From beautiful bars with original interiors that make you feel like you’ve stepped back in time to old-school watering holes that haven’t changed in decades, Edinburgh has some wonderful pubs.
Here are some recommendations for where to take out-of-towners. Our list comes courtesy of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), who know a thing or two about great boozers.
1. The Kenilworth - 152–4 Rose Street EH2 3JD
CAMRA says: Built c.1780, the Thomas Purves Marwick interior dates from 1899 and was subject to a very costly renovation by Alloa Brewery in 1966 using the architects Covell Matthews. One of Edinburgh’s four impressive ‘single-room with island-bar’ pubs. Photo: Third Party
2. Athletic Arms (Diggers), 1–3 Angle Park Terrace EH11 2JX
CAMRA says: ‘A shadow of its former self ’ is how some local people describe the Diggers, the name coming from the pub’s position between two large cemeteries. However, its layout is much as it was. Situated on the ground floor of an 1889 five-storey tenement block. Photo: Third Party
3. Abbotsford (1902) - 3-5 Rose Street EH2 2PR
CAMRA says: One of the finest examples of an island-style pub built in 1902 and barely altered since. It is believed to have been built by Charles Jenner, from nearby department store Jenners, so that his staff could spend their wages in his own establishment. Photo: Third Party
4. Barony Bar, 81–3 Broughton Street EH1 3RJ
CAMRA says: Small, L-shaped single-bar pub with a splendid interior that is well worth the short walk from the city centre. Situated in an 1804 fourstorey tenement, it wraps around other property on a street corner and has an attractive frontage of teak Photo: Third Party