Looking for an opportunity to eat and drink in the oldest public house in Scotland? Want to dine…read morewhere Queen Elizabeth did? Then this is the place. It's the oldest public house in Scotland and worth the journey outside Edinburgh to visit. The interior is warm, welcoming and friendly. It's quiet and relaxing. The service is impressive and the selection of food and beverages are top notch. If you can find it, I recommend you spend time exploring and enjoying it.

We made reservations here to celebrate my parents' anniversary, seeing that it was very highly…read morereviewed and had vegan options. Perhaps the problem is that none of us ordered a roast, which is what they're known for. Personally, the cocktail I got was the best part; a rose and raspberry sort of spritz with vodka. Simple, light, and not sweet, it was perfectly refreshing. The vegan risotto was much less so. I deeply appreciate the ambition to put something unique and more elegant on the menu for plant-based eaters. It was certainly well plated. However, my favorite part was the three cubes of Violife feta on top, as the rest was tasteless. Rice dry enough to be pilaf, zero flavor, and about 5 woody ends of asparagus. I'm grateful that they removed it from the bill, as it was largely inedible. Again, I applaud and encourage the effort to add thoughtful options for people of all dietary needs! I'll assume I went on an off-day based on all the other glowing reviews.

This was our first night in Edinburgh (Sept 2024), having flown all day from SFO. This delightful…read morepub was a short walk from our B&B (check out the 23 Mayfield B&B), and we reserved a table which turned out to be a good idea. It was a Monday, and trivia night, so it was crowded. Good food and good beer, trivia was hard. (Name the fast food chain with most outlets worldwide? Name the top ten grossing Tom Hanks live action movies. That kind of thing - didn't need to be Scottish to play). A huge bonus that we didn't fully appreciate until a week into the trip - they offered skinny fries, which we yanks think of as fries, as an alternative to the thick cut chips that are included in every meal in every restaurant in all of Scotland. Okay, we have not been seeking out Michelin restaurants, but I sure long for some mashed potatoes with my chicken sandwich. Also, really friendly staff at the Old Bell (because we had literally just arrived, we didn't have two pounds in order to join trivia night; they said no worries, and just added it to our food and drink bill). And great ambience - traditional Scottish pub, with food and beer. Check it out.

Wonderful. Warm. Inviting. Our waiter/bartender happily…read morehelped us select beer and whiskey to start our journey into traditional Scottish cuisine. Every dish was artfully made. Smoked salmon so fresh that its firm flesh gives a good bite. The steak and ale pie is also sublime. The haggis is rich, savoury, and delicious. Finally, the sticky toffee pudding has such sweet depth and complexity that I became teary with joy,

This is exactly the kind of pub I love. Not fancy. Not touristy. Great music. Great drinks. A bit…read moredivey. Dark enough to be intimate. Friendly barkeeper. Moderate prices. Old-school pub atmosphere. If I'd live in the neighbourhood, this would be my local pub to go to all the time.

Having undergone a lick of paint outside and a renovation inside the bar is now a very good choice…read moreshould you wish a quieter establishment in which to watch the football on TV or play Trivial Pursuit or just drink and talk somewhere you don't have to raise your voice in to be heard. At £3.50 for a pint of Joker IPA it's also got a more sensible pricing policy than many of its near neighbours. On visiting again the other week I saw the pub now has an arrangement with the Origano pizza takeaway further down Leith Walk. You can therefore order (from around a dozen or so different types) a pizza & have it delivered to the pub for consumption there.

Endorsed by locals! A few block from the university. Multiple generational appeal with a kids…read moremenu, a breakfast menu, and two granddads spotted enjoying pints on their own on a Wednesday night. A few monitors for sports, very friendly service. Cards accepted. I will twist your arm in needs be to get you to try this place, and I think it likely you will thank me later.

The Greenmantle is a cosy pub in the heart of the Newington area of Edinburgh. It is a handy place…read morefor students to pop in for a pub lunch or for drinks in the evening as they offer student and snap fax deals. It is a very friendly and inviting pub and the bar has an impressive selection of lagers and ales and they select a 'malt of the month' which my friend religiously orders. They offer an impressive cocktail menu, including Cosmopolitan's and Mojito's, which are very reasonable at around £6. The Green Mantle is a very traditional pub and serves the usual pub food which is really delicious such as home made soup and burgers at a great deal of 2 for £7. Newspapers are always available to read with your lunch. The Green Mantel always have something going on in it every night, whether it is a pub quiz on a Tuesday night, live music on a Thursday or poker on a Sunday, they offer something for everyone. There is a also a big TV screen inside which is currently showing all the World Cup matches.

I can vouch for this place, both as an artist and as a customer. Excellent atmosphere, excellent…read morestaff, organised, good bar, that isn;t cheap, but it's reasonable for a theatre style venue ,and some truly excellent shows on, and open until super late, so excellent for fringe goers. We watched "sh*t faced shakespeare" here, in december, and even then we weren't cold, although there are cute little booths around the edges, we sat near the front on the seats at the centre, comfy enough, and such a great place to enjoy any performance.

Just for atmosphere alone this place deserved 5 stars. From 28th of July until 28th August the…read moreSpiegeltent will be returning to George Square Garden's. After the clamour last year at it being changed to Hullaballoo, the Fringe organisers have reverted it back to its original format. And it is awesome. Open until 5 in the morning, this square is the best place to mingle as the sun begins to rise. Although the pints are ludicrously priced, and come in plastic cup, this adds to the festival atmosphere. It is invariably rammed, but this adds to the charm as you can always be guaranteed to bump into someone you recognise, or start up a drunken bromance with someone you just met - 'I love you man'...'No, I love you dude'...etc. It is like you enter into a different little world; the location in George Square Gardens helps displace it from the city, and it does feel like you are at a festival. Couple this with the carnivalesque element, you have a Cabaret show and an oddities mini-museum / exhibition, and there is always the most pierced woman in the world hanging about waiting to have her photo taken with you. If you come to Edinburgh during the festival, you have to come here. Forget the overpriced drinks, the atmosphere is incredible and to be honest most of Edinburgh is overpriced during the Fringe

This is a friendly little pub that definitely has an authentic feel…read more Very vibrant and energetic, drop in for a quick sip

Great spot to grab a drink. The Guinness was expertly poured and the music was sound.read more

Cool pub that is open late. Stopped in for a few drinks and a game of pool (it's a little mini pool…read moretable so a little different than in the US, but fun nonetheless). Friendly staff and service.

Blue collar pub with amazing ice cube! Give credit where it's due! Mid sized crystal clear cubes!…read moreIt made me want an old fashion. Service was kind and solid. The people there were welcoming and local. Great stop for a pint! Thank you!

No real ale but friendly enough when I called in for a pint last week whilst temporarily living in…read morethe area. The McEwan's 70-/- was a decent fallback. Good for the sport on the TV (racing when I was in but I presume the football goes on when available) and for listening to the local characters chew the fat.

Grey Horse Inn a firendly pub on Dalkeith Road which has a welcoming atmosphere, proper 'pub'…read moredrinks and efficient staff. I came here a few weeks ago before heading to Jade Palace down the road for a takeaway and it was a fun, chilled out evening. The pub attracts a wide range of customers. Most are locals of various ages and it even has some students as regulars. The interior feels traditonal, yet stylish and clean with a big wooden bar, plenty of comfortable seating and soft lighting. Behind the bar they don't just sell the usual lagers, ciders and spirits, but also Scottish malt whiskeys and real, locally sourced ales. It's perhaps a bit more expensive than some other pubs in the area, but it's certainly worth a look if you're in the locality.

A great spot in Porty for dinner and cocktails after a stroll on the promenade or bonfire on the…read morebeach! I ate here with my friends that live in the area and come here regularly. The service was friendly and vibe inside is very cool, there's even a map of Portobello on the ceiling! I got the Braised Borders Feather Blade of Beef, it was so tender I'm not sure I even used my knife! We all got cocktails and I very much so enjoyed the Bramble. We shared a sticky toffee pudding for desert, also well done!

It was cold and rainy, so we decided to stop into this place for some dinner. It was warm and very…read morequaint. It looks like they have about 30 beers on tap. I ordered the steak and chips, it was well seasoned and very reasonably priced 15 GBP. My wife got the fish and chips with homemade tartar sauce. She normally hates tartar sauce, but she decided she would try this. She absolutely LOVED it. Looks like they have e some awesome deserts, but we will have to try them next time. Total bill including a couple of cokes was less than 30 GBP. Would highly recommend if you are in Edinburg Scotland.

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.

We got 3 reservations to split up our group of 8 adults and 2 kids, so we were all able to make…read moresure to get a table and have the Sunday roast. We shared the ultimate sharing roast and everything was delicious and so filling. It was also nice to be able to sit and watch a match while enjoying the food. The coffee was pretty good too. This is definitely a good option if you're looking for a Sunday roast in the area