Pubs & bars and Budget
- Valvona & Crolla VinCaffé
Classic Italian cooking using the finest ingredients and a tasting list of over 50 wines by the glass - The Tea Rooms at The Butterfly and the Pig
City centre gem serving Afternoon Tea, High Tea, cakes & delights - Lebowskis
Lebowskis offers you some of the very best food Scotland has! - Black sparrow
Black Sparrow offers traditional pub food and wide ranged drink list
Bennets of Morningside
1 Maxwell Street,
Edinburgh,
EH10 5FT
Not to be confused with the establishment of the same name located on Leven Street, this Bennets Bar is to be found on Maxwell Street in Morningside. With the same owners as The Cumberland Bar, Bennets is another very traditional pub specialising in…
Booly Mardy's
28 Vinicombe Street,
Glasgow,
G12 8BE
Attracting the West End’s young professionals is a tough task thanks to the multitude of slick bars in the area, but Booly Mardys appears to have cracked the formula. Teeming with patrons at the weekends, the bar prides itself on the quality of its…
Boudoir Wine Bar
Merchant Square, Candleriggs,
Glasgow,
G1 1LE
It might be easy for a Glaswegian to look at Boudoir and think 'Nah, not for me'. With its purple, flouncy, feminine appearance it looks perhaps out of place and might be better suited to Paris than the Merchant City. But it would be a mistake to pass…
Brel
39–43 Ashton Lane,
Glasgow,
G12 8SG
Brel's become a West End fixture not just for its European-influenced food and drink but for a certain relaxed continental vibe giving it a rare sophistication so close to the university. The back beer-garden fills up on sunny days and also offers a…
Café Royal Circle Bar
19 West Register Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 2AA
There are a few pubs that claim to be true Edinburgh institutions, but the Café Royal, which has been trading under the same name since 1863, surely deserves a place in the pantheon of the capital’s classics. Diners and drinkers alike are drawn to the…
Cathedral House Hotel
28–32 Cathedral Square,
Glasgow,
G4 0XA
Taking up the ground floor of an ancient-looking building across from the Necropolis and Cathedral, and close to Strathclyde University, it's no surprise that this bright and spacious bar is popular with tourists and students. A mezzanine provides a…
Church on the Hill
16 Algie Street,
Glasgow,
G41 3DJ
For someone who’s never seen it before, the Church on the Hill is pretty stunning – a refurbished church that looks like the Parthenon in Greece, facing on to Queen’s Park. It really is a lovely venue, and very popular with a cross-section of…
Clark & Sons
14 Busby Road, Clarkston Toll,
Glasgow,
G76 7XL
Located in the deep south of Clarkston, Clarke & Sons is a spacious, relaxed venue with a sort of ‘executive airport lounge’ feel, that garners a heavy following both as a bar and eaterie. It’s not cheap, but dishes have a touch of extravagance, and…
Criterion
568 Dumbarton Road,
Glasgow,
G11 6RH
Half old traditional Partick café, half hipster hangout, The Criterion is slightly more bar-oriented than its next door neighbour and sister establishment Velvet Elvis. But it's just as eccentric in terms of fixtures and fittings, with its shelves…
Guilty Lily
284 Bonnington Road,
Edinburgh,
EH6 5BE
From the rockabilly music coming over the speakers to the ‘50s movie posters and cheesecake burlesque shots decorating the walls, Guilty Lily proves to be a bar of welcoming and slightly saucy character. Its success as a local boozer has been built on…
Hard Rock Café
20 George Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 2PF
Some restaurants are all about the expectation game. Launched in London over 40 years ago, the Hard Rock has since exported its rather cookie cutter approach all over the world, but should you go in expecting generous portions of decent, if rather…
Kay’s Bar
39 Jamaica Street,
Edinburgh,
EH3 6HF
This pocket-sized pub, squirreled away among the New Town’s cobbles, is the perfect place for whiling away an afternoon with the papers and a pint. Refreshingly unpretentious, it offers a window into the pre-wine-bar world, with a focus on real ales and…
Mrs Forman's Bar & Kitchen
2 Ravensheugh Road,
Musselburgh,
East Lothian,
EH21 7PP
Mrs Forman's Inn may have been established in 1822 on the edge of Musselburgh’s Golf Course (officially recognised as the oldest golf course in the world) but the latest management team have only just taken the reigns. The menu at this husband and wife…
Nice'n'Sleazy
421 Sauchiehall Street,
Glasgow,
G2 3LG
Sleazy’s is a legend in this town, a must-visit for indie kids and elder statesmen of the music/arts scene, and its shabby interior can be forgiven, such is the atmosphere. Be it organic cider, white Russians or Buckfast, your tastes are catered for. In…
Revolution
30a Chambers Street,
Edinburgh,
EH1 1HU
In the heart of Edinburgh University’s busy student zone in Chamber Street you will find what years ago was the Edinburgh Dental Hospital. Today there are happier reasons for opening your mouth wide and more sociable anaesthetics. Revolution, the 60+ UK…
The 78
10–14 Kelvinhaugh Street,
Glasgow,
G3 8NU
This charming laid-back café/bar has the feel of a country house – set incongruously just off Argyle Street. A long bar dominates the rustically informal room with a line of aged wooden tables, an open fireplace and comfy armchairs hogging its large…
Slouch
203–205 Bath Street,
Glasgow,
G2 4HZ
With classic rock icons on wall and stereo, Slouch is unashamed in where its musical heart lies: a sort of Hard Rock Café without the cheesiness. The dining section, separate from the bar, soaks up the atmosphere but allows some space to enjoy your…
Slumdog Bar & Kitchen
410 Sauchiehall Street,
Glasgow,
G2 3JD
Cocktails and curry seem somewhat incongruous, but when you taste the rose-flavoured Slumdog Millionaire, it remarkably works. Slumdog bar and kitchen, on Sauchiehall Street's student/teens strip, is more reminiscent of a style bar than an Indian…
Traverse Bar Café
10 Cambridge Street,
Edinburgh,
EH1 2ED
As one of Edinburgh’s most popular art hubs, the Traverse Theatre has long been a firm favourite – and the attached café-bar plays its part in that enduring appeal. Families are made welcome day and night, thanks to the café being kid-friendly until…
Vroni's Wine & Champagne Bar
47 West Nile Street,
Glasgow,
G1 2PT
An institution for 30 to 40-somethings since 1995, dark wood and deep green leather seating dominate the bar’s interior, making for a warming setting in which to explore an excellent wine range. With 40 to choose from, including nine champagnes, Vroni’s…
Waxy O'Connor's
44 West George Street,
Glasgow,
G2 1DH
The first thing you notice on entering Waxy O’Connor's is the sheer size of it. The different rooms and levels make it possible to find a cosy nook even when the pub is busy. Added to this, the wood interior gives a reassuringly traditional feel for an…
Dukes Bar
41 Old Dumbarton Road,
Glasgow,
G3 8RD
Newly opened in 2011, refurbished by the same crew that fitted Epicures and BrewDog, Dukes Bar could easily win awards on style alone. There’s a pleasing reclaimed chic with exposed brickwork and vintage tiling, the booths being particularly well…
The Golf Tavern
5 Links Road,
Earlsferry,
Fife,
KY9 1AW
Don’t be fooled by the Golf Tavern’s quaint village pub-like exterior, for beyond the bar lies a substantial restaurant serving quality food to rival any regular pub grub. It’s affectionately known by locals as the '19th Hole’ given its proximity to the…
iso-bar
7 Bernard Street,
Edinburgh,
EH6 6PW
In a location more useful to locals than those after destination dining and drinking, Leith’s iso-bar has long since deservedly outstripped the era of the style bar with an attention to detail that’s best exemplified by the food. Chef and co-owner Allan…
St Louis Cafe Bar
734 Dumbarton Road,
Glasgow,
G11 7RD
This family-run café-bar originally opened as just a café, but as its evening popularity grew so did its modest menu. The venue is as welcoming as a good friend’s living room with Klimt prints, fairy lights wrapped around pillars and an aged wooden…




