Catherine and Emma’s Fantabulous Guide to Edinburgh Bars, Restaurants, Clubs & Comedy Clubs

Well after reading this you’ll think we’re always in bars, but it’s not true. Over the years we’ve been to a few so we thought we’d share some favourites with you.

• 84 Queen Street
  Bar/Restaurant
  Nice, quiet starter bar. Chilled out with live background, easy-listening music.
• All Bar One – Festival Square or George Street
  Bar/Restaurant
  Good atmosphere. Fairly reasonable bottle of wine. Good food – George St food is better than Festival Square. Ample seating.
• Bar 38 – George Street
  Bar
  Lively bar with plenty of seating. Toilets have communal wash-hand basin.
  Music fairly loud, current hits, etc.
• Bar Kohl – George IV Bridge
  Bar
  Quite dark. Really good vodka bar. Fab cocktails – fairly cheap.
• Beluga – Chambers Street
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  Bar/Restaurant
  Mainly for drinks. Restaurant is overpriced for what you get. Good dancing. Mixture of music. Think it’s free to get in.
• Browns – George Street
  Restaurant with small bar
  Really good food. Don’t take bookings for tables but get there between 7 and 8pm and you shouldn’t have to queue for long. Seats in bar area whilst waiting. Cocktails good too!
• Centotre – George Street
  Restaurant
  Italian. Nice fresh pasta dishes. Mainly restaurant not really for drinking in.
• Candy Bar (in basement) – George Street
  Bar/Restaurant
  Lively, trendy bar. More of a lunch place than for evening meal.
• Citrus Club – Grindlay Street
  Basement club
  70s and 80s rock music on a Friday night. More recent stuff on a Saturday.
  Quite good night.
• Espionage – Victoria Street
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  Club
  DON’T GO!!! Dodgy. Lots of slimey guys – so good point might be that it’s VERY easy to pull – although possibly not the right type of guy! Free to get in.
• Grand Cru – Hanover Street (upstairs)
  Bar
  Fairly trendy and lively bar with good snacks and cocktails.
• Izzi – Lothian Road
  Excellent Chinese/Japanese restaurant
  Reasonably priced. Friendly staff.
• Jekyll & Hyde – Hanover Street
  Bar
  Cheap and cheerful gothic-style bar.
• Jimmy Chungs – Grindlay Street or Waverley Bridge
  Chinese Buffet Restaurant
  £11.99 – eat as much as you can.
• Jongleurs – Omni Centre, Leith Street
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  Comedy Club
  www.jongleurs.com
  £7-£12 per show. Usually Friday and Saturday nights only.
• Muang Thai – Hanover Street
  Restaurant
  Quite a small restaurant, but excellent food. Take note of the warnings on the menu – if it says it’s hot, it really is burny hot!
• Opal Lounge (in basement) – George Street
  Bar/Restaurant
  Fairly trendy bar. Excellent cocktails (takes a while to make them but worth waiting for). May have to pay to get in later on, but happy hour is between 5 and 8pm so best to go then. Good snacks available.
• Privi Council – Hanover Street (in basement)
  Bar
  Bit dark, but normally has good drinks offers on. Play music, but can’t remember what type – usually tipsy by this point.
• Rick’s – Frederick Street
  Bar/Restaurant
  Trendy, upmarket. Bit expensive bar, but nice cocktails.
• The Grape – George Street/St Andrew’s Square
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  Bar/Restaurant
  A bit more expensive. Nice atmosphere. Plenty seats. Bar through back is better than front – less smoky and more sofas. Food is good too.
• The Jam House – Queen Street
  Bar/Restaurant
  Free to get in before 10pm - £5 after that. Live bands start at 9pm. Good for food and dancing. Not too expensive.
• The Living Room – George Street
  Bar/Restaurant
  Stylish cocktail bar with restaurant – really good food. Need to phone to book table at weekends. Live pianist in cocktail bar.
• The Outsider – George IV Bridge
  Restaurant
  Really good food – excellent reputation. Fairly expensive – should probably book table in advance.
• The Villager – George IV Bridge
  Bar (maybe restaurant as well)
  Really nice, trendy bar. Good wine and cocktails. Quite expensive
• Theatre Royale – Leith Street (next to Playhouse) back to top
  Pub
  Cheap and cheerful. Regular pub grub. Happy hour up to 7pm. £5 for bottle of wine.
• The Stand Comedy Club – York Place (Continuation of Queen Street)
  Comedy Club
  www.thestand.co.uk
  £7 - £12 ish. Doors open at 7.30pm..Cheap food on offer too – reasonably tasty. (Spag Bol, home-made burgers, etc – usually a choice of three things). Gives you something to do between 7.30 and 9pm. Best to get there early or on time as there is usually a queue to get in and seats are first-come, first-served.
• Tiles – St Andrew’s Sq/South St David’s Street
  Bar
  Busy bar – bar takes up centre of room. Tables round the sides. Better in the summer when you can drink outside.
• Tonic – Castle Street
  Bar
  Small but good for cocktails.
• Why Not? – George Street (under The Dome)
  Club
  Trendy nightclub – free before 11pm (£7 after 11pm). Mixture of recent and past hits.

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