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    Scotsman's Lounge

    4.0 (37 reviews)
    InexpensivePubs, Music Venues
    Closed 9:00 am - 1:00 AM (Next day)

    Scotsman's Lounge Photos

    SCOTSMAN'S LOUNGE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Live music
    Casual
    Good for groups

    Recommended Reviews - Scotsman's Lounge

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    Reviews With Photos

    Whisky
    John C.

    Friendly staff. Decent collection of whiskies. Sitting outside, enjoying a glass, people watching. All good.

    Best pub I've been to yet! Atmosphere was great. Staff was excellent. Loved the live music, singer did a wonderful job! Would return
    Tiffany P.

    Best pub I've been to yet! Atmosphere was great. Staff was excellent. Loved the live music, singer did a wonderful job! Would return

    george c.

    We spent 3 nites in GrassMarket, actually we went to the whiskey tasting joint across the pub, the owner recommended this pub across his shop. We went in there and it was packed. However, a nice gentleman, sitting alone at a table, who was very nice, and asked us if we wanted to join him. This would never happen in America. Even another lady from Wales at the next table joined in. We started a nice chat and took a lot of pictures. He even told us Scottish jokes. I think he must had another 3 beers after we started chatting. He told us he was going over to gamble somewhere before heading back to Glasglow. I told him it isn't a good idea to go gamble after drinking. My wife and our friend ordered whiskey flights of 8 double shots. All the locals were shocked. We were really surprised and impressed how friendly the Scots are. The guy & girl bartenders are very helpful in picking all the local whiskeys and showed us the distilleries on the map next to the bar. There was no live music that day, bit rainy, but we really enjoyed our time in the pub.

    Yogeshree T.

    We walked into this bar randomly when looking for a place to grab drinks. Tourists in the city, we were trying to look for a place with local flavor and this pub fits the bill. The ambience is easy and casual and the drinks are cheap. They did not have a drinks menu but one can look at their website which has a list of all drinks they offer. My partner went for a scotch and I went for a gold cider, both drinks were good. We wanted a cozy local bar and Scotsman's lounge is what we found and loved. After coming to the place, I got to know that they also have live music but that is latenight so we didn't get to experience it. If you are a tourist, I highly recommend this place in old town! What caught my attention - relaxed vibe of the place( perfect for a bar), the wooden tables, big barrels laid out, cozy small interior

    Em C.

    I'm with the other reviewers - The Scotsman Lounge has something charming and relaxing about it. Located in an area of Edinburgh that is hoaching with tourist traps (that probably bore visitors as much as locals), The Scotsman's Lounge keep it simple and authentic. It's a straight up, honest pub with a good selection of booze and lots of corners where you can grab a few quiet ones with your mates. Along with the generally good natured locals, you get a lot of tourists and commuters drinking in here, too. That only adds to the dimenions of this pub, and gives the atmosphere a nice, varied buzz. I have yet to stumble in here on a night they're playing live music, but I'm sure it's good (even when it's bad). As Gavin said it beats leary joints pumping out the karaoke. Overall, there's something refreshingly basic about this pub - it lacks the pomp and swagger of many Edinburgh bars (a good thing), but what you can hope for is good service and a sincerely good night out. Tip for the tourists - a lot of the guided walks (including the ghosty ones) meet outside here!

    Lauren G.

    The Scotsman's Lounge is one of my favourite pubs in Edinburgh. Although it is fairly small inside with just the one room, there is an incredibly lively and friendly atmosphere about it. Situated on Cockburn Street, Scotsman's Lounge is right in the city centre and it is just around the corner from the Royal Mile and so it is a great place for tourists to go. This place is a very traditional Scottish pub, as inside the walls are filled with history and Scottish culture, including paintings, artefact's and the bagpipes. Scotsman's Lounge serves a wide selection of different beers, ales and wines, along with the usual standard spirit collection so there is something for everyone. Live music is played most nights, mostly it is local folk artists who play, and the people I have seen play have been fantastic, creating a lively atmosphere. Most of the clientele at this pub are locals, so I tend not to come here late at night, as they can be quite sleazy and off putting. A really rustic pub which is a great place to go to listen to live music.

    On the first day I moved to Edinburgh university, having moved all my stuff into my new flat and wondering what to do next, me and my family wandered down Cockburn Street to find some breakfast. As we sat in a small cafe just down the curving street, I noticed that, even at 10.30am, there were people outside the Scotsmans Lounge having what seemed like a great time. I made a mental note then that I would try this place out, and it turned out to be quite a place. A very traditional 'old man pub', the Scotsmans Lounge is a dark, crowded and cosy place, which has a very charming atmosphere - I have never been here and not had a good time, or a night that has ended up without some funny story or other. Its often the case that this place has live music on, or sports on TV, which really is no more than a bit of a distraction away from the general vibe of the place. The bar is well stocked with everything you could imagaine to be in a pub like this, and although I have seen cheaper, its no more expensive than other places in this area.

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    4 years ago

    The best cider I've had ever! The vibe was lively and the service was quick & friendly! I could stay here all day!

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    9 years ago

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    16 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Friendly service ! Great live music ! Great drinks! The bartenders were really lovely !

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    8 years ago

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    8 years ago

    Nice little pub with locals. Live music was a great singer with a guitar and service was fast.

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    9 years ago

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    14 years ago

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    9 years ago

    Good prices, low-key, bare-bones, and live music. Great place to have a pint and listen to some music.

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    Scotsman's Lounge Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - Scotsman's Lounge

    Acts such as Rantum Scantum and Doogi Rush can really get the place jumping even in the afternoon.

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    The Devil's Advocate - Smoked fish plate

    The Devil's Advocate

    (629 reviews)

    ££

    Old Town, Royal Mile

    Just an awesome, rockin' final meal in Edinburgh - fantastic food, good service and energized local…read morevibe! Absolute must to get reservations! We tried on our first week in Edinburgh and failed, but were able to make reservations 3 weeks out for our last night in Scotland, and we are glad we did. Pork cracklins were a bit hard and crunchy, but everything else was perfect. We had fresh bread and langostinis for starters, along with a smokey whiskey cocktail, the Smoked Indiscretion! For mains we enjoyed the poached Cod, and the Pork with Barley. Service was very good, and wine selection was extensive. Atmosphere was loud with music and locals' chatter in the bar below, but dark tables and heavy wood panels made it a perfect place for a couple celebrating 3 weeks of travel. Highly recommend a visit to the Devil's Advocate, if you can book a table in advance.

    The Devil's Advocate is undoubtedly a treasure to find in Old Town Edinburgh, especially if you…read moreaccidentally take the News Steps to get there, only to realize you should have simply taken the steps up Advocate's Close from Cockburn Street. But they call these lessons, "character building," apparently. No matter, the Devil's Advocate is worth the search. Located in an old Victorian pump house halfway up (or down) Advocate's Close, the Devil's Advocate is known for a killer whisky shelf of more than 300 different bottles from various distilleries across the Highlands, Lowlands, Speyside, Campbelltown, the Islands, and Islay. I finally sipped on a 15-year Tamdu that has convinced me to keep a bottle at home. Then there's the Clydeside 2024 Limited Edition Cask Strength that was wicked impressive. The bartenders are class at making and serving seasonal and regular cocktails that have their spin and character. My wife enjoyed gin-based cocktails such as the Clean Slate (with St-Germain, citrus, and sugar), Rose Garden (with Yellow Chartreuse, Cocchi Rosa, apple, lemon, and mint), and Bee's Knees (honey and lemon). I went full speed ahead with the scotch cocktails, which are essentially classics with a scotch-substituted twist. The Double Shot is an Espresso Martini with Dalmore 12 in addition to Kahlua, espresso, and demerara -- quite smooth without being too sweet. The Scotzia is a Negroni with Fettercairn 12, while the Boxcar is a Sidecar only with Aberfeldy 12. We enjoyed the bar for a few hours, watching the bartenders make magic while sipping on cocktails, while listening to 80s pop tunes. A great evening indeed.

    The White Hart Inn

    The White Hart Inn

    (113 reviews)

    ££

    Grassmarket, Old Town

    Our first day in Edinburgh and as usual our first order of business is to ride the hop-on-hop-off…read morebus. Today when the Red route took us to old town and I saw The White Hart Inn I said to Jan let's do an early dinner there and she agreed. We continued the route and stayed on back to the stop in old town. We love Alfresco dining but it was too cold and windy today. We went inside and the restrauant was packed. It's open seating. No hostess, no sign in. We were lucky and just happened to be standing next to a table that opened. We had been there about 5 minutes. The restaurant/ pub is rich in history, established in 1516. It's small with limited bar seating and prehaps 8 to 10 tables. It is noisy from conversation, tosting and music, but we didn't have a hard time communicating. It has a great vibe. It's a fun venue and popular with the locals. The menu is not large and has several Scottish offerings. To start, Jan was cold and wanted an Irish coffee. I ordered an Innis and Gunn larger. Innis & Gunn is an acclaimed Scottish brewery founded in 2003 in Edinburgh. It had a slightly citrus flavor. Jan ordered muscles and I ordered the steak and ale pie, served with a charred Hispi cabbage wedge, buttered mash and Merlot beef dripping gravy. It was very tasty, very robust flavor. I loved the cabbage; great flavor. I had to look up hispi cabbage and it is a variety of green cabbage. The muscles were good and the broth very nice. We had a lovely time and a good meal. Our good luck at freelancing dining venues while we explore Ireland and Scotland continues.

    We chose this place for being one of the oldest establishments in Scotland dating back to the 18th…read more Century and a place where poets like Wordsworth, Burns etc gathered for a sip. The setting still looked ancient and the overall ambiance was befitting. Small place though. The food and drinks however disappointed. They could have put more efforts to turn the place into something much more than it is. Service was efficient without being really excellent.

    Queens Arms

    Queens Arms

    (114 reviews)

    ££

    New Town

    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

    Scotsman's Lounge - pubs - Updated May 2026

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