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    The Bow Bar

    4.2 (90 reviews)
    ModeratePubs
    Open 11:00 am - 11:30 pm

    The Bow Bar Photos

    THE BOW BAR ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Casual
    Good for groups

    Recommended Reviews - The Bow Bar

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    Bar
    Magdalena C.

    Great whisky tasting. Recommend also mulled cider with rum. Location is good as well.

    Some good local craft beer on cask here
    GT W.

    Our favorite bar in Edinburgh! Laid back, friendly, quieter bar focused on craft beer and Scotch. Incredibly knowledgeable staff about beer and Scotch here. We had amazing conversations with the bartenders throughout the evening. As a craft beer nerd, they had tons of local craft beers on tap and on cask including Tempest, Liverpool Organic, Wild Beer Co, and some other sours and imperial stouts. All served perfectly in correct glassware, at the right temperature, and with proper foam. Everything was reasonably priced. A nice change of pace compared to other bars (and clubs) in Grassmarket. Highly recommended!

    Refreshing ales.
    Louis R.

    Totally local. Great spot to meet up with your mates and talk shit. Not loud, very chill and the bartender is totally helpful if you are a newbie. Cheers!

    All beer by the loch ness brewery. This is one of 11
    Paul B.

    Small bar behind the castle. Beer selection is by the loch ness brewery plus sone bottled beers. The bar excels in its whiskey selection as they could be in excess of100. Seating is benches along the wall with a small narrow table in front. There are sone chairs as well. Food is extremely limited to a small selection of pies 5 on the day of my visit. No gf ones but it is the place to come for whisky.

    the whisky selection
    Anna F.

    The Bow Bar is stubbornly refusing the modern pubs without cocktails and the works. Instead it retains it's original, old-man pub character. The decor looks like it hasn't been changed since it was first opened but it somehow works. Smiles are sparse and if you come in asking for a cosmo you may be asked to leave. However, they have a great selection of whiskies and ales. As unfriendly as it may sound, I really like places like this. It's not trying to be something it's not, and certainly is not trying to adapt to the tourist and student prime location it's at. Instead the more sincere atmosphere also makes it relaxing- probably one of the few authentic old man pubs in the area. Great stuff!

    picture from official website
    Alice W.

    The lack of music is a bit strange. If it's a bit on the empty side you can feel the conversation bounce around the room. That aside, it's cosy and relaxed, cheap and easy. Also, it's the only place in the world where Kate Moss has been so understated, when she inexplicably visited. In a trash-mag, regulars were asked "so, Kate Moss in" and the response was "Aye, we noticed her, she's alright - slightly better looking than everyone else" Three cheers for not being starstruck!

    Lauren G.

    The Bow Bar is without a doubt an old mans pub. Situated in the heart of Old Town, the Bow Bar is just around the corner from the Royal Mile and it is a short walk from the main shopping street in Edinburgh, Princes Street, and so it is a convenient place to reach. It is fairly small inside and when it gets busy it can feel really cramped and crowed. The Bow Bar serves the usual selection of beers, ales, wines, Scottish whisky and the standard range of spirits, and so there is something to suit everyone. The drinks are also really competitively priced, with a large glass of the house wine costing under five pounds. I was pretty hungry when I came here for a drink and was disappointed that there was no real menu available so I had to make do with crisps and peanuts. Most of the clientele in the pub are old men, which I found quite off putting, especially after a while when they got pretty drunk and became sleazy - not nice, but tourists and students also come to drink here. A nice place to go for a quiet drink, but definitely don't go here looking for food!

    Matthew L.

    This bar would be typically classed as your local 'old man's' pub. It sells a wide range of local and national ale's and the interior is not that modern, and is more traditional. However, even though you do get dome older men who prop themselves up at the side of the bar, this place is a great little find! If you're a fan of ale's, like myself, you must pay the Bow bar a visit as it sells (at reasonable prices) mostly ale's, including Edinburgh's local, Deuchars! However, even though the drinks on offer are quite old man typed kind of drinks, this bar attracts a wider range of people. From tourists to students, this place always seems to have a mixture of people during the weekend (During the week, this bar is quite quiet). It might not be your cup of tea, but for those who want to taste the ale's of Scotland this place is a great bar to go to.

    Here's the bar.
    Louise H.

    Great selection of whisky and the barman was really helpful - he offered suggested based on our likes or dislikes and had us smell ones he suggested before we chose. It's a bit small of a space - only around 10-15 tables, so seats go quickly at night. There was only 1 open table when we got there just after 9pm on a Thursday, and when we left just after 10pm, there was quite a crowd standing around the bar. Overall, a fantastic place in old town with a great selection.

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    2 years ago

    Had a great time here chatting with others in the bar. Top notch place with access to a wonderful area.

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    2 years ago

    Best selection of rare and outstanding whisky. Super friendly and helpful staff. "Old man bar" vibes in a small space.

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    7 years ago

    A very nice bar with a wide, varied and lovely beer selection. Sell lovely award-winning pies as well!

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    The Bow Bar Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - The Bow Bar

    Overall very knowledgable, helpful and friendly staff and absolutely worth a stop if you are looking for whisky.

    Mentioned in 22 reviews

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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

    The Bow Bar - pubs - Updated May 2026

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