As an American, I really love the Scottish way yo order food at the bar and then they bring it to the table. I had the sausage and mash and really loved it. Great beers fun crowd. Cool place. read more

The Beehive Inn - Pub Grub! Peter and DJ at The Beehive Inn in Edinburgh, Scotland. Some beers, Scotch whiskey and healthy food . Yum ! December 2017. - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

The Beehive is successful due to its location and good sized beer garden. For these you pay practically £5 a pint. With the profits from that it's interior could you'd think be tidied up, the gents modernised (including replacement of the cracked toilet bowl) and the kitchen extractor system improved so as not to engulf the left hand side of the beer garden in fumes every time it's in use. To have six taps off in the outside bar on one of the hottest days of the year also raises the question of preparedness. read more

Don't let the grandiosity (word?) of Pear Tree or the trendy cool of Outhouse fool you; Beehive Inn owns the best beer garden in Edinburgh. Fact! Before this summer crept in, I remember the last time I visited the Beehive beer garden. Back in my student days when the garden itself was about 8ft x 4ft. Couldn't squeeze Winnie the Pooh and all his mates in let alone a handful of wide-eyed students on their first Wednesday night sesh! So it was with great surprise that I returned this year to take full advantage of one - for all I knew the only - day of summer, selecting the nearest beer garden, and finding the MECCA OF BEER GARDENS! A multi-tiered beast of sunshine-drenched sociality. It ticked all the boxes: space, abundance of seating, more than a couple hours sunshine, great views, social crowds, food menu. This place has and will be frequented again many times over this summer. The downside? After all there are only 3 stars up there. For a bar that calls itself an Inn, and is in fact the size of one, the bar is pitifully tiny. So much so that at any one time (especially in summer) expect to see at least 2 rows of customers from end to end, and a 3rd forming. The staff do a good job in trying to keep it down, but with the space they have, inside and out, a second bar would prove a massive benefit. Also, once the Summer's over, Beehive Inn wil become just another face in the Grassmarket crowd, over-populated with stag dos and hen parties galore. Not my scene. Foodwise... I don't know. The menu looks good and I've often overheard the staff tell customers the specials have sold out or there is a 2 hour wait for food. Reasons to assume the food is popular and enough to pique my interest. Next visit will include sunshine, cider and a late lunch. read more

It's difficult to give a comprehensive review of this pub as I was (wo)man-handled out of the door for 'being under-age'. For the record I'm 30.. and NOT 31 as my alibi stated! There was a stench of unfriendliness, and I'm told that most of our similarly aged group were grilled at the bar, and I wasn't the only one sent packing. I decided to sum it up with a little ditty: Woman Woah man WOOAAAAHHHH MAN!!! She took my drink! She raised her voice!! She kicked me out in the street!!! read more

It's a Grassmarket pub of reasonable size, with a reasonable selection of beers and spirits and a reasonable decor. There are some hidden treats though: be sure to seek out the back garden on a summer's evening, or head upstairs to the quiet and reserved dining area. There's also a healthy festival pedigree - a small room even further upstairs finds itself converted into a snug and cosy performance space for comedy acts of the surreal and experimental end of the spectrum (in my experience). Well done Beehive: you're there when we need you. read more

Good for a low profile dinner and pint. The beer selection was decent. The pies were good - comes with peas and carrots and very tastey. You order and pay at the bar so nice and low key. Perfect after a long day. read more

Central and still a Jewel! FREE Fringe shows on at this place at the moment and some definitely worth being checked out. I am not normally a pub person, but this time I make an exception. Tanya and Tanja went there to join some "free" Fringe shows last week and entered the place first time. It is quite a large pub and you will always find there is a room or place you have not yet seen. Not sure if the side rooms are open throughout the year, but for now we could roam around and find some people free corners. Not to mention the beer garden. Wow! Downstairs is the party and bar area. Lots of loud and contemporary music and a dance floor where groups of stag and hen nights find their way to release some pre-wedding stress. We bought two blueberry ciders and paid £5. It is not cheap considering that we only got a half pint each. I assume you are paying for the location. Our first show was on the first floor (Beehive 1) where it was more quiet. Large windows open on to the Grassmarket and let the noise in from the roaming crowd outside. There are comfy leather seats and a bar. The interior might be old fashioned but it gives the place identity. On the second floor (Beehive 2) there is another room, more like a hidden away function room. The first show was called Full Metal Bucket with 3 rising stars performing their own acts. 2 of them were better than one, which did not stand out as much. They included the audience into their performance so best you stay put and in the "backseats" if you don't want to be made fun off. The show was free, but you can give donations. In all fairness, they were worth it! I laughed a lot! The other show was called Gaelic in the afternoon by Bruce Fummey. Entrance £3.It is an interesting performance. He talks about how he came about learning Gaelic and visited different locations to do so. There are a lot funny references to his life being an half-Lowland, half-African comedian. Its a nice pub with lots to offer. I will be back! read more

The awesome: Yes, I will sit outside. I don't care if it's 40 degrees out (fahrenheit). I am nerdy and I am middle class and I unreasonably believe that food and alcohol tastes better outside. Yes, I will sit under the heat lamps... wimpy as it may be. Yes, I will carry on a conversation with the person at the table next to me because, well, everyone is super close because of the heat lamps. Yes, I will move upstairs at the beer garden, just because there's that much beer garden - it could fit a shit ton of people. Yes, I will enjoy my vodka cranberry that much more because you've given me an adorable little bottle of cranberry juice. There's a BEER GARDEN. That's it which gives it 4 stars. It's cool looking and you can bring loads of people. And you CAN SIT OUTSIDE while DRINKING. I don't know how to advertise better than that. The not so awesome: No, there is no cheap beer. Yes, it takes 5 pounds to play the shitty trivia machine. Yes, the dance floor is awkwardly placed. Yes, the beer garden is in Scotland, which makes it useless sometimes. No, they don't wipe down the seats after it rains. read more

The Beehive Inn is a great stop for a pint and a quick pub meal. I ordered the steak and ale pie, while my hubby had the fish and chips. Hubby's fish was a giant filet of freshly battered cod, fried to a nice golden brown. The fish was moist and flavorful, the batter crisp. Our meal and two pints came to maybe £27. The steak and ale pie was absolutely delicious. It was served with a side of steamed veggies and mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes tasted as if they were powdered, but it was clear that they weren't the star of the meal. The pastry was flaky and a beautiful golden brown, filled with piping hot slices of steak in a wonderful thick gravy. Would definitely recommend ordering that again. Its a little difficult to find a seat on a Saturday evening, but with food this good at such a reasonable price, I can understand. read more

We needed a place to grab some pub food and Beehiv got the job done. It wasn't anything spectacular though. Perhaps I got off to a bad start when I asked the bartender to tell me about the beers they had on taps... this turns out to have horribly insulted her as she said "i'm sorry, we don't have any beers. we only carry ales" The fish and chips I had were okay, the mushy peas were good, not great though. We were there on a Wednesday so the atmosphere wasn't spectacular, but 1/3 to 1/2 the tables had people at them, which was more than most places could say that night. read more

Meh. I didn't find this pub to be anything special, but that might be because it was cold and rainy when we visited, so we didn't take advantage of any of the outdoor seating. Drink prices were on a par with other places in the area, but really, there are plenty of other places to drink that are more interesting and/or charming. There was nothing really WRONG with the Beehive, it was fine to stop in for a midafternoon drink and relax for awhile, but there are certainly better places to visit, so I wouldn't be a repeat customer. read more

Not Bad. I've only been here once, which surprises me too as I live about ten minutes away and they do comedy gigs every Friday and Saturday evening (well....we'll get on to that in a minute!) Part of the Taylor-Walker group The Beehive Inn boasts a similar decor to the others, a weird cross between stylish and old man. It's all mahogany this and printed wallpaper that which ends up being quite nice really. This venue in particular has some weird staircases and a roundy bathroom door that definitely confused my tipsy head. The pint is ok, no complaints. The food is the same as other T-W places and isn't great but is definitely OK for a pre-pint burger. The staff are friendly and get the job done. On the comedy...or lack therof...I have a feeling that during the less touristy times in The Burgh the comedy gigs on Fridays and Saturdays, which are £7, become a bit hit and miss to the extent they may not happen at all! This happened to us while we had some folks from back home visiting and we were left somewhat in the lurch. It was 8pm and if we wanted to go somewhere else we would have had to move pretty quickly. I'm sure when it happens it's good but if it's inconsistent it discourages me from trying to go again. Overall a nice pub in a busy, touristy area. The comedy is a nice touch but other than that it's quite generic. read more

Yeah, it's ok for what it is... Standard pub chain really. The Beehive Inn is located on the Grassmarket. It has two bars, one on the ground floor, another upstairs, where there is a 100 seat dining area too. The pub has a mixture of timber panelling old style décor, with trendy contemporary wallpaper. The pubs main selling point is the HUGE bear garden out the back. It has a fantastic view of the castle and there are loads of seating for sun worshipers. There's even push button canopy heaters for those in search of an artificial summer! I'd not been here since my student days, but I found they do comedy nights on Thursdays (for up and coming comedians), Friday and Saturdays for the established comedians for £7, which can be fun. Comedy standards are a bit hit and miss, but they come from all over the UK and are all ages, last time there was a young 17 year lad on the stage and he was actually very funny! Although I suggest you only pay a visit once and a while. We visited on a Friday night once in March, then again in May and recognised the comedians doing the same sketches. Still funny, but the jokes were wearing thin the second time round! Weekends here can get pretty packed with students, tourists and hen/stag doos. I've often seen people dancing in the main bar area, which isn't that common for pubs - so it's nice to see everyone enjoying themselves. It adds the pub crawl up of Grassmarket, but other than it has a decent beer garden, I wouldn't give it a second look. read more

Best beer garden in Edinburgh, it's all at different heights with sturdy park benches so everywhere you sit feels a little bit private. Bar itself is average-average, not bad but surely I don't need to describe what a classic boozer on the Grassmarket looks like (watch any American film with a pub in it) but the beer garden out a rather inconspicuous door at the back is really perfect for drawn out Magners days. read more

The Beehive Inn - photo from official website - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

The Beehive is one of the less aggressive pubs on Grassmarket and is actually really nice overall. It is frequently rammed, and avoid it over the weekends, as it turns a little bit more laddish and also gets really busy, but generally is quite a nice place to go to. Like most of the bars on Grassmarket, it has a good selection of beers, including quite a few real ales. The prices of all the drinks are relatively low for Grassmarket, and the staff are pretty friendly. The best part though is the beer garden; with a view looking straight up to the Castle it has a great view and is awesome on a sunny day. One of the better bars in the Grassmarket and really nice for a few afternoon drinks, but not quite as good during the evenings read more

Actually not that bad compared to what I expected from the overall score on here. I tried a sampler platter...fish sticks (meh, nothing phenomenal), burger sliders(tasty), fries (undercooked), pot pies (perfectly cooked), mushy peas (not my thing but weren't bad). Definitely a pub (loud), had to order food at the bar, which seemed weird to me. Overall an ok experience for my first night in Scotland. read more

The Beehive Inn - Sampler plate - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Came for the Scottish Literary Tour; stayed for the Guinness. I had the best of intentions. I wanted to go on the Scottish Literary Tour, to learn something, but it rained like Noah's flood. (What--rain in Scotland?) It was terribly crowded in there, but the people were nice, and it was dry. Then we learned about Stephen Gaphausen's show Ze Hoff und Friends, which was starting upstairs. That was refreshingly zany and certainly better than learning about stuffy old literature. Instead I learned about the power of Ze Hoff and drank beer. Then a long, hard slog back to the hotel in the rain. read more

The beehive is an average pub, with average prices, and average food. But the location is what makes it special. It has one of the best front and back terraces in Edinburgh. This is what makes me want to go! Also, it's worth noting that this venue is actually two (or maybe three) floors. This is where it hosts many events, including weekly comedy events. That is something that makes it a bit different to it's neighbours. If you're looking for a great pub to sit and have a drink on a summers day, this one should be on your list! read more

I have been to Beehive twice now. First time was to go to the comedy gig thing that they have going on Saturday night (I think it was anyway). I thought this was really really great. Like half the price of the stand, we were in a wee little room upstairs, there was hardly anyone there, but the banter was immense! The drinks on offer were yes, a little pricey, but they have a good selection. Then when you leave late at night you get that brilliant view of the castle. I love the grassmarket. Second time was also a Saturday night, a little later on a Saturday night, it was busy-ish in the bar area, everywhere else was relatively quiet. The music was average, the crowd was bizzare, time flew by and before I knew it we were getting chucked out at one o'clock! I felt decidedly more out of place on this visit too even after having a pint or two somewhere else. I will be going back for sure when the sun finally comes out to check out this beer garden....... and maybe the eats. So until then it was just adequate. read more

This is a solid pub. I went here as part of the Literary Pub Crawl (Which was simply epic, but that's for another time). The place has been around, in one form or another, for a while. Typical pub decorations and the bouncers both looked identical (bald, same outfits, arms crossed) - it was pretty funny. Suffers from the problem I have found in every single UK pub - drinks aren't ice cold. What the what?! I guess that's the Australian in me being disappointed. read more

Friendly hospitable bar staff took great care of us over two nights at the Beehive. First night we enjoyed some different drafts with the bartender explaining the cask system to me. We enjoyed the atmosphere and returned the next night for dinner and were very satisfied. Top notch fish and chips. Large portion and great flavor. Comfortable albeit tight seating areas in the back room and it gets very crowded like most of the pubs in the Grass Market around supper time. All in all, one of our favorite pubs in Edinburgh for sure! read more

I had never actually heard anybody outside the tourist board or hollywood using the phrase 'best kept secret' before I mentioned to a friend I was going to the Beehive Inn. She then insisted she came with me, so off we set to this very old pub in the centre of Edinburgh. From the outside, the Beehive isnt anything special to look at - just another old Edinburgh pub - but once inside I was convinced it really was an excellent pub - light and airy, but full of old charm and with a smaller, hidden pub known as the Honey Pot, this place was great. I was however, missing the greatest secret of them all. A huge beer garden, right in the shadow of the castle full of people enjoying the cold ales in the warm sun. Seriously perfection - and yes, I am letting you in on the secret. Previous reviews of this place have mentioned how poor the food was - but they all seem to have stuck to the 'tourist' side of the menu - me and my friend had delicious food, about as far away from the 'British Sampler' as you can get. Sheesh. So now that I have let you in on the secret - dont tell anybody else, right? read more

The Beehive Inn - The Beehive Inn - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

See all

It's pretty weird that I've either never been in this pub or I have and I can't remember due to being under the influence of being very merry. The place has lots of tables to enjoy your beverage, if it's sunny out then head out the back and grab a picnic bench and get some rays! They do food but I've not sampled the menu so not sure what it is like, but maybe on that rare occasion I could find myself enjoying it outside in the beer garden which is also terraced so lots of tables to sit at! The beehive is pretty much bang in the centre along with many other longstanding pubs in the grass market. You can grab a drink before or after a fringe show in August or just on lazy afternoon and not be bothered. However as it gets later things start getting noisier and the party atmosphere gets going! read more

What a surprise was this place! So I ended up in here with a group of folk one afternoon, having not even previously known of its existence. I mean, I'd probably walked past it without even blinking multiple times before. It was a beautiful summer's day, and I walked into what seemed a more traditional styled, dimly lit pub. Well, this place is alright, I thought. Until we walked along past the toilets, right out the back and into the bright sunshine. This place has a huge beer garden! And a decent beer garden is a bit of a rarity in the centre of Edinburgh, so to find one out the back of a pub in the Grassmarket was a surprise indeed. This bar was lively and friendly - although the queue at the bar was gigantic (but I'm putting this down to the fact that the world and his dog had caught onto the fact that this place has a fantastic beer garden, and had all headed there that sunny afternoon). I'll definitely go back - if not in the evenings, for definite on a nice summer's day. read more

The Grassmarket pulls in a lot of toursts, but I find the pubs there to be overrated and over-expensive. Is this place any different? Er, not really. It's ok. The place is decently-sized, the beers are what you expect etc., but the only reason to go out of your way is for the beer garden out back. This is a great place to enjoy some good weather and generally lounge about. All the tables have shelter and heat lamps too, which has got to be a must for any Scottish beer garden. read more

I was in the Beehive after a works christmas night out and the place was packed and very lively. There was karaoke and music on and everybody up dancing. I loved this place, and it had a lot of atmosphere, i'm not sure if this is normal or if it was just cause of Christmas, but found it a great pub. read more

Popped in for some dinner. You seat yourself, each table is numbered, then you go to the bar and order food and drinks. The drinks were good and the bar tender was friendly. I'm giving two stars because the place had a foul odor. The pub is fairly large, we grabbed a table in one of the wings and had to move due to the smell. We left before ordering any food. We joked that it was a porta-potty pub as it did smell sewage-ish. Maybe they had a minor plumbing issue. Good pub to pound drinks when your sinuses are clogged. Not recommended for dinner though. read more

Went on a Saturday night to join some friends. The common area was decent, though the waitress only cleans up so you have to order at the bar. Well, the bartender gave me a 5 riyals instead of pounds, which I didn't notice till late the next day (and flying out early the following morning). Also, the men's restroom was completely filled with urine, not a dry square cm in sight. read more

Service is EXTREMELY slow, food took over a hour. Would recommend going at off-hours.

Order the fish and chips and they said they were sold out at 12:30 lunch time!! Then 20 mins later I see it being served at another table!! Very poor service as he should of said I would of called you once in cane on!!!! Had to be 5-10 minutes after I ordered!!!! Fail on the managers side as you don't run out at lunch when it's your " WORLD FAMOUS" read more

Food was alright, nothing fancy. Didn't really feel authentic, and it was more a restaurant with a bar than a pub.

We had the British sampler, which was a shared dish with fish and chips, smashed peas (although not enough to "share), a while bunch of greasy sausages, and fried shrimp. That was kind of a mini-buffet of the non-American things (burgers, etc.) that they sell. That being said, the food must not have made to much of an impression (it didn't) because all I remember is the beer - which was tasty. read more

It's been said already but this unassuming looking pub does have a very large and fantastic hidden beer garden at the back which is awesome on one of Edinburgh's rare sunnier days. The décor is unimpressive in the sense that it doesn't really differ from any other pub, which is kind of disappointing as this area has loads of pubs which must all be competing for custom. Good beer, but the definite selling point is the beer garden. read more

Great as ever! I recommend the nutty professor milkshake.

Fairly large pub with a tiered, sprawling beer garden at the back. Service is very slow when busy; prices are not bad.

Solid pub. Decent pie and mash. Fairly good hand pulled ales, however was missing a better selection of Scottish ales.

A very nice little pub with a nice beer garden out the back, one of the better pubs in the grassmarket, not as busy and loud as biddy mulligans but its busy enough to give it some life, the drinks are not too expensive, and the staff are very friendly. Although i walked past it at about midnight last weekend and it was closed so it may close a little earlier than most pubs around the area read more

Bafflingly rude service here last night. At closing time, the bar manager took it upon herself to physically pull drinks out of people's hands, spilling wine everywhere. The bar staff kept serving drinks which the manager then proceed to take away from people minutes later, as she cleared the pub. Add to that the prices, (charged £4.80 for a gin & tonic), I shan't be going back. read more

The inside is of the Beehive is OK, the same as a lot of other pubs with nothing really special about them, however, what could be just yet another run of the mill pub for attracting the tourists on the grassmarket, is saved by its fantastic, huge beer garden. With plenty of seats and heaters, the only downside is that as this is still classed as a residential area the beer garden has to close at 9pm. read more

There is nothing special about this pub - just an ordinary interior and bar and the usual kind of drinks and food like burgers, etc. However, I am giving four stars because in its hidden yard this pub holds one of the most charming beer gardens. Not always well kept but always great to be there on a sunny day like the last few summer marvels. read more