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.
Food program: Full Scottish menu
Tip: Ask for The Secret Garden, the second dining room down the stairs; the candle-lit version of the experience.
Address: Boswell's Court, 352 Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NF
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.
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.
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society in The Vaults on Giles Street in Leith, opened 1983, the world reference for single-cask whisky with a members bar and tasting room.
Signature drink: Single-cask whisky by the dram
Food: Scottish small plates
Tip: Non-members can buy a day pass for GBP 15 and bring a guest; ask at the door. The Queen Street branch is the New Town sibling.
Stuart McCluskey's Hoot the Redeemer on Hanover Street in Edinburgh New Town, opened 2014, a funfair-themed basement cocktail bar with slushie machines.
Signature drink: Slushie cocktails (frozen Margarita, Pina Colada)
Food: Bar snacks (corn dogs, popcorn, doughnuts)
Tip: The slushie cocktail menu is the volume play; this is a sit-down classic cocktail bar in disguise. Bookings recommended.
