miss about it: Sitting at the bar when it’s busy and enjoying the mix of regulars and students and, during August, people who’ve just wondered in from one of the very many fringe venues nearby
17. Royal Dick
Would it be in my top pubs if it wasn’t where it is? Maybe not, but given I spend probably as much money there each August as I do in every other pub combined in the rest of the year, it should probably feature!
What I miss about it: A million great conversations with people who I only ever see once a year (and in 2020 not at all).
18. Cask and Barrel
Big pub with a curved bar, lots of beer choice and fairly anonymous.
What I miss about it: When I lived in Morningside, this used to be a favourite halfway home pint. I’d walk from work thinking about my day and all the things I hadn’t done, stop here for a drink and write them down and maybe read for a bit, and then head home. On some days this was really needed, and I’ve missed those moments in the last 9 months.
19. Kilderkin
A pub I got to know when it was Jenny Ha’s – and my preferred spot on the Canongate.
What I miss about it: a pub that serves pizza will always have a place in my heart. Plus memories of that wood panelled room with the vaulted ceilings
20. Brass Monkey (Old Town)
A funny pub that I’m never 100% sure about. That ridiculous cinema room. But on the right day, maybe with a table in the other back room, it’s dead nice.
What I miss about it: On a buzzy day, maybe during August or after a show at the Festival Theatre, sitting in the window seat at the front of the pub and watching the world go by is pretty ace.
21. Salt Horse
One of my favourites. All the beers, nice staff (including one of my pals), candles and chips and all that good stuff. Plus the ability to buy some beer to take home next door.
What I miss about it: Sitting in the little garden on a long summer evening. A bunch of friends on a long table in the shop area. Me and RP chatting to our pal behind the bar and him telling us what to drink.
22. Royal Mile Tavern
Not a regular haunt but it was the nearest pub to the bus stop I’d use to get home from work when I lived in Morningside
What I miss about it: popping in on a night when I’d stayed at work too long and it was cold and I was tired and the bus was going to be 20 minutes.
23. Waverley Bar
Other than Salt Horse, my favourite spot around the Royal Mile. Small and cosy with the little narrow fixed tables and a curved bar.
What I miss about it: A little haven by the madness of the Royal Mile. Good for huddled conversations with some close pals.
24. Guildford Arms
Big pub very close to my office, with a wide selection of cask beer. Meaning it usually smells of old fellas’ farts. But a handy post-work meeting spot.
What I miss about it: Popping across the road after work for a pint with a pal. Meeting pals who are changing trains in Edinburgh for a pint there when they only have half an hour.
25. Cafe Royal
Another spot I’ve had a long love affair with. Such a beautiful space. The circular bar, the tile mosaic portraits. The curved booths. Dreamy.
What I miss about it: Sitting at the bar on a busy day and peering through the optics at the people on the other side of the pub.
26. Oxford Bar
A classic Edinburgh pub, made famous by Ian Rankin and hence now often visited by literary tourists. But a pub I’ve been going to for 25 years off and on and have always had a good time in.
What I miss about it: The random encounters I’ve had in there over the years – including meeting a guy I’d shared a pint with a few weeks earlier at a pub in Manchester, and meeting a famous Scottish arts dude who, over the course of a pint together, offered me a job and introduced me to someone else who could offer me a flat. Neither of which I accepted.
27. Cambridge Bar
Just down the road from The Oxford Bar. Very different but also nice and with the added bonus of tasty burgers.
What I miss about it: Quite a few nights have ended up here for some reason. They used to have a really comfy sofa on the left as you walked in which was ideal for late night big topic chats. Not sure if it’s still there.
28. Hoot the Redeemer
As I mentioned, I really like bars down stairs. One of the few places near the middle of Princes Street that’s nice and you get popcorn with your drinks.
What I miss about it: Drinking slushie cocktails. The low-ceilinged cosiness.
29. Bramble
The best cocktail bar in Edinburgh. For sure. Discreet but not performatively ‘speakeasy style’ and it’s down some stairs.
What I miss about it: Dark corners for cosy chats over tasty drinks with close pals and loved ones.
30. Joseph Pearce
Big nice pub on Elm Row.
What I miss about it: It’s position at the Leith side of the city centre about a 5 minute walk from the office meant it was often the spot for birthday drinks and leaving dos. And I miss my colleagues.
31. The Windsor
Probably my favourite of the Leith Walk pubs. Wood and mirrors and plants and bar staff with chat.
What I miss about it: Drinks with work pals. Sitting at that funny high table with the bench seat at the back looking out across the pub.
32. Joker and The Thief
Nice cosy spot a few doors further down from The Windsor, but still near the top enough to pretend it’s just a post-work drink with colleagues before you head home.
What I miss about it: Chats with work pals and Alan knowing what the random 70s film on the TVs is.
33. Victoria Bar
The first of Edinburgh’s Swedish bars I got to know. Lots of cushions.
What I miss about it: There are two reasons I got to know the Victoria – the fact that it is just down the road from La Favorita, and for a long time that was my spot for pizza in the city; and because it is round the corner from Out of The Blue Drill Hall, where Forest Fringe was based for a few years, and which was, whilst it was running, one of my favourite places to be in August. Drinks here with arts friends from other bits of the country where we’d dissect and discuss something extraordinary we’d just seen.
34. Regent Bar
Probably the best specifically LGBTQ+ friendly pub in the city. Welcoming, warm, tasty food, nice drinks, board games and dogs.
What I miss about it: Slow Sundays of chats and food and games and drinks.
35. Jolly Judge
Tiny and cosy pub in a close off the Lawnmarket. Don’t often find myself in that part of town, but it’s a nice spot.
What I miss about it: Sitting outside in the close on a nice sunny day. A quick drink in between shows in August.
36. Lioness of Leith
Burgers and beer. Crowd pleaser.
What I miss about it: Going there for the first time to meet pals when I was living in that city for that 3-month trial period and it feeling warm and welcoming and suggestive of a potential future of more brunches with friends in this city.
37. Smoke and Mirrors
Snug and kitch and mismatched furniture and people popping out of the cellar hatch behind the bar unexpectedly
What I miss about it: Every time I’ve been here it’s been raining outside. It’s a great place to get cosy.
38. Ship on The Shore
Mainly a seafood restaurant but also dead nice to get a drink at, especially in the summer when the Shore is just like being in Saint Tropez (note, I’ve never been to Saint Tropez, but I’m guessing it’s a lot like the Shore).
What I miss about it: Sitting at a table by the window in the bar and watching the Shore get gradually more messy as a weekend evening progresses.
39. Nobles
Top brunch spot for a bloody mary or something similarly restorative.
What I miss about it: Sunday brunches with all the juices and the coffees and the hairs of the dog.
40. Nauticus
As nice for a pint as it is for a fancy cocktail. And their cocktails are great. Have been doing some excellent through-the-window serving during the various lockdowns.
What I miss about it: Sitting up the back next to all the books drinking fancy cocktails.
41. Teuchtar’s Landing
On a sunny Saturday then where else would you rather be than having a pint on a floating pontoon after a little wander around Leith market? Gets dead busy at the bar so visiting during Covid was dead nice actually as you just found a sunny spot and ordered on your phone.
What I miss about it: Sunny summer drinks. Chilly Sunday morning drinks when you’re wrapped up warm.
42. The Last Word
Another one down stairs and on lovely St Stephen’s Street in Stockbridge.
What I miss about it: A weekend afternoon cocktail after browsing for books in Golden Hare, just upstairs. An occasional nightcap when I used to stay with my friend Moira on that street.
43. The Antiquary
Nice (downstairs) pub at the other end of St Stephen’s Street
What I miss about it: Visiting my pal Moira’s folk night there and signing a song. Bumping into a friend I hadn’t seen for years at the bar.
44. Good Brothers Wine Bar
I don’t often go to wine bars. But this is on a little side street and does nice wine and cheese and that’s a good thing. Clues in the name init.
What I miss about it: Feeling fancy cos you’re drinking wine that’s a bit expensive and you’re in Stockbridge and maybe you hadn’t planned this afternoon with your pals and ooh you’ve finished the bottle so maybe you should get another one…
45. Stockbridge Tap
Fancy Stockbridge so you sometimes get the people in red trousers taking up all the aural space on the table next to you but on a quiet day it’s a good spot.
What I miss about it: nice slow afternoons after a whirl around the market or a browse of the charity shops. Long drinks and patting other people’s dogs.
46. Holyrood 9a
One of a little chain of pubs (inc The Southern and The Red Squirrel) that do nice beer and nice (in my case vege) burgers.
What I miss about it: not loads of character but a really reliable refuelling stop, especially during the fringe
47. Devils Advocate
Beautiful architecture in a nice spot halfway down Advocates Close so handy for the station too. Sometimes full of solicitors.
What I miss about it: if you get one of the little booths downstairs its dead nice. Even better, on a nice day, is sitting on one of outside tables on the upstairs terrace looking up the close at all the people taking selfies
48. Voodoo Rooms
Controversially a bar UP stairs. Feels fancy cos of the high booths and the glittery decor but dead down to earth.
What I miss about it: another nice post work spot for drinks if you want a bit fancier than Guildford and a bit less fancy than Cafe Royal
49. Sheep Heid Inn
An Edinburgh classic in Duddingston village and has that village pub feel.
What I miss about it: long drinks on slow days after a walk through Holyrood Park, listening to the people playing skittles in the other room
50. Portobello Tap
My new local. Beer and a garden and very dog friendly.
What I miss about it: I’ve never been. But its my new local. Never moved somewhere and not been to the local pub in the first few days before. Never mind the first few months. It’s a really weird feeling – having a relationship with a pub in a place is an important part of feeling at home somewhere for me. But I’ve decided that this will be the Portobello pub of choice so it’s here.