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    The Kenilworth

    3.9 (34 reviews)
    ModeratePubs
    Open 11:00 am - 11:00 pm

    The Kenilworth Photos

    THE KENILWORTH ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Outdoor seating

    Recommended Reviews - The Kenilworth

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    Reviews With Photos

    pretty decor surrounding the bar
    Chloe J.

    This pub is beautiful and has a warm, old school vibe to it. The service is alright, they were friendly but not very attentive and we had to keep asking for more water rather than them just bringing it over or leaving us one of the pitchers. The food was ok, nothing to write home about although the vegetarian lentil pie was better than I thought it would be. Wouldn't go back but it was an easy place to get lunch.

    Cool architecture

    Sweet little pub on Rose Street. We frequented this pub while in Edinburgh. You do need to know that service is different in Scotland (UK). There is no wait staff like in North America. Go up to the bar and meet them. They are all very nice and knowledgeable. Order your drinks and food and enjoy the atmosphere of an old pub. Scotch, beer, gin, rum, wine, they have it all. Alyssa was at the bar for us a couple times and she was very nice. The food was very good and we might have closed the pub on a couple nights. Well worth seeking this one out.

    Jessica J.

    After visiting the great Edinburgh Christmas Fair both toes and fingers were about to fall off from the cold. We spotted the centrally located Kenilworth Pub and entered. Best part of the Pub was the Christmas decorations and music. Together with the Christmas weather outside and the on point mood in the bar it was like Christmas Eve again.

    Ale pies. Fuhfukssake yes
    Louis R.

    Packed, little rooms to drinks at, awesome meat pies, affable barkeep. Loved this spot.

    Lauren G.

    The Kenilworth is probably, in my opinion, the best pub on Rose Street - and that is saying something! Situated in the centre of Rose Street, The Kenilworth is right in the centre of the city and it is just around the corner from the main shopping street in Edinburgh, Princes Street, and so it is a convenient place to reach. This pub is fairly standard for this area of Edinburgh, but the one thing which really makes it stand out for me is the beautiful inside of the building. As other reviewers have noted, the inside looks incredibly grand with a beautiful interior and gorgeously high ceilings. The Kenilworth serves a wide range of different beers, ales, wines and the usual selection of spirits, and all the drinks are very competitively priced with a large glass of the house red wine costing under £5. Food is also served here and they offer a good selection of dishes. I had a chicken Caesar salad which was really fresh and tasty - would definitely have it again. The pub is lovely and spacious inside, and there is a seating area outside too so it is a great place to sit on a sunny day and watch all the action in Rose Street. Even if you don't want to go here for a drink, it is worth visiting to just to marvel at the absolutely beautiful interior of the place.

    John H.

    Great pub in the middle of Rose Street. Outstanding selection of Ales behind the bar and a must visit every time I'm in Edinburgh. Friendly staff, good food & good ale. What more do you need?

    I really liked The Kenilworth pub as soon as I walked in on my Rose Street pub crawl; the building is very traditional and impressive, especially the ceilings and chandeliers! They really gave the place an important feel and we were really warmly welcomed by a member of bar staff who made sure we had enough seats. The pub does a wide range of beers so we decided to get tucked in, and sample some of the ales. Safe to say we left after about 3 pints each a little worse for wear. Mixing pints may not have been the cleverest thing I have ever done, but even our rowdy-ness didn't stop the staff from being very nice to us and wishing us well on our way, probably secretly relieved to get rid of us! Thoroughly recommended!

    The fact that the Kenilworth is a listed building bodes well for any initial impression of the place. True to its architectural value the interior is appealing with its oblong central bar, grand ceilings and hanging chandeliers. Putting its fancy interior aside, the Kenilworth is actually a damn good place to grab a pint. One snowy day a few months ago I settled in to the Kenilworth for the afternoon, determined to try at least 4-5 of their beers on tap. Sampling the Otter Ale, a Thornbridge Jaipur IPA and....the rest I can't remember, but it was all fine stuff. There's a wide selection of watering holes on Rose St, so for a sure bet for your pub crawl, head here to lay the foundation with some good beers.

    Getting ready to order a third.........

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    11 years ago

    Good selection of beers nice atmosphere excellent bar staff very knowledgeable about the beers typical pub fair but nice eats and offers

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    10 years ago

    Decoration is quirky, half a dozen standard taps and a couple interesting ones. Plenty of seating.

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    10 years ago

    Nice pub with an exquisitely tiled walls and an old, studding full circle bar. Good selection of beers and food, and okay service.

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    14 years ago

    Nice Scottish pub, good food and a decent base to watch the euros with a meal

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    The Kenilworth Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - The Kenilworth

    The Kenilworth is probably, in my opinion, the best pub on Rose Street - and that is saying something!

    Mentioned in 11 reviews

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    The Devil's Advocate - Smoked fish plate

    The Devil's Advocate

    4.3(638 reviews)
    0.4 miOld Town, Royal Mile
    ££

    Walking in to The Devil's Advocate in Advocate Close, just above Market St, the large bar greets…read moreyou. We chose the Scottish Road trip whiskey flight. As someone who truly loved little about Scotch, it was a wonderful way to taste and compare smoky vs peaty whiskeys. Fun. Our table was upstairs and we sat next to an open door which allows for fresh cool air. It was a warm day in Edinburgh. Our server was wonderful, patient and really helpful. Our choices were truly delicious. We started with the fish board, olives, and mushroom skewer. We loved them all. I enjoyed the cod main dish, while my wife finished the starters. The side of asparagus was also excellent. The mouse dessert was delicious but very rich, it's enough for 4 people. The cost of dinner was also totally reasonable. I recommend this place highly.

    I don't really understand why the ratings are so high at this restaurant. We tried going here one…read moreevening and I messed up the reservation. I'm not used to seeing it in blocks and our end time was bolded but not the start time. We showed up at the end time. We were charged obviously because you have to give a card for a guarantee. I get that. I was fine with it since it was my fault. What I wasn't fine with was the rude (dare I say bitchy?) hostess who I spoke with upon arriving. She was awful to me and looked at me like I was garbage. Even after that, I decided to rebook and pay attention to the time. The restaurant had been recommended to us by a relative as the "best place they had eaten" while in Edinburgh and I wanted to try it. I booked for lunch and when we arrived the male host was lovely. We were sat early (because I always show up to a reservation early) and then we waited almost a half an hour for the one waitress there to come and help. It was fine. I can understand they are understaffed and busy. But then the food, it was also just fine. It was decent but not great. Like a lot of things in the UK, it's understated and seasoned. My husband had the pappardelle and my two children and I had the flat iron steak. His pasta had zero flavor. It was a cream based sauce. It needed more salt. As for the steak, it was fine. It was cooked well. Mine was medium rare and the kids both had medium. It was also not seasoned well. However the steak was served with a dipping sauce (a garlic sauce, a peppercorn or lemon mint). We tried all three since we had three steaks and those were all good and kept the steak from being bland. On the plate were chips (fries), which were not salted well but we had the dipping sauces. Also on the plate was plain arugula and a couple on the vine cherry tomatoes. Nothing spectacular. The waitress didn't come back once the entire time we were eating. Overall, it just wasn't worth it for the money we paid.

    Photos
    The Devil's Advocate - Whiskey flight tastings

    Whiskey flight tastings

    The Devil's Advocate - Fish Filet

    Fish Filet

    The Devil's Advocate - Double Shot with Dalmore 12, kahula, espresso shot, and Demerara.

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    Double Shot with Dalmore 12, kahula, espresso shot, and Demerara.

    The White Hart Inn

    The White Hart Inn

    3.9(113 reviews)
    0.4 miGrassmarket, 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.

    Photos
    The White Hart Inn
    The White Hart Inn
    The White Hart Inn - Cozy place

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    Cozy place

    Queens Arms

    Queens Arms

    4.4(115 reviews)
    0.1 miNew Town
    ££

    Bar staff friendly and timely. Carrie (bartender) served us 2 nights in a row. So good we came back…read more2 time on our two night stay. Didn't wait long for drink in a very busy bar. Food was also good, veg were perfectly warmed, not over seasoned and crisp. Exactly how I like them. Food was a Lil pricey. But a great experience overall. Highly recommend.

    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.

    Photos
    Queens Arms
    Queens Arms
    Queens Arms - Wellington upfront and Mac and Cheese in the back

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    Wellington upfront and Mac and Cheese in the back

    The Kenilworth - pubs - Updated July 2026

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