The Edinburgh pubs locals actually drink in — and why you’ll want to join them

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Edinburgh has dozens of bars designed for tourists. Loud, crowded, and overpriced, serving novelty cocktails in thistle-shaped glasses. Locals know where they go instead: a quieter circuit of traditional pubs that have been pouring honest pints for decades, in rooms that feel unchanged since the 1960s. These are those pubs.

The Bow Bar — the serious drinker’s pub

The Bow Bar sits on Victoria Street, one of Edinburgh’s most photographed lanes. Most visitors walk past the heavy wooden door without stopping. That’s their loss.

Inside, a long polished bar is lined with real ale taps — often ten to fifteen rotating Scottish and British casks — and whisky bottles stacked ceiling-high. There are no televisions. There’s no background music. What you get is a properly kept pint and a proper conversation. Go on a weekday afternoon if you want a stool; weekends it fills up fast. The Bow Bar is one of the finest small pubs in Scotland, and it sits on one of Edinburgh’s most beautiful streets. Somehow most visitors never find it.

The Sandy Bell’s — Edinburgh’s folk music heartbeat

Tucked into Forrest Road near the university, The Sandy Bell’s looks like nothing from outside. Step in and you’ll likely find a session already in progress: fiddles, flutes, bodhrán, guitar. Folk musicians gather here because it’s that kind of place — unannounced, informal, and completely free.

Sessions happen most evenings. The pub itself is dark, small, and well-loved. It’s been a folk institution since the 1950s and has a credible claim to being the spiritual home of the Scottish folk revival. Come for a pint. Stay for two hours without noticing.

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The Oxford Bar — Rebus’s local (and a great pub in its own right)

Ian Rankin set much of his Inspector Rebus series in Edinburgh. Rebus drank at The Oxford Bar — and so does Rankin. The pub appears in multiple novels and has become quietly famous for it.

But the literary connection is almost beside the point: The Oxford Bar is simply an excellent traditional Edinburgh pub. Young Street is a quiet lane in the New Town, and the bar itself is compact and unpretentious. No craft beer menu, no clever cocktails. Just a proper Scottish pub, the kind that’s getting harder to find. Go for the experience; stay because you want to.

Milne’s Bar — where Scottish literature was made

On Rose Street — Edinburgh’s famous drinking lane, running parallel to Princes Street — sits Milne’s Bar. In the 1950s and 1960s, this was the meeting place for Scotland’s greatest literary generation: Hugh MacDiarmid, Norman MacCaig, Sorley MacLean, and Sydney Goodsir Smith. They called it “The Poet’s Pub.”

Today it’s still a fine traditional bar, still on Rose Street, still serving pints to people who may or may not be poets. There are framed photographs of the writers on the walls. The atmosphere is quiet and unpretentious. Worth a visit if only for the history — but the pints are good too.

Café Royal — Edinburgh’s most beautiful bar

The Café Royal isn’t exactly a pub in the traditional sense — it’s a Victorian bar and oyster restaurant — but it would be wrong to leave it out. Built in 1862, the interior is extraordinary: a curved mahogany bar, tiled medallion portraits of Victorian inventors and engineers, stained glass windows, and high ornate ceilings.

The food is excellent (oysters, fish, proper Scottish cooking). The prices reflect the surroundings. But order a pint at the bar and nobody minds. This is a living monument to Edinburgh’s Victorian confidence — one of the finest bar rooms in Britain, tucked between Princes Street and the east end of the New Town.

Practical tips for pub-crawling Edinburgh

Edinburgh’s licensing laws are relaxed, and most pubs serve until midnight or 1am at weekends. The city is compact enough that you can walk between all of the above in under an hour. The Royal Mile and Grassmarket areas are full of pubs, but quality varies wildly — many are tourist traps with tartan carpets and inflated whisky prices.

If you’re interested in whisky specifically, the scene is different again — read our guide to whisky tastings in Edinburgh for where to go. And if you want to explore the city’s quieter neighbourhoods between pub stops, Stockbridge has a handful of excellent local bars of its own.

Is it worth visiting Edinburgh’s traditional pubs?

Yes — particularly if you’re interested in getting beyond the tourist trail. Pubs like The Bow Bar, The Oxford Bar, and The Sandy Bell’s give you an authentic slice of Edinburgh life that no museum or tour can replicate. They’re unpretentious, welcoming, and genuinely local.

Where do locals drink in Edinburgh?

Locals tend to avoid the Royal Mile and Grassmarket pubs, which cater heavily to tourists. Instead, look to the New Town (The Oxford Bar, Milne’s Bar), the Old Town side streets (The Bow Bar on Victoria Street), and neighbourhood pubs in areas like Stockbridge and Marchmont. The Sandy Bell’s in Forrest Road is genuinely local despite being near the tourist areas.

Are Edinburgh pubs open on Sundays?

Yes. Scottish licensing laws allow pubs to open seven days a week, and most traditional Edinburgh pubs do exactly that. Sunday afternoon is actually one of the nicest times to visit — quieter than Saturday, with a more relaxed atmosphere. The Sandy Bell’s often has sessions on Sunday afternoons.

Edinburgh is a city that rewards patience. The best experiences here — the best views, the best conversations, the best pints — aren’t found in the guidebooks. They’re through the heavy wooden door that most visitors walk past without stopping. Now you know which door to push.

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