Pubs & bars

1,159 places

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The King's Wark

36 The Shore, Edinburgh, EH6 6QU

With a history dating back to 1432, this is one of Leith’s most venerable buildings. Although it has only been in its present guise for a comparatively short 22 years, its stone walls, hardwood floorboards, open fire and dark wooden furniture lend it an…

The Polo Lounge

84 Wilson Street, Glasgow, G1 1UZ

Home

80 Albion Street, Glasgow, G1 1NY

Chinaski's

239 North Street, Glasgow, G3 7DL

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.

Hemma

75 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, EH8 8AE

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…

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Broadcast

427 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3LG

Closed in 2012, the Captain's Rest is much missed, as a bar and especially as a gig venue. But its effective successor Broadcast – situated much more centrally, practically eyeball-to-eyeball with nearest rival Nice 'n' Sleazy – promises to be just as…

The Blackbird

37-39 Leven Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9LH

The orange bicycle riding high above the door would tell anyone who has been away from Leven Street for a while that the Auld Toll is no more and The Blackbird has taken flight. This gastro-influenced bar has a bright, contemporary interior which…

The Espy

62–64 Bath Street, Portobello, Edinburgh, EH15 1HF

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…

Hyde Out

2 Fountainbridge Square, Edinburgh, EH3 9QB

Hyde Out is somewhat less demure than its name suggests. Located by the canal terminus at Edinburgh Quay, it took over from the old Embark with a splash of publicity and a blizzard of blingin’ style in the autumn of 2010, providing a reinvigorating if…

Pivo Pivo

15 Waterloo Street, Glasgow, G2 6AY

Pivo Pivo is a cutting edge live music venue in the heart of Glasgow, home to both emerging and established home-grown talent as well as touring acts from further afield. Live music shakes the walls seven nights a week, all genres catered for and…

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The Vintage

60 Henderson Street, Edinburgh, EH6 6DE

Styling itself almost innocuously as a craft beer bar and kitchen, The Vintage is surely one of the most exciting things to have happened on Edinburgh’s food and drink scene in 2013. Based in premises near the Shore (previously occupied by Café Fish)…

The Cloisters

26 Brougham Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9JH

Beer is now the only religion left in Cloisters: a dark sanctum of guest cask ales, and a shrine to craft beer bottles from Alloa to Australia. And lo, all else was sacrificed to the holy trinity of malt, yeast and hops. Once the token, no-nonsense pies…

The Clutha Vaults

167–169 Stockwell Street, Glasgow, G1 4SP

Hosting live music five nights a week, predominantly acoustic and folky, but with a smattering of rock'n'roll, the Clutha Vaults is a dark, low-ceilinged, traditional Clydeside boozer that's relaxing of an afternoon but gets densely packed on weekend…

The Hanging Bat

133 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9AB

The Hanging Bat might sit on Lothian Road, but inside is a frontier of beer and hotdogs, like a trendy, wild but sumptuous cabin, somewhere smoky and spicy in the American south. A gilt-framed blackboard charts 20 innovative, ever-changing British beers…

Nice'n'Sleazy

421 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3LG

Sleazy’s, as the city’s hipsters so fondly call it, is a Glasgow institution as far as music/arts venues go, and among those rarities with a 3am licence all week. The interior may feel like a well-worn leather jacket, dragged through the bowels of…

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Wee Red Bar

Edinburgh College of Art, Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9DF

The Basement Bar and Restaurant

10–12a Broughton Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3RH

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…

Life Shoreditch

The Old Truman Brewery, 152c Brick Lane, London, E1 6RU

Situated on East London’s iconic Brick Lane, L!FE is an exclusive space with a unique offer; there is nowhere else in London where, food, yoga and music sit side by side. Spread over three luxury floors, L!FE offers over 32 different styles of hot…

The Art School

The Beresford Building, 468 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3LW

While The Glasgow School of Art is renovated, the union has made its home here in the Beresford building. It’s suitably scruffed up –- creative doodles on the wall, candle-lit tables, and lots of students (though all are welcome). There’s a friendly…

Favorit

19–20 Teviot Place, Edinburgh, EH1 2QZ
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La Sal

6–8 Howden Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9LH

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…

The Kilderkin

67 Canongate, Edinburgh, EH8 8BT

From its location to its choice of pizza toppings, Kilderkin is slightly odd but pretty great. Initial impressions are of a slightly dodgy boozer, with its dim lighting, basic decor and unprepossessing exterior. Inside, however, you’ll find one of…

The Roxy 171

171 Great Western Road, Glasgow, G4 9AW

Now firmly established after its rebirth from the Liquid Ship, this revamped bar is ideal for weekend and post-work socialising. The menu is a considered improvement on the predecessor's which felt like an afterthought – now there are even cheese and…

The Ventoux

2 Brougham Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9JH

There’s something surreal about The Ventoux, which makes it a splendid bar in which to hang out. At first, the theme seems bafflingly random, until, in the middle of your smoked German beer and pickled egg, the centime drops. Premièrement, it’s named…

The Compass Bar

44 Queen Charlotte Street, Edinburgh, EH6 7EX

Prepare to be swept away by one of the best looking bars in Leith – and it's got stiff competition – because Compass is designed for dramatic effect, with two rooms opened out into one high-ceilinged corner unit, with blood-red walls, a bit of foliage…