Civerinos pizza counter and bar on Hunter Square in Edinburgh Old Town, opened 2016, an all-Italian cocktail and amaro programme beside the slice counter, open.
Food program: Pizza by the slice
Tip: Slice plus a negroni at the counter is the local move after midnight; the cocktail menu changes monthly.
Address: 5 Hunter Square, Edinburgh EH1 1QW
The Witchery bar in Boswell's Court at the top of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, opened 1979, a heritage candlelit room pouring cocktails and an extensive wine.
Signature drink: Whisky-cream Witchery (house cocktail)
Food: Full Scottish menu
Tip: Ask for The Secret Garden, the second dining room down the stairs; the candle-lit version of the experience.
The Bow Bar on West Bow in Edinburgh Old Town, opened in the 1860s and refurbished in the 1990s as a classic Scottish pub, with 250 single malt whiskies and 8.
Signature drink: A dram of Highland Park 12 and a pint of cask Belhaven
Food: Bar snacks (pies, crisps)
Tip: No cocktails, no music, no kids. Cask ale list rotates daily; ask the bar what is on tonight.
The Devil's Advocate in Advocate's Close off the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, opened 2013 in a former Victorian pump house, a stone-walled whisky and cocktail bar.
Signature drink: Smoke and Mirrors (peated whisky cocktail)
Food: Modern Scottish small plates
Tip: Find the bar by going down the steep close from the High Street; the street-level entrance is unmarked.
Fishers Bistro on The Shore in Leith Edinburgh, opened 1991 in a former 1700s signal tower, a seafood bar serving native oysters and Edinburgh Gin.
Signature drink: G and T with Edinburgh Gin
Food: Seafood small plates
Tip: Bar counter takes walk-ins; the upstairs dining room books out at weekends but the bar is the better seat anyway.
The Witchery bar in Boswell's Court at the top of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, opened 1979, a heritage candlelit room pouring cocktails and an extensive wine.
Signature drink: Whisky-cream Witchery (house cocktail)
Food: Full Scottish menu
Tip: Ask for The Secret Garden, the second dining room down the stairs; the candle-lit version of the experience.
The Caley Picture House on Lothian Road in Edinburgh, a JD Wetherspoon pub in the grade-B listed 1923 Caley cinema building, serving budget cask ales.
Signature drink: Cask ales and budget whisky
Food: Full Wetherspoon kitchen including pies and stovies
Tip: The listed art-deco interior is worth seeing regardless of the Wetherspoon context; look up at the original plasterwork.
The Bow Bar on West Bow in Edinburgh Old Town, opened in the 1860s and refurbished in the 1990s as a classic Scottish pub, with 250 single malt whiskies and 8.
Signature drink: A dram of Highland Park 12 and a pint of cask Belhaven
Food: Bar snacks (pies, crisps)
Tip: No cocktails, no music, no kids. Cask ale list rotates daily; ask the bar what is on tonight.
Iain McPherson's Panda and Sons on Queen Street in Edinburgh New Town, opened 2013, a speakeasy cocktail bar in a basement disguised as a barber-shop entrance.
Signature drink: Bourbon and Earl Grey Old Fashioned
Food: Bar snacks and small plates
Tip: Enter through the barber-shop door at street level. Bookings open 30 days ahead; cocktail menu changes seasonally.
The Devil's Advocate in Advocate's Close off the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, opened 2013 in a former Victorian pump house, a stone-walled whisky and cocktail bar.
Signature drink: Smoke and Mirrors (peated whisky cocktail)
Food: Modern Scottish small plates
Tip: Find the bar by going down the steep close from the High Street; the street-level entrance is unmarked.
