Pubs & bars, Outdoor dining

Meaning ‘home’ in Swedish, Hemma is the latest addition to Mike and Anna Christopherson’s string of Scandinavian style bars. And with its soft furnishings and quirky interiors, it does indeed have a laidback, homely atmosphere, despite the modern feel…

Floor-shaking stamping, plaintive strains of Spanish guitar and passionate cries of ‘ole!’ might well accompany your meal at La Sal, thanks to regular performances from Alba Flamenca, the dance school next door to the restaurant. Formerly known as El…

Happy birthday to the Traverse Theatre. In 2013 the venue celebrates its Golden Jubilee and to mark the occasion its fondly regarded basement bar/cafe has an updated menu. Fried sea bass with crushed new potatoes, or tagliatelle with mushrooms…

Located in an old tobacco merchant’s house on the periphery of the Merchant City, Babbity Bowster is a pleasantly secluded place for a drink and some good food, particularly in the beer garden if the sun is shining on this evocative street. Babbity…

Taking inspiration from New Orlean’s ‘Holy Trinity’ Cajun cooking, this American-themed venue has a combined focus on soul food, music and cocktails. Divided bar/lounge style, with one area focused on food the other on drinks, with décor that may feel…

Given its neon signage and the staff’s long-standing penchant for Hawaiian shirts, the Basement has never been a byword for subtlety and sophistication, but instead is a slightly ironic slice of Miami teleported into a Scottish cellar. It’s clearly a…

The Black Sparrow attracts sophisticated patrons to its ornate and über cool abode. It has an old-fashioned bourbon bar look, with smoochy jazz/ambient beats mellowing the airwaves. It’s actually quite romantic. Dark burgundy leather studded booths…

Zinc tables, novelty spirits behind the bar, walls papered with banknotes and postcards from around the globe: at first glance Brutti Ma Buoni has all the trappings of a travellers’ bar rather than a traditional bistro. But it would be a shame to miss…

Patrons here live it up while the bar’s inspiration Charles Bukowski looks disdainfully down from a portrait on the wall. Mind you, even the hedonistic Buk would have struggled to work his way through the extensive range of quality rums and bourbons.

Recently acquired by the company behind city-centre boozers the Abbotsford and the Guildford Arms, the Cumberland Bar falls into the same category of old-fashioned Edinburgh pubs that enjoy a sense of character even without having been tampered with in…

Until recently called the Ivy, Distill's new name hasn't changed it from being a haunt for the hip, with a young cool crowd attracted to a fashionable part of the city. The range of rums is the widest in Scotland and the house rum is the excellent…

Lying eight miles south-west of Inverness, the tiny village of Dores boasts the very popular Dores Inn. Housed in a small white-washed cottage that still retains many of its original features, the bar is small and sparsely decorated but the restaurant…

This genuine neighbourhood bar is simple and minimal in its approach. Windows on two sides let in plenty of light, or highlight the goings on of the quiet street beyond, and the original brick walls are unadorned and unaltered. A compact menu offers…

There’s a laidback, Australian vibe to the Esplanade – the ‘Espy’ – bar and bistro on Portobello’s beachfront, with its cheery service, beer, burgers, live music and comedy, and tables overlooking, okay, not the Indian Ocean, but the Firth of Forth to…

Beer and burgers are the main draw at Holyood 9a, and both are worth a trip to this corner of the Old Town. A selection of 11 beers is permanently on draught and, combined with another 10 rotational pumps, constitutes one of Edinburgh’s best selections…

The Left Bank has a truly varied clientele; from families to students and even the odd dog. Chunky wooden tables, big glass windows and a smattering of fairy lights make it feel warm and intimate both downstairs or on the mezzanine. Thanks to a cracking…