Best Bars in Edinburgh: Where Locals Drink

A night in Edinburgh's bars runs from cheap to pricey depending on which hill you drink on. Budget around 5 to 6 pounds a pint (the city average sat near 6 pounds in spring 2026), 9 to 12 pounds for a cocktail in most bars, and 11 to 15 pounds at the top New Town cocktail rooms like Panda & Sons. The best bars in Edinburgh split between Old Town pubs, New Town cocktail bars and Leith's quieter waterfront spots. Here is where locals actually drink, and what each costs.

That split matters more here than in most cities. The Old Town, the medieval tangle around the Royal Mile and the Grassmarket, carries the loud crawl trade. The New Town, the grid of Georgian streets to the north, is where the dressier cocktail bars sit. Leith, the regenerated dock area 15 to 20 minutes north by tram or bus, is where people go when they want a good drink without the stag-do noise. Pick the zone first, then the bar.

Where do locals drink in Edinburgh?

The short answer: not where the crawls go. Locals tend to skip the themed Grassmarket and Royal Mile pubs that pull in stag and hen groups, and head for the New Town cocktail bars, a handful of conversation pubs, and Leith.

The Oxford Bar is a tiny traditional pub on Young Street in the New Town, best known as the haunt of Ian Rankin's fictional Inspector Rebus. There is no music and no dancefloor, just pints around 5 to 6 pounds and people actually talking. Sandy Bell's on Forrest Road in the Old Town has run since the 1920s and puts on live traditional folk most nights, free to walk in. Neither is fancy. Both are the real thing, and you will hear far more Scottish accents than tourist ones.

If you want somewhere with a bit of energy, Leith's bars are the grown-up move. Nauticus is a Leith cocktail bar that leans hard on Scottish produce and maritime-themed drinks, cocktails around 10 to 13 pounds, and it made the World's 50 Best Discovery list. The Lioness of Leith on Leith Walk is a quirky converted Georgian pub with weekend DJs and live music, drinks roughly 5 to 12 pounds. You will spend 15 to 20 minutes getting there on the tram or a bus, and that distance is exactly what keeps it local.

What is the best cocktail bar in Edinburgh?

The headline name is Panda & Sons, a speakeasy on Queen Street in the New Town hidden behind a vintage barbershop front. Its cocktail menu was named the world's best at the 2025 Spirited Awards, and the bar placed second in a UK top-50 list. Cocktails run roughly 11 to 15 pounds. It takes bookings, which is worth doing on a weekend because the walk-in queue can be long.

A two-minute walk away, two more Queen Street bars are where the locals who know the scene actually drink. Bramble is an unmarked basement cocktail bar, a long-standing fixture on the World's 50 Best lists, cocktails around 11 to 14 pounds, and there is usually a queue down the stairs because it is small and does not take bookings. Lucky Liquor Co., its sister bar, is tiny and runs a rotating menu of 13 cocktails made from 13 bottles, changing every 13 weeks, with drinks around 10 to 13 pounds.

That Queen Street trio is the densest cluster of serious cocktail-making in the city. Hit one, and the other two are within a short walk. None has a strict door, but all lean smart-casual, and on a Friday or Saturday you are choosing between a booking at Panda & Sons or a queue at Bramble.

Old Town pubs and the crawl route

The Grassmarket and Royal Mile are the loud, walkable, group-night heart of the Old Town. This is where the stag and hen crowd lands, and it gets rowdy on weekends, but the pubs themselves are genuinely old and worth a pint if you treat it as a crawl rather than a destination.

The White Hart Inn in the Grassmarket claims to be Edinburgh's oldest pub, with cellarage dating to 1516 and the standing building largely from the 1740s. Pints sit around 5 to 6 pounds, with live music some nights. The Three Sisters on the Cowgate is a huge bar with a big courtyard, drinks roughly 4 to 7 pounds, and it is a default for groups and sports nights. Frankenstein, on George IV Bridge, is a horror-themed bar in a converted church with theatrical decor, drinks around 4 to 8 pounds, and a regular crawl stop. Stramash, in a former church on the Cowgate, does live bands and ceilidh nights with traditional Scottish dancing, entry free to about 8 pounds.

For a rooftop with a view rather than a basement, Cold Town House in the Grassmarket is a three-floor brewpub with a terrace looking straight at Edinburgh Castle, drinks around 5 to 9 pounds plus pizza. Time it for sunset and you get the best castle view of any bar in town for the price of a craft beer.

If you would rather have the route, the free shots and the discounts sorted for you, a guided pub crawl is the efficient way to cover the Old Town. Crawls here run about 12 to 20 pounds, bundle several free shots and drink discounts, and usually include free or fast-track club entry at the end, which often works out cheaper than paying separate covers as you go.

A quick price and vibe comparison

Here is how the three zones stack up so you can match the night to your budget and mood.

Zone	Bar type	Typical drink price	Door / vibe	Best for
New Town (Queen St)	Cocktail bars / speakeasies	Cocktails 11 to 15 pounds	Smart-casual, queues or bookings	Date nights, serious cocktails
Old Town (Grassmarket, Cowgate)	Traditional and themed pubs	Pints 5 to 6 pounds, drinks 4 to 8 pounds	Casual, busy, group-heavy	Pub crawls, big nights, history
Leith / The Shore	Locals' cocktail and craft bars	Cocktails 10 to 13 pounds	Casual, relaxed	Dinner then drinks, quieter nights

The pattern holds across the city: you pay a few pounds more per drink in the New Town and at rooftops, and a few less in the Old Town student and crawl bars.

Rose Street, George Street and the New Town night

Rose Street is the pedestrian pub lane running parallel to George Street, and it has a reputation as a mini crawl in its own right, a string of traditional pubs you can hop between without crossing a road. It is fun, it is busy, and at weekends it is touristy. Good for a fast few pints, less good for a quiet drink.

George Street, one block over, is the grand Georgian boulevard where the dressier late bars and glossier clubs sit. Drink prices climb here, cocktails commonly start around 9 to 12 pounds, and the door staff at the late-night spots enforce smart-casual: trainers, sportswear, ripped clothing and caps can get you turned away. If you are planning to end the night in a New Town club like Shanghai or Lulu, dress for the door before you leave the pub.

The practical play in the New Town is to drink cocktails one street back on Queen Street, then walk five minutes to George Street if you want a later, louder finish. You get the better drinks and the bigger night without paying George Street prices all evening.

Practical notes for a night out

A few things that catch visitors out. The legal drinking and club-entry age is 18, and Scotland runs strict Challenge 25, so carry photo ID even if you are clearly older. A passport, UK or EU driving licence or PASS-accredited card all work. There is no on-street drinking in much of the city centre, and shops can only sell alcohol between 10am and 10pm under Scottish law, so stock up early if you are pre-loading.

Getting home is easy. The central Old Town and New Town are compact and very walkable, so plenty of people skip a cab. If you need one, short central taxi rides typically run 6 to 12 pounds, and the Lothian NightBus network runs roughly midnight to 4:30am across 18 routes for about 3 pounds a single. Round-buying is customary in the pubs, tipping bartenders is not expected on drinks, and the queue at the close-time taxi rank is part of the experience.

One timing note as of mid-2026: August is chaos in the best way. During the Fringe (7 to 31 August 2026) the whole city turns into a venue, licences extend, and every bar is packed, so book the cocktail rooms ahead and expect to queue everywhere else. The rest of spring and summer is busy with stag, hen and student trips; January and February are the quiet, cheap, cold months if you want elbow room at the bar.