This place is great. Love it…read more The people are super friendly in here and its in a beautiful location. Bar staff are excellent and there is a row of shops should you require anything other than a drink. I would recomend this pub to anyone

The Elm Bar seems to have a bit more life to it than the other 'old man' pubs on Leith Walk. The…read moredecor inside, although not especially modern, still makes the place feel comfortable and welcoming to customers of all ages. The drinks are priced as you wpould expect of a pub in the area with pints costing around £3 and spirits slightly more. It seems to make an effort to encourage a younger and more lively clientele by showing high profile sporting events on its plasma screen. When we were in last year it was showing American football on ESPN as well as the English Premiership matches. This helps to set the Elm Bar aside from the other more standard pubs in the area and the food it served also looked pretty good. The couple next to us both got served sausage and mash which looked and smelled quite tempting! I doubt we will ever be back just because it's too far away from where we now live, but if you're in the area then it has a surprising amount to offer.

The exterior of the Elm Bar looks quite new or refurbished and that's what initially drew me in on…read morea wet and windy day; my jeans were wet, my mouth was dry and a wee packet of KP crisps were just what the doctor ordered. My Dad was with me and he likes a good old man's pub so I thought the Elm Bar was a safe bet. We settled into some comfortable seats with a pint and a packet of crisps each and watched the sport on television, which was right up my Dad's street. We actually stayed for a couple of pints, and my Dad struck up a conversation with the barman who seemed very nice and gave us some good recommendations of places to visit in the Leith area. Comfortable and friendly pub.

Stopped after a LONG day trekking all the sites. Mac and cheese and fish and chips for supper with…read moresome sticky toffee pudding for desert. All was good, they kindly packed up desert for take away.

Food was amazing , service was great and the bars ambiance was just up my street. My son (9) and I…read morefelt totally welcome and the food was amazing

Europe 2023 - Edinburgh…read more A quick review on Wally Dug, we just popped in for a drink in the late afternoon. I had a great double of Dulimer and my wife had a beer. There was a rugby game playing that some of the young guys in the pub were watching. Just as we were leaving it was starting to get packed. Felt like a place where the crowd would at some point start pulling out instruments and playing some songs!

This is one of my favourite pubs. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why but it just has the right…read moreamount of charm. I tend to think of it as a real ale, old man kind of pub, along the lines of others in the New Town, but that's not really true. They only have one or two real ales on tap, and in fact I actually drink Guinness at the Wally Dug because it's really good there. And it's not an old man pub as it generally has a young clientele. Sometimes you have to avoid the rugby watching yah crowd but you get that anywhere in the New Town. And an added bonus is that if you're not Scottish you can feel one step closer to learning the lingo by understanding what a wally dug is. It has a main room, a back room and a snug. The snug, as in most pubs, is highly sought after, so it's often taken. It's not a huge pub but with three rooms it's big enough. It often looks busier than it is because a handful of people in front of the bar can make it seem crowded when you peer in from the doorway. It's a great pub for the daytime. You can pop in for a pint and a read of the paper on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, or for a couple after work. It's perfect for a quiet drink, and if you can nab the table in the front window then you can watch the world go by or the rain fall from a cosy location below street level. Basement pubs always have that extra character. You descend the entrance stair, open the door with its steamed up windows and step into the Wally Dug for a quiet pint. Character, class, quiet. I think I just remembered why it's one of my favourite pubs.

Great vibes and musicians playing. It's a small spot, so plan to stand at some point. Limited beer…read moreoptions and not the best of options, though they do serve cask ale.

The Royal Oak is a great place to experience live folk music in a small pub space. Its not fancy,…read moreits not touristy, its just wonderful music by people who have stories to tell. The bartender is friendly, always making sure you have a drink, and if you offer to buy a round for the singers he knows what they like. It is small, and when a "Whiskey Tour" or "Pub Crawl" stops by it can get crowded for a few minutes. Just sit back, listen to the tales, and enjoy.

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.

I lived in Marchmont during my second year at uni, and everyone I knew always said that the only…read morething wrong with the area was the fact that there was no pub; no "local" that you could meet in after lectures or before a night out. Then the Earl opened. I miss living in marchmont now! The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is the size of it, or lack of it. It holds roughly 30-40 people, so as pubs go it's not huge; although the result is a friendly and welcoming pub with an inviting atmosphere, it does mean that it's sometimes hard to find a seat. The food here is fantastic. It's all home-made according to the menu, and it offers great value for money - you can get a panini & soup combo for £4.95, or if you're after something more substantial you can get macaroni cheese bake for only £3.95, or a huge portion of nachos for 2 to share for £5.95. Despite being in the heart of student-ville, this pub attracts young professionals and students in equal measure - maybe it's the good range of drinks behind the bar, the fancy bar snacks such as wasabi peanuts, or the huge comfy sofas in front of the huge windows with fairy lights overhead. Whatever the reason is, this place works. Don't miss... They have Bulmers on tap here, unlike most places where you have to buy it by the bottle.

If you ignore the fact that it is ludicrously small, the Earl of Marchmont is a brilliant pub…read more Situated right in the heart of Marchmont, it is what the place needed, a good pub for students (sorry Argyle Bar). the décor is pretty cool, and lends itself to a relaxed environment. During the summer they put out seating on the street so you can have a few chilled out beers outside, which was a nice addition. There is an okay selection of beers, and although not too cheap are really good. As well as the normal beer, wine and spirits they have cocktails, with special offers changing, meaning you can get a pretty good cocktail for good value.The food is pretty tasty as well, especially the Nachos which are hee-owge. The atmosphere is really chilled out, with most people just coming in for a few drinks, but there is a TV for those wanting to watch a bit of sports. Another bonus is that the bar staff are awesome, definitely the friendliest around and make the experience much better than in many other bars.

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.