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    The Advocate

    3.6 (47 reviews)
    InexpensivePubs, Gastropubs
    Closed 11:30 am - 11:00 pm

    The Advocate Photos

    THE ADVOCATE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Dogs allowed

    Recommended Reviews - The Advocate

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    Reviews With Photos

    Chicken Katsu Burger
    Mick B.

    I was on holiday from California for the first time. This is the first place I went to as I was wondering aimlessly. I have no expectations. I dined here twice during my stay in Edinburgh. Both times were wonderful. The food was very good and prepared quickly. The service for beer was fast and very friendly. The ambiance was playful/90s music playing, people enjoying card games and great conversation. I was expecting it to be busy considering it's just off the mile but both visits I was sat quickly and had no trouble. 10/10, would recommend!

    They have fliers.
    Kaia V.

    Pub trivia on Sunday nights at 9pm. Kitchen open til 9:30pm. Food looked great - we just had some nuts from behind the bar (under 3gbp per pint). They have a reasonable beer and scotch selection, as well as the usual hard liquor range. The staff were friendly and efficient, the trivia guy was funny, and the bathrooms (downstairs) were clean enough. Wish we'd arrived sooner to eat something - their specials appeared divine. The win for trivia was 50 pounds credit at the Advocate. There didn't appear to be any limits on team size. We were so bad at the song round that we fell too far behind to have any chance, but the trivia is free, so go try it out!

    Advocate
    Tanja R.

    Cozy, entertaining and whiskey choices! Thought we needed a drink and passed by the Advocate on a busy Friday night. The Edinburgh streets were buzzing with people of all ages, creating a lively atmosphere and the pubs and bars were packed. It was really hard to get a table, well, even a chair....... Luckily, when entering the place, we got a high table with a few chairs. We soon realized that we could get variations of whiskey choices. Good for the whiskey fanatics amongst us. The restaurant and the pub are only separated by a wood barrier and hardly noticeable. You can sit in a booth and have your dinner, whilst people have drinks around the bar. Its a place where you can eat and drink and listen to live music entertainment. They guy who was singing last night had a very nice smokey voice (like Joe Cocker) and we all sang along: "No women, no cry". Whoop Whoop. It's only 4 stars as I have not tried the food yet, and will definitely be back.

    Lauren G.

    The Advocate is not my favourite of all the pubs in Edinburgh, but if I am desperate it will do the trick. Situated just around the corner from the Royal Mile, The Advocate is just a short walk from the city centre and so it is a convenient place to reach and always seems to be a popular choice with the tourists. I don't have anything particular against The Advocate, its just that I have been here on several occasions and each time I haven't had the best experience. The pub is generally filled with locals, and if you go in during the afternoon, most of them are drunk and looking at you in a really sleazy way - not nice. Most of the time the staff have been friendly, but occasionally there are some workers who completely fail to acknowledge your presence and you can be stood waiting at the bar for ages to be served. The Advocate serves above average pub food and the prices are really reasonable too. I would like to come back here for a meal again, but the drunk locals and the poor service has put off for the time being.

    Mark W.

    The Advocate is located in Hunter Square, right near the junction between the Royal Mile and South / North Bridge. It's a place I've only been to once for drinks, and I can't say that I was blown away by what it offered. We were in there on a fairly quiet weekday evening, and the atmosphere was pleasant enough. Drinks were of a reasonable price, and I would have totally got some food if I hadn't already eaten that evening. Two evening meals would have been a little excessive. Anyway, this place isn't really on my radar now as a place for going out for a drink to. I can't really comment on the alcohol beverages on offer, as I'm not a drinker, but everyone else I was with seemed to get on just fine. It's not a hotspot for a night out, but still well worth a look in.

    Stella.
    Thomas M.

    Very good US-themed pub next to the Royal Mile. Certainly no tourist-trap, it was mostly frequented by locals during my frequent late evening visits there in July of 2015. The Advocate features a pleasant, traditional pub decor, including a few nods to the "American theme" (they did offer a July 4th Independence menu, e.g.) - although the regular menu features Scottish (haggis) and traditional pub food. At least twice during my nine-day stay there was live music too: A rather talented, rather big, brawny guy. He was singing old style rock songs on one evening, more folk-oriented stuff on the other. The selection of ales and lagers is certainly decent, the prices moderate for this expensive city. This being a Belhaven-owned pub though, the real ales they serve are from said brewery, which is certainly not the most distinguished in Scotland (that includes "The Advocate" beer, which most certainly is Belhaven-brewed, too). Had the 8 Oz rump steak there (see photo), which was quite all right but certainly not exceptional. Atmosphere was pleasant indeed, the bar staff friendly and efficient (!). This is certainly NOT "a downmarket Whetherspoons", as wrongly suggested by "Emily H."

    Mexican beef Chilli and beef burger, coleslaw, chips
    Ben C.

    It was a very busy Sunday. Staff were not as attentive as we expected. Food was not bad. They had quite a choice of burgers, however my beef chilli beef burger patty was dry. They also forgot to bring the special sauce on the side, to which I didn't bother to ask for, as they were very busy. It's a nice pub atmosphere to come watch a game with friends, have a meal and a drink, but as a place to just get a burger maybe not for me. Burger review: Quality: 6/10 | Creativity: 5/10 | Value £: 8/10 Other wee things: Service: 6/10 | Ambience: 7/10

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    14 years ago

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    14 years ago

    Decent bar hand pulled beer live music

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    Photo of Meghan G.
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    9 years ago

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    9 years ago

    The cocktail did not have any alcohol and when I went and complaint they were aggressive

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    Page 2 of 2

    The Advocate Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - The Advocate

    A perfect little pub just off the Royal Mile.

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    The Devil's Advocate - Smoked fish plate

    The Devil's Advocate

    4.3(634 reviews)
    0.1 miOld Town, Royal Mile
    ££

    Just an awesome, rockin' final meal in Edinburgh - fantastic food, good service and energized local…read morevibe! Absolute must to get reservations! We tried on our first week in Edinburgh and failed, but were able to make reservations 3 weeks out for our last night in Scotland, and we are glad we did. Pork cracklins were a bit hard and crunchy, but everything else was perfect. We had fresh bread and langostinis for starters, along with a smokey whiskey cocktail, the Smoked Indiscretion! For mains we enjoyed the poached Cod, and the Pork with Barley. Service was very good, and wine selection was extensive. Atmosphere was loud with music and locals' chatter in the bar below, but dark tables and heavy wood panels made it a perfect place for a couple celebrating 3 weeks of travel. Highly recommend a visit to the Devil's Advocate, if you can book a table in advance.

    Great drinks and a killer location. We got a cheeseboard that was actually quite nice and large,…read morewhich we were very pleased with. The one weird thing -- we were unsure when we arrived how hungry we would be, and the menu is a bit limited. We decided to order just the cheese board and see where we were after that. We were told that once we placed an order, we would not be permitted to put in any more food due to a "small kitchen." I have never heard this rule worded in quite this way. I have been to places that prefer you place everything at once, but not that you would absolutely not be allowed to order more food if you found yourself hungry. We witnessed another table leave because of this rule. The server communicated this rule quite gruffly. The restaurant was also not very busy at all, so couldn't have been crowding concerns. I would definetly recommend for drinks and apps, but, for dinner, perhaps elsewhere.

    Photos
    The Devil's Advocate - Whiskey flight tastings

    Whiskey flight tastings

    The Devil's Advocate - Fish Filet

    Fish Filet

    The Devil's Advocate - Double Shot with Dalmore 12, kahula, espresso shot, and Demerara.

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    Double Shot with Dalmore 12, kahula, espresso shot, and Demerara.

    The White Hart Inn

    The White Hart Inn

    3.9(113 reviews)
    0.4 miGrassmarket, Old Town
    ££

    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.

    Photos
    The White Hart Inn
    The White Hart Inn
    The White Hart Inn - Cozy place

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    Cozy place

    Queens Arms

    Queens Arms

    4.4(115 reviews)
    0.6 miNew Town
    ££

    Bar staff friendly and timely. Carrie (bartender) served us 2 nights in a row. So good we came back…read more2 time on our two night stay. Didn't wait long for drink in a very busy bar. Food was also good, veg were perfectly warmed, not over seasoned and crisp. Exactly how I like them. Food was a Lil pricey. But a great experience overall. Highly recommend.

    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.

    Photos
    Queens Arms
    Queens Arms
    Queens Arms - Wellington upfront and Mac and Cheese in the back

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    Wellington upfront and Mac and Cheese in the back

    The Advocate - pubs - Updated June 2026

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