Great ambience with historic brick features Bar service was…read moregreat - old fashioned highly recommended Charcuterie is a good choice

After seeing the high reviews on Yelp, I decided to make a reservation for this restaurant. We…read moretrekked up the steps of Advocate's Close to get there. When we arrived at noon (opening time), the restaurant wasn't too busy. There is an impressive bar downstairs with many whiskies. We were led upstairs to the dining area. There is outdoor dining too that would be nice if the weather was warmer. Cool vibe, but it is kind of dark inside the stone walls. The menu is Scottish-focused with seasonal ingredients. We didn't want to overeat, so we decided to share a starter and a main. We got the Scottish venison fritters, which were ok. We enjoyed the pappardelle pasta (roast pumpkin and pecorino sauce, wild mushrooms, spinach, bacon and poppy seed crumb, crispy sage). It was flavorful and didn't feel too heavy. Staff were friendly and it was an enjoyable lunch.

Just off the beaten path...this little pub is tucked into a courtyard off Lawnmarket. There are…read moreother shops there; you must go down the steps on the left to get in. For those who can't handle the steps, they have a designated seating area in the courtyard. Once inside, it's definitely a small proper pub - in a basement with stone walls and timber beams. The bartenders are great! I wanted the Perry, but was warned that it might be too funky. After sampling it I knew the bartender was right, and I settled on the suggested traditional dry apple cider instead. Our group also enjoyed Jamison & ginger beer, a recommended English hopped bitter and a stout. All delicious!

This place is so overrated! Cozy, historic pub with real character -- but if you're a tourist,…read moredon't expect good service (or just any service where you feel welcomed). We walked in, stood there while the folks behind the bar continued their conversation. They had little patience for us not knowing what was available to order. Great for locals, apparently invisible to everyone else. There was another set of tourists that came in after us. Skip it unless you're already a regular.

The energy was warm and welcoming from the moment we arrived, and the wait staff were incredibly…read morehelpful in getting us seated. We had been wanting to try haggis, but it can feel a little intimidating when you've never had it before. When I saw the haggis bon bons on the menu, it was a must-try! They were served with a whiskey sauce that paired beautifully with the haggis and added so much flavor, I had to restrain myself from drinking the sauce!  We also had the steak and ale pie, which to this day I'm still dreaming about and wishing I could have it again. The meat was falling apart and tender, the vegetables were perfectly soft, and the puff pastry was wonderfully flaky and delicious. Paired with a couple of beers, this was an amazing experience and one I won't soon forget. Highly recommend giving this place a try!

Incredible staff - amiable, helpful, and lively. The food is great, the portions are fair, and the…read moreenvironment is such fun!

About a 5-minute walk from the center of the Royal Mile and just off the beaten path enough to make…read moreit a local spot, The Sandy Bell's offers a fantastic whisky selection and a local music jam every night to cap off your evening in Edinburgh. Several people (locals) recommended Sandy Bell's to us for whisky and music, and we don't regret our choice. The bartender (as we found in most bars in Scotland) was very knowledgeable about the whisky and helped focus our somewhat haphazard directions into a couple of great choices for us to try. We also enjoyed the music...this kind of jam shows up all over Scotland in a dedicated area of a pub or restaurant...musicians show up and start playing together....They face each other, so invariably a group of them has their back to the patrons who came to enjoy it. It's like that everywhere and a unique music experience. You get the sense they don't really need an audience...they love making music together and for each other and themselves. The rest of us are incidental. We enjoyed it anyway. Good music. Good whisky. (and lots to choose from) Good guidance.

We were told by a tour guide to visit this place. Glad we did. Lots of scotch to choose and a few…read moregood cold beers. We got a few 1/2 pints, so we could try a bunch.

We had a brief stop in The Bow Bar on our last night in Edinburgh to night-cap the evening and the…read morecity, based on a recommendation from staff at the Whisky shop across the street. It's towards the bottom of the famous "Victoria Street" as it turns into Bow Street. They have a fantastic selection of whisky along with a knowledgeable staff who can guide you through a choice if, like us, you're not exactly sure what you want. I wonder how many times tourists wander into the bars of Scotland begging earnestly for whisky guidance. We certainly did it a number of times on this trip. We were well served here and enjoyed the Scapa dram which we were given. It's easily walked to from anywhere in Old Town, just a few steps up from Grassmarket or a couple of minutes from the top of Victoria Street. If whisky is your destination, The Bow Bar will serve you well.

Heard about this on reddit. Got place to try out some scotch…read more Great selection of scotch here. Long list and I hadn't heard about most of them . Reasonable prices. 10-20 per dram generally Knowledgeable staff provided great recommendations. I ended up loving one so much picked up a bottle from a nearby store.

Our first day in Edinburgh and as usual our first order of business is to ride the hop-on-hop-off…read morebus. Today when the Red route took us to old town and I saw The White Hart Inn I said to Jan let's do an early dinner there and she agreed. We continued the route and stayed on back to the stop in old town. We love Alfresco dining but it was too cold and windy today. We went inside and the restrauant was packed. It's open seating. No hostess, no sign in. We were lucky and just happened to be standing next to a table that opened. We had been there about 5 minutes. The restaurant/ pub is rich in history, established in 1516. It's small with limited bar seating and prehaps 8 to 10 tables. It is noisy from conversation, tosting and music, but we didn't have a hard time communicating. It has a great vibe. It's a fun venue and popular with the locals. The menu is not large and has several Scottish offerings. To start, Jan was cold and wanted an Irish coffee. I ordered an Innis and Gunn larger. Innis & Gunn is an acclaimed Scottish brewery founded in 2003 in Edinburgh. It had a slightly citrus flavor. Jan ordered muscles and I ordered the steak and ale pie, served with a charred Hispi cabbage wedge, buttered mash and Merlot beef dripping gravy. It was very tasty, very robust flavor. I loved the cabbage; great flavor. I had to look up hispi cabbage and it is a variety of green cabbage. The muscles were good and the broth very nice. We had a lovely time and a good meal. Our good luck at freelancing dining venues while we explore Ireland and Scotland continues.

We chose this place for being one of the oldest establishments in Scotland dating back to the 18th…read more Century and a place where poets like Wordsworth, Burns etc gathered for a sip. The setting still looked ancient and the overall ambiance was befitting. Small place though. The food and drinks however disappointed. They could have put more efforts to turn the place into something much more than it is. Service was efficient without being really excellent.

A fellow pilot/traveler recommended this place. It's known for its unique history. Very traditional…read morePub atmosphere. It's popular, yet unassuming. Outstanding young staff & service..! I'll be back..!

If you're looking for a cozy pub with a bit of history and fun live music this is the place for…read moreyou. I visited on a night with live, local Scottish music and it was perfect!! I love the slightly dark touches that play into "the last drop" and being able to read about the folklore surrounding the square and the bar itself. The bar itself is small, so it was easy to get up and get drinks from the bartender. I visited just for drinks. I was happy the beer was cold and the place was lively and it was the perfect spot for a Saturday night!

LOVELY everyone was so friendly and helpful! I am part of a flight crew and we had just flown in. 2…read moremembers of the crew were checking in with family and staff came over and offered to place the order early for me to make sure they got their food. It was so nice and thank goodness they did! I had the steak pie and holy moly I could have cried of happiness. Albeit I was also starving at the time but it was amazing. The potatoes and mostly the gravy well the pie crust and steak was all just amazing. I also had the corresponding cask ale and it was perfect. Very cool homey pub vibe. Small but deceiving so. I feel that they use their space quiet well and it doesn't feel cramped

Traditional local dishes (or burgers if you like) and fabulous beer selection. Located just outside…read moreof the National Museum so after your visit to see Dolly and learning some Scottish history you can cross the street to enjoy a nice meal and drink. Service is fantastic and the environment is cozy yet spacious enough. And luckily for me & you, should you visit, a statue of Bobby is out front and you can rub his nose for good luck!

Out of all the places I've been to in Scotland, I think Queens Arms was one of my favorites…read more We had reservations for this place recently and when I took one step inside, I was already in love. I mean who doesn't love a good pub? You get great drinks and great food at an affordable price. As I write it makes me think of think of when Zidane reunites with Freya in FF9. Sometimes we don't wanna eat at fancy Michelin restaurant that has small plates but charges a premium. Sometimes we just wanna cut all the BS and just get a nice hearty meal. And thats what we got. When we sat down we found out that they were doing a Trivia night. Normally I would have told my girl to pick another spot to eat but for some reason I was cool with it. There was even a table nearby with kids(yuck). And you know what? It was fine. That's because we had been sipping on some amazing cocktails. If you also partake, Gin and Mezcal enjoyers will love the Bramble and Hibiscus Crush. What color are Luigi's overalls from Super Mario? That's such an easy question. Wait...what do you mean Luigi's overalls are blue? They are green. Look at this picture onli...Oh... One of the stars of our meal was the Haggis. This was the first time I had ever tried it and after trying it at multiple places Scotland, Queens Arms I feel has done it the best. I love the complexity of the flavors of the meat with the creamy and pepper flavors of the peppercorn sauce. If you've never had Haggis, you definitely have to try it here. The best part is that it comes with mashed potatoes too! Shoutouts to the Fish and Chips if you are also into that. One of my friends ordered that and I definitely had to go back in for multiple bites. Finally the roast. The Sunday Roast should just be an automatic order if you happen to come here on a Sunday. You get so much food and it's all so damn tasty. They'll cook a roast to whatever doneness your heart desires. We went with Medium Rare and it came out perfectly. If you didn't have enough flavors with all the extra sides it comes with, they also give you gravy to pour on anything you want. Thanksgiving basically came early this night. But as I looked around and admired all the bookshelf's and all the families have a nice dinner with their loved ones, I just thought about how happy I was. I was finally here! This was the start of my trip. Queens Arms has set a high ceiling on great experiences in Scotland. We even went back there a couple of days ago just because we knew we would be able to end the night on a good drink. But in the end I think if you are Edinburgh, you have to come to this place. It is one of my favorite experiences I've had in Scotland so far and I dream about when I can come back again.

Came here on our first night in town on the strength of the Yelp reviews and were not disappointed…read more We enjoyed a fantastic Sunday roast including a delicious pavlova for dessert. The kids meal of mac and cheese and fries was perfect for our picky little eater, though big enough for at least two!

Walked in and we're cautioned to expect a 30-40 wait time for food after we ordered. We…read moreappreciated the warning, but stayed as we weren't in a hurry. This pub had table service and they didn't seem to be in a hurry to take our order. Bartender was really fast and courteous bringing beverages. Food was okay. Wife had better veggie burger in other pubs. Their excuse for taking so long for food was two large groups. I don't imagine that those groups (probably tour groups) didn't have reservations, so why weren't they prepared to handle them in a timely manner? Decent pub, but we preferred others.

Good food and a casual vibe. Our server was nice, and 2 guys sang live. We were a little…read moredisappointed that the waitress didn't tell us that the kitchen was done serving, because we really wanted to try the dessert 'Cranachan', which we were told that we should try while in Scotland. I think that she should have told us that the kitchen was going to close and asked us if we wanted any dessert.