Top 10... Pubs

Bennets Bar
8 Leven Street

Bennets attracts a rather strange mish-mash of theatregoers and sports fans, situated as it is a stone’s throw away from King’s Theatre, and featuring a good number of screens showing most sporting events going. Thankfully this doesn’t detract from what is a rather impressive pub setting. Stained-glass windows, mirrored booths and a beautiful wooden bar complement the extensive whisky list and good beer selection, while the food, although hardly ambitious, is done extremely well. [AC]

The Blue Blazer
2 Spittal Street

It may be surrounded by tacky chain pubs, strip clubs and sports bars, but at the Blue Blazer they take their drinking very seriously, a fact that’s reflected in the fine selection of real ales, malt whiskies and a monumental and ever-shifting rum list with about 70 varieties available at any one time. The crowd is a lively, mixed bunch, creating a relaxed and friendly atmosphere that makes the Blazer one of the best drinking holes in town. [AC]

Burlington Bertie
11-13 Tarvit Street

A pub that feels like you’re drinking in someone’s living room is generally a very good thing, and Berlington Berties is cosy and homely in that very way. There’s a limited selection of draught and some good bottled beers, but drinkers go to this place for its warm atmosphere and friendly local crowd. There are screens for football but they don’t impose, and mostly Berties is filled with young and old alike enjoying a quiet drink with friends. Much more low-key than the noisy Blazer down the road, this is certainly the place to escape the hustle and bustle of the festival. [AC]

The Cask and Barrel
115 Broughton Street

The appeal of the Cask is simple: real ale and football in a traditional pub setting, with a friendly clientele that don’t necessarily look as if they live for beer and sport (always a bonus). Good ale is a given, but there’s also a decent selection of draught lagers, and on a sunny day it’s particularly good to sit outside and people watch on Broughton Street. Complaints about occasionally gruff bar staff can be put down to a few oversensitive souls. [AC]

Cramond Inn
30 Cramond Glebe Road

Take a number 41 towards Cramond and around 40 minutes later you’ll arrive in a quaint little village by the Forth that boasts the only Sam Smith’s pub in Edinburgh. Low ceilings, plenty of nooks and crannies and quiet corners and an assortment of old regulars at the bar make the Cramond Inn a proper old boozer in the very best way. Coupled with the cheap and excellent quality own-brand beers and spirits, it’s well worth making a day of it, walking out to the island and sinking a refreshing pint or five at the Inn. Just make sure you catch the last bus back to town or it’s a long walk home. [AC]

The Pear Tree
38 West Nicolson Street

The Pear Tree may be overpriced, and inside there may be little to distinguish it from most other pubs in central Edinburgh, but it does boast the biggest and best beer-garden in town. On a sunny day in Edinburgh, that’s certainly worth paying a little over the odds for. The ranks of tables mean there’s rarely a problem finding a seat, and occasionally during August there’s live music on the corner stage. There’s not many better ways to enjoy the sun than over a pint in the P.T. [AC]

Royal Oak
1 Infirmary Street

A Scottish folk institution since the 60s, when Dylan and other greats popped in as they were passing through, upstairs at the Royal Oak is a tiny bar where drinkers mostly stand and mingle. On most nights you’ll find a musician in the corner playing traditional folk to an appreciative audience. The pub is a focal point for the Edinburgh folk community, and a great place to get a sense of its immense influence on the Capital's music scene. [AC]

Sandy Bells
25 Forrest Road

One of a couple of pubs in the Old Town known for their fine folk music tradition, Sandy Bells is a poky little corner pub where you can enjoy a pint or a good malt whisky. However, visit in the evening and you can also take in some authentic Scottish folk in the place where many stalwarts of the folk scene played in their early days. As if that wasn’t enough, Sandy’s also has a tradition of chess playing, so feel free to challenge one of the regulars. Just don’t expect to win. [AC]

The Stockbridge Tap
2-6 Raeburn Place

Stockbridge has no shortage of rather well-to-do drinking establishments, so the Tap is a welcome change, with its friendly and knowledgeable bar staff and a more traditional feel than the swanky bars nearby. The excellent beer and whisky lists aren’t the only attraction here, as the Tap also does hearty, thoroughly satisfying pub grub. They’ve also opted to ditch the screens, creating a sanctuary for non-sports fans, an increasing rarity even in the most traditional pubs these days. [AC]

The Tourmalet
25 Buchanan Street

Much less yuppyish than the nearby Boda or Victoria, The Tourmalet is a perfect alternative to the rather expensive, trendy bars situated in this slowly gentrifying area of Leith. It offers a cheap pint, chatty bar staff and a warm welcome in a pleasing, shabby pub with a rather haphazard approach to décor. [AC]