The 14 best cocktail bars in Edinburgh

Named Best Bar in Scotland in 2023, Hey Palu revolves around the Italian aperitivo style of drinking – chilled out enough to whet your appetite before a big meal. Expect amari, bitters and vermouths scattered throughout the menu, beautifully crafted cocktails like the White Strawberry Negroni and Golden Gimlet and top notch snacks like truffled pecorino, pasta dishes and affogato with your choice of Italian liqueur.

Address: 49 Bread St., EH3 9AH, Edinburgh 
Opening hours: Open daily, from 4pm-1am 
Expect to pay: £9-14 for glasses of wine and cocktails

Lucky Liquor Co is the sister venue to Bramble and the Last Word Saloon and another staple on the cocktail scene, thanks to the talented bunch behind the bar who make many of their own syrups and cordials. If you’re a regular, you’ll notice the cocktail menu changes season by season. The approach is experimental, the decor straightforward and if it wasn’t a permanent enterprise you could say the bar had the stripped-down appeal of a pop-up. 

Address: 39A Queen St., EH2 3NH, Edinburgh 
Opening hours: Open daily, from 4pm-1am
Expexct to pay: £8-12.50 for mocktails and cocktails

If you’ve been running Bramble successfully in Queen Street for six years or so and then the chance comes to open a second basement cocktail bar, but in Stockbridge, you’d give it a go, wouldn’t you? Much more of a neighbourhood venue than its stablemate, The Last Word has less of the twilight mystique of Bramble but feels more accessible, with friendly staff, a wall-mounted squirrel (modest by the standards of most hunting trophies) and no shortage of expertise in the mixology stakes.

Address: 44 St Stephen St., EH3 5AL, Edinburgh 
Opening hours: Open daily, from 4pm-1am
Expect to pay: £10-13.50 for cocktails, including the sensational Tam’s Margarita

Fresh on the scene is Little Capo, a neighbourhood bar open seven days a week that serves small plates, wine and - you guessed it - cocktails. Grab a seat at the softly lit, art-deco style bar, and enjoy a cocktail (or few) from their Italian-inspired list. Like the decor, the menu is a beautifully-balanced mix of the old and the new, featuring classics like the Grasshopper, arguably more of a pudding than a cocktail, alongside fresh amaro-based sours and showstopping low-and-no-alcohol creations. Why not get a plate of their zucchini fritte, while you’re at it? Drinks are walk-in only, but you can reserve a table if you fancy food, as well.

Address: 18 Howe Street, EH3 6TG, Edinburgh
Opening hours: Open daily, from noon-9.30pm 
Expect to pay: £10-12 for a cocktail

Once upon a time the discerning Edinburgh drinker saw cocktails as hideous blue things with umbrellas and sparklers, fit for immature palates and the weekend disco-mating crowd – or something that only popped up in old movies. However, back in 2006, Bramble sneaked onto the scene in this New Town basement: discreet, skilled, hip and staffed by enthusiasts. With its alcoves, distressed look, tea lights and relaxed speakeasy feel, it was a slow-burning hit and continues to impress as one of Edinburgh’s most favoured cocktail bars. 

Address: 16A Queen St., EH2 1JE, Edinburgh 
Opening hours: Open daily, from 4pm-1am
Expect to pay: £8-13.50 for cocktails

The Devil's Adocate arrived in 2013 and occupies one of the most atmospheric sites in the Old Town, on Advocate’s Close – a stepped, narrow thoroughfare that climbs from Cockburn Street to the High Street. It occupies a soaring old Victorian pump station and the interior has no shortage of space; the decor is all bare brick, beams and wood. Like the Bon Vivant mothership, it hardly looks like a cocktail bar at all – mainly because it’s not. Rather, it’s a modern bistro-bar with a decent food menu, a commendable selection of single malt Scotch whiskies – including the award-winning Ardbeg Uigeadail – but also a way with mixology that’s wholly dexterous and certainly worth seeking out. 

Address: 9 Advocate's Cl, EH1 1ND, Edinburgh 
Opening hours: Sunday to Thursday, from noon-midnight; and Friday and Saturday, from noon-1am
Expect to pay: £9.50-18 for cocktails 

Arriving in late 2013, Panda & Sons is a concept bar for cocktail connoisseurs. At street level, it presents as an American barber’s shop, while down in the basement, the basic makings of a Queen Street bar are all present – wood panelling, an old-fashioned look – with additional props and touches that can be quite a hoot if you’re in the mood: panda imagery, a bookshelf that doubles as a door, eccentric ornaments, plus a plaque that reads, ‘In 1832 on this spot nothing happened’.

Address:79 Queen St., EH2 4NF, Edinburgh 
Opening hours: Monday to Thursday, from 4pm-midnight; Friday, from 4pm-1am; Saturday, from 2pm-1am; and Sunday, from 3pm-midnight
Expect to pay: £8.50-16 for mocktails and cocktails

It would be easy to write Paradise Palms off as just another wacky student bar, but the vegetarian soul-food menu, eclectic events calendar and fun cocktail list make it a far more attractive proposition. The cocktail menu especially makes for happy browsing, starting with ‘tropical potions’ before moving through popular classics and some impressive mocktails. Try the Strawberry Buckfast Daiquiri for something extra special. 

Address: 41 Lothian St., EH1 1HB, Edinburgh 
Opening hours: Wednesday to Sunday, from noon-1am; and Monday and Tuesday, from 4pm-1am
Expect to pay: £6.50-15 for beers and cocktails

Perched above Princes Street with sweeping castle views and a whisky list deep enough to intimidate even seasoned experts, the 1820 Rooftop Bar, situated at the top of the Johnnie Walker Experience is a must for Edinburgh visitors. The cocktails lean playful rather than reverential,think fizzy whisky highballs spiked with berry, spice and smoke, while the staff are great at guiding newcomers through the world of Whiskey (without making it feel like homework.) Between the sunset panoramas, slick interiors and genuinely inventive serves, this is one of the few tourist-heavy bars in Edinburgh that still feels worth the splurge.

Address: 145 Princes St., Edinburgh EH2 4BL
Opening hours: Everyday 12pm-12am
Expect to pay: £10-16 for cocktails

Tucked just off Stockbridge’s main street, Crybaby is the kind of bar that feels like the afterparty you accidentally stumble into and end up staying at all night. There’s a scrappy retro charm to the place; neon lights, catchy tunes, baskets of gloriously messy chicken wings, and the playful cocktails match the vibe perfectly. The menu swerves Edinburgh’s more po-faced whisky bars in favour of quirky, punchy serves and late-night silliness in the best possible sense. Come for the cocktails, stay for the soundtrack and the dangerously easy “just one more round” atmosphere.

Address: 4-6 Dean St, EH4 1LW, Edinburgh 
Opening hours: Wednesday to Thursday, from 4pm-midnight; Friday, from noon-1am; Saturday, from 11am-1am; and Sunday, from 11am-11pm; closed Monday and Tuesday 
Expect to pay: £10-13 for cocktails

One of the bars that helped kick-start the local cocktail scene more than a decade ago, Dragonfly remains all things to all people. Budding Bukowskis can sit downstairs, while the more discreet drinker can take their cocktail up to a small balcony-style mezzanine. It’s not the city’s most glamorous cocktail venue, more like an old pub with a nightclub-ish makeover, and it does show its age.

Address: 52 West Port, EH1 2LD, Edinburgh 
Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday, and Sunday, from 4pm-1am; Saturday, from 2pm-am; closed Monday
Expect to pay: £6.50-10 for glasses of wine and cocktails

With a friendly staff that creates a real sense of welcome, Tonic, just off George Street, encases contemporary, non-flashy interior, and a commendable cocktail list. There’s logic and creativity here, and the mixology tends to be thoughtful but fun. It doesn’t take many people to fill this place, but if you catch it on some quiet late afternoon just after opening, or a midweek evening, it’s a chilled space for a quality drink.

Address: 34A N Castle St., EH2 3BN, Edinburgh 
Opening hours: Sunday to Friday, from 5pm-1am; and Saturday, from noon-1am
Expect to pay: £7-23 for mocktails and cocktails

The main bar of The Voodoo Rooms sits along one wall of a long dining room illuminated by high-arched Victorian windows which overlook its central side-street location. This first-floor bar is adorned in black and gold furnishings, with an elegant and interesting cocktail menu to match. With names like ‘Spice Up Your Life’ (chilli-infused Tapatío blanco, lime, agave, sumac salt) and Beet Sabre (Avallen calvados, Sipello gooseberry aperitif, beet cordial, cloudy apple, lemon zest foam) you’ll spend your evening being wowed by the staff’s intricate creations.

Address: 19a W Register St., EH2 2AA, Edinburgh 
Opening hours: Monday to Thursday, from 5pm-1am; Friday, from 3pm-1am; Saturday, from 1pm-1am; and Sunday, from 4pm-1am
Expect to pay: £6.50-17 for glasses of wine and cocktails

In the basement of the Rutland Hotel, at the west end of Princes Street, Heads & Tales was a 2014 debutante that took the current trend for all things gin and made it theirs. The decor is a little bit steampunk and there’s a gin micro-distillery on the premises making the Edinburgh Gin brand. There are gin masterclasses and you can design your own cocktail under the guidance of the bar staff. During the day, before the bar opens, there are also distillery tours. The house cocktail menu offers yet more gin-based wonders, but they do understand some drinkers might prefer a different spirit altogether, so juniper refuseniks can visit and still find something to suit. 

Address: 1a Rutland St., EH1 2AD, Edinburgh 
Opening hours: Tuesday to Thursday, and Sunday, from 5pm–1am; and Friday and Saturday, from 5pm-3am
Expect to pay: A consistent £11 for signature cocktails