lovely local pub ! food and stuff ! cozy ambience ! the service it's a bit tricky I would say, since they are using the stupid consept of " order and pay at the bar " this is not for a pub ... other than that lovely pub! I am having 5 star simply because of the stuff the pub food and the ambience ! read more

Located in the old part of Edinburgh near the Miracle Mile. While this is a pub it is not an old school one. Relatively modern place. Good selection of beers - seems to match the selection that a lot of other places have. Plenty of TVs to watch the local sports. Service is good. Did not eat the food so can't comment. Enjoyed my quick stop in.. N*joy! read more

The Advocate - Exterior Signage - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

The balmoral chicken was good however my partner's breaded scampi was not all that great. The halloumi cheese starters was not good as well having been fried in reused oil that had a definite fishy smell. The beer - IPA was good though. Service was ok but not exceptional. Noisy bar atmosphere. Being a tourist, probably the expectation was on the higher side just looking at the exterior did not get time to check revisews prior. read more

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Popped in around noon to make a reservation for 730. Arrived at 720, only to find out they gave away our table since the staff apparently took the reservation for 7. Would not recommend if you're trying to plan ahead. read more

I was on holiday from California for the first time. This is the first place I went to as I was wondering aimlessly. I have no expectations. I dined here twice during my stay in Edinburgh. Both times were wonderful. The food was very good and prepared quickly. The service for beer was fast and very friendly. The ambiance was playful/90s music playing, people enjoying card games and great conversation. I was expecting it to be busy considering it's just off the mile but both visits I was sat quickly and had no trouble. 10/10, would recommend! read more

The Advocate - Chicken Katsu Burger - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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Busy pub with cute couches and chairs to get comfy for food and drink. Enjoyed our fish/chips and burger. Plenty of veggie and gluten-free options on the menu. My friend was happy to see no-alcohol Guinness beer to try. Service was lovely but hard to find at times when we needed refills and check. Steps off the mile and a solid Scottish meal. read more

This is a very popular place with tourists & just a step down (literally) from the Ibis Hotel on Hunter Square. It's a pub, so don't go here looking for fancy food. I ate the steak & ale out (so good) & had a burger the next day. Both were delicious, especially with a pint of Tennant! It's crowded at dinner time & there's often a long wait. But late afternoons are a shoo-in with fast service & everything freshly made. Plain food, good atmosphere, & decent prices. read more

The ambiance is decent - very sports barish vibe. The drinks are mediocre- they don't make your normal cocktails. The food was yummy!! It is self service though. read more

The food and drinks were delicious. My son and I shared the Big Fish and chips, hubby got the steak and ale pie. We had a pornstar martini and a woo woo both were might tasty. Jenni & Katrna were very helpful and kind. Wonderful place to eat. read more

Pub trivia on Sunday nights at 9pm. Kitchen open til 9:30pm. Food looked great - we just had some nuts from behind the bar (under 3gbp per pint). They have a reasonable beer and scotch selection, as well as the usual hard liquor range. The staff were friendly and efficient, the trivia guy was funny, and the bathrooms (downstairs) were clean enough. Wish we'd arrived sooner to eat something - their specials appeared divine. The win for trivia was 50 pounds credit at the Advocate. There didn't appear to be any limits on team size. We were so bad at the song round that we fell too far behind to have any chance, but the trivia is free, so go try it out! read more

The Advocate - They have fliers. - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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Cozy, entertaining and whiskey choices! Thought we needed a drink and passed by the Advocate on a busy Friday night. The Edinburgh streets were buzzing with people of all ages, creating a lively atmosphere and the pubs and bars were packed. It was really hard to get a table, well, even a chair....... Luckily, when entering the place, we got a high table with a few chairs. We soon realized that we could get variations of whiskey choices. Good for the whiskey fanatics amongst us. The restaurant and the pub are only separated by a wood barrier and hardly noticeable. You can sit in a booth and have your dinner, whilst people have drinks around the bar. Its a place where you can eat and drink and listen to live music entertainment. They guy who was singing last night had a very nice smokey voice (like Joe Cocker) and we all sang along: "No women, no cry". Whoop Whoop. It's only 4 stars as I have not tried the food yet, and will definitely be back. read more

The Advocate - Advocate - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

The Advocate is not my favourite of all the pubs in Edinburgh, but if I am desperate it will do the trick. Situated just around the corner from the Royal Mile, The Advocate is just a short walk from the city centre and so it is a convenient place to reach and always seems to be a popular choice with the tourists. I don't have anything particular against The Advocate, its just that I have been here on several occasions and each time I haven't had the best experience. The pub is generally filled with locals, and if you go in during the afternoon, most of them are drunk and looking at you in a really sleazy way - not nice. Most of the time the staff have been friendly, but occasionally there are some workers who completely fail to acknowledge your presence and you can be stood waiting at the bar for ages to be served. The Advocate serves above average pub food and the prices are really reasonable too. I would like to come back here for a meal again, but the drunk locals and the poor service has put off for the time being. read more

The Advocate - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

The Advocate is located in Hunter Square, right near the junction between the Royal Mile and South / North Bridge. It's a place I've only been to once for drinks, and I can't say that I was blown away by what it offered. We were in there on a fairly quiet weekday evening, and the atmosphere was pleasant enough. Drinks were of a reasonable price, and I would have totally got some food if I hadn't already eaten that evening. Two evening meals would have been a little excessive. Anyway, this place isn't really on my radar now as a place for going out for a drink to. I can't really comment on the alcohol beverages on offer, as I'm not a drinker, but everyone else I was with seemed to get on just fine. It's not a hotspot for a night out, but still well worth a look in. read more

The Advocate - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

We stopped in here to meet some friends for a drink, and are very happy we did. We ended up stopping by a couple more times during our week visit. The Advocate is a great pub just off the Royal Mile with locals and tourists both, enjoying good food and drink. Nice selection of beer and alcohol, tasty cocktails and a happy staff. Special shout out to Daisy and Poppy! Thanks! Great location in a most beautiful city. read more

Welcoming place for people with a pushchair!! Not the easiest to find kids-friendly and licensed for under 5s pubs on Royal mile! This one was recommended to us by another as licensed. The food was surprisingly cheap compared to the others on the Royal mile. Very good service, quick and friendly. TVs around for sports fans! We tried the beer battered haddock with great chunky chips , juicy and tasty. The mushroom soup was really great, ideal for the cold weather. I wouldn't mind having baguette rather than plain white bread like toast slices but not toasted. Our friends tried the Cajun chicken with pasta and the burger that had French fries rather than the chunky. Nice selection of draft beers, both ales and lagers. They have also the inexpensive offer two meals for £10.99 for certain main meals (not including the haddock) . Definitely worth trying for families! read more

Very good US-themed pub next to the Royal Mile. Certainly no tourist-trap, it was mostly frequented by locals during my frequent late evening visits there in July of 2015. The Advocate features a pleasant, traditional pub decor, including a few nods to the "American theme" (they did offer a July 4th Independence menu, e.g.) - although the regular menu features Scottish (haggis) and traditional pub food. At least twice during my nine-day stay there was live music too: A rather talented, rather big, brawny guy. He was singing old style rock songs on one evening, more folk-oriented stuff on the other. The selection of ales and lagers is certainly decent, the prices moderate for this expensive city. This being a Belhaven-owned pub though, the real ales they serve are from said brewery, which is certainly not the most distinguished in Scotland (that includes "The Advocate" beer, which most certainly is Belhaven-brewed, too). Had the 8 Oz rump steak there (see photo), which was quite all right but certainly not exceptional. Atmosphere was pleasant indeed, the bar staff friendly and efficient (!). This is certainly NOT "a downmarket Whetherspoons", as wrongly suggested by "Emily H." read more

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Horrible service and totally understaffed. You can do better elsewhere. Don't waste your time here. The place wasn't super busy, but to have only one waitress and one bartender leads to a very poor experience. We waited for 10 min to be seated (with others in line behind us) and finally gave up after a few "There's only 2 of us, we'll get to you when we can." types of statements. read more

It was a very busy Sunday. Staff were not as attentive as we expected. Food was not bad. They had quite a choice of burgers, however my beef chilli beef burger patty was dry. They also forgot to bring the special sauce on the side, to which I didn't bother to ask for, as they were very busy. It's a nice pub atmosphere to come watch a game with friends, have a meal and a drink, but as a place to just get a burger maybe not for me. Burger review: Quality: 6/10 | Creativity: 5/10 | Value £: 8/10 Other wee things: Service: 6/10 | Ambience: 7/10 read more

The Advocate - Mexican beef Chilli and beef burger, coleslaw, chips - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

We were looking for a traditional pub and couln't be more happy with this one. The place is absolutely beautiful, and it was very quiet when we were there. The food was amazing, we had Steak &Ale pie with veggies and the infamous Haggis - which actually is pretty good! read more

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Visiting on a city break from London w our toddler and had been turned away at a number of other pubs, the last one kindly suggesting The Advocate given its licensing to accommodate our little one. When we arrived (early birds on a Tuesday evening!) we found it mostly empty with only some regular patrons at the bar. The fella taking our order was v sweet and brought out food quickly - beef and bacon burger for me, haggis pie for my partner and extra chips all around. We had tastings of whiskey and with lots of Tv screens, our toddler was thankfully occupied. Good value and kind service made it a welcome stop for our crew. read more

Edinburgh, August, Busy! 3 words that will always go hand in hand and, erm... a third hand? But it was getting on 2 o'clock and dinner, as my dad calls it, can't be missed. In fact it was almost unacceptable to call this dinner, as dinner in the land of my dad happens between 12 and 12.30 - 1 at the latest. We may as well have just packed up and gone home and waited for tea*. But we didn't... We darted from place to place to find 4 seats, no luck. But just a hop and a jump from the Royal Mile we found The Advocate. Seats - great! We're going in! "There must be something wrong with it" I heard my superior scoff. But after a hearty baguette and chips and a wee pint in traditional pub surroundings, we found that there's nothing wrong with this place at all. My dad may have rejected all attempts to conform to middle class convention with his naming of meals (and too many more to mention), but he knows when he's satisfied. * a hot evening meal eaten between 5 and 5.30 in my dad's book of everything. read more

When you find yourself looking for a quiet drink with friends around Hunter square, look no further! Even though this isn't the greatest pub around, the other bars around here are mostly aimed at students and often have loud music.... oh god I sound like a granny! The pints are fairly pricey (average £3.50) but it is the centre of Edinburgh so what you gonna do. There is a good amount of seating, and the clientele is a mixture of regulars at the bar, groups in the corners and people watching the football/rugby. Bathrooms are clean, staff is nice, drinks selection is fine. The only thing missing is a bit of atmosphere and character. All in all, a decent pub, but nothing special. read more

For reasons which were unclear to me at the time, The Man and I decided to have a beer in the Advocate in order to watch one of the World Cup games. I'm sure there were millions of other pubs in the area showing the games, but we chose the Advocate. It felt like a downmarket Whetherspoons, and smelled like toilet cleaner. The bar served mediocre beers, to be consumed on sticky tables which sat on crazy old pub carpet. And yeah, the smell. So we had our one pint, and even The Man decided that the game wasn't so important to make us stay. read more

Old fashioned, nothing wrong with that. It suits the building and the clientele. Many whiskies available and they do a flight as well. Food is a mixture if renowned bar snacks, burgers, steaks or chicken wings. Vegetarian food is available too. Quite a selection of drafts. Atmosphere is welcoming friendly and apart from the 3 massive tv screens it could've easily passed as an victorian pub. OK. Coat hooks on the bar. Nice touch! read more

Two stars for the fact that this place got all 10 of us in for dinner and drinks without reservations and literally no wait at all! The service was so-so. I could have used a bit more friendliness, but as I said before, I think this is a European thing...Sufficient service at best. There was a menu printing error regarding the special of two entrees for $10 each; which apparently was only select days of the week. Since the actual days that said special was honored were not printed on the menu the restaurant wasn't going to give us the stated price. After a few words with a manager, they honored the menu and apologized for the error +1 star for some honest business. The food was decent; nothing to write home about, but we were full! However, four of us didn't feel good AT ALL later that night and there was some bathroom jockeying going about. Highly suspicious if you ask me! -2 stars. read more

We were looking for a place to have dinner, and we found The Advocate not far from our hotel. The fish and chips and the "belhaven home-made steak & ale pie" (beef steak marinated and cooked with beer) were delicious, as well as the cocktails :) read more

The Advocate - Freshly hand-battered haddock & chips, Belhaven homemade steak and ale pie, Cocktails - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Just needed to give a Yelp shoutout to the staff at The Advocate -- my friend and I were passing a couple hours there the other day before meeting friends for dinner, when we noticed that the "seasonal sausage of the month" was pork and rhubarb. That sounded crazy delicious to us, if you will, but being that we were heading to dinner, we didn't want to order a whole sandwich or a full meal with mash, spinach, etc. Originally we just decided to bag the idea, but after the bartenders conferred, they offered to just charged us 1.50 pound for one sausage, so we could try it. So nice of them! The cutie bartender also got bonus points for copious amounts of sausage jokes throughout this endeavor. Well played, Advocate! Oh, and that sausage WAS delicious. (THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!) read more

Dinky little pub on Hunter Square that's ideal for a quick drink heading home or just heading in to town, but not quite big enough to spend a stretch of time in without getting a little cramped. Owned/sponsored by Belhaven, this pub is linked to the White Hart bar in the Grassmarket and the World's End bar on the Royal Mile. How The Advocate squares up to the rest of the Belhaven pubs I'm not too sure but taking it at face value it is a nifty little pub that had an impressive selection of whiskies for a small bar. There isn't an awful lot of space in this bar making it feel quite closed in as you can be standing a couple of feet away from people eating dinner as you're drinking a beer and watching the football on the TV. I never tried the food as I was only passing by but with what I seen it looked like general pub fare with things like burgers, sandwiches and steak pie (do you really need anything else in a pub?) A few bottled craft beers were available from Belhaven at around £3.40 per bottle. Tucked away between the Cowgate, the Bridges and the Royal Mile, it's only understandable that they sold "The Advocate" beanie hats too. I have to admit that I was very tempted to get on. Service was good, pub was nice and warm for it being a cold afternoon and the beer was cold. Definitely worth a visit if you're passing through. read more

This place is great. Wonderful atmosphere and lovely staff. The fish and chips is great. They also have a great selection of local brews. Would definitely recommend. read more

The Advocate - Pubs Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

The Advocate is another if these Edinburgh pubs with a history which they kindly provide you with on the menu. It's something to do with an advocate, that's all I remember. This pub is very pub like. Quite cosy and good for an afternoon of munch and drink. They have a thing about sausages here, they often have different flavours so we opted for sausage and mash. It was quite delicious, a large portion and very filling. A reasonable pub lunch price too. Not as overpriced as other Royal Mile area bars and the staff are very chatty and friendly. read more

Just over the road form the Tron, you couldn't have two pubs that were more different from each other. Unlike the student, party like atmosphere at the Tron, the Advocate has got that slight old man, traditional feel. But seeing as not many old people, or any people really, come in here it has almost no atmosphere whatsoever. To be frank it's pretty boring. I've been in there a few times, and each time it has been really quiet and you feel awkward talking, in case you disturb the perfectly preserved silence. It's not a great feel for a pub to have. The inside is quite nice though, with a few little nooks and crannies to hide away in. There is a big old traditional bar selling all the normal drinks at pretty average prices. They used to do a student discount, but that no longer is the case. I haven't had the food, but I would assume it is very much like the rest of the pub - dull read more

Was here late Saturday afternoon/early evening during a Wales v Ireland rugby game. The ambience was great: jocular and enthusiastic without being rowdy or noisy. A great option if you fancy keeping track of the match, but also want to enjoy a bit of quiet chat/banter with your friends. The pub itself is delightful, a mix of booth seats, cosy corners and high tables with stools, warm lighting in fascinating light hangings, and walls papered with sheet music and gentle, unimposing red tartan. There is a wide selection of real ales (I had a Raven Ale from the Orkney's) and a good whiskey selection. The food is also delicious -- standard pub grub, burgers and what not, but well prepared, tasty and served with a smile to your table. A good option if you find yourself in the Royal Mile/North Bridge area. read more

I was on a visit from the States to see some friends, and decided to stop here for lunch. They had an amazing special going on (this was back in January so I'm not sure if it's still there), and I got an incredible burger. The server, Daphne, was amazing. Thank you so much for a great time! read more

Nice little pub with a warm atmosphere. The staff were very friendly and did a great job. The food was really good and reasonably priced. The selection of food is good. Nice place to go on a rainy evening. read more

After a day of walking around Edinburgh stopped here just to get a food/drink. Steak & Ale pie turned out to be the best pot roast dinner I've ever had. My wife got the fish and chips, also excellent. Dora was a terrific server and atmosphere was perfectly pub! read more

Seemed like a safe place from the outside. Ordered the burger. It was inedible as were the chips. Took 45 minutes for food to be delivered. Awful service. Awful food. read more

I stayed here for one drink then prompty left, after being hassled for about half an hour by a very very drunk punter. While I realise this wasn't the pub's fault, the staff did notice (I saw the barman look over then whisper to his co-worker) and they didn't do anything to help, which I found a bit out of order since there were only three of us girls there. Worst of it was, it was only 4.30pm, and this guy could barely stand. Hopefully, if we do come back, we can avoid the old alkys. read more

A good pub, nice selections of Scotch and other drinks. A little loud for my tast, but the bartenders were nice and the clientele well behaved when we went on a Friday night. read more

These people are so rude. Service is terrible. Had to wait ten minutes to be seated and after we were seated we waited over half an hour with no service; even while everyone around us was getting their orders in. Even after I made eye contact with the server several times he completely passed us by. Don't waste your time here! Good advice- just go to Byron down the street. read more

As World's End was closed for refurbishment, this place serves a similar fantastic fish'n'chips.