Places to eat and drink near Pleasance Courtyard
We've rounded up the top spots to grab a bite or a pint in between Fringe shows
Bars
The Abbey Whisky Bar
65 South Clerk Street
With up to 700 whiskies on the back bar, including a selection of their own single-cask bottlings, The Abbey is a fine place for a dram. Or enhance your whisky knowledge with a flight, curated by region, age, decade or distillery, or grouped by blend or grain; the possibilities are endless.
The Burrow
19 Blackfriars Street
This gorgeous bar still feels like a bit of a secret thanks to its basement location below pizza spot 3 Blind Mice. The cocktail menu is well-designed and there’s enough of a whisky list to make things interesting, while the art deco styling and bluesy soundtrack make it worth a second round. Also, the loos are lush.
The Dog House
18–24 Clerk Street
This quirky and LGBTQ+ friendly bar has been adored by generations of Edinburgh students. There’s always a plant-based pop-up residency in the kitchen (right now it’s vegan chippy The Happy Fish) and the bric-a-brac décor means there’s always something to look at. All that, before we even start on the £5 Spicy Margs…
Edinburgh Gin Distillery Bar
Arch 16, The Arches, East Market Street
A slick, bright bar right on the back doorstep of Waverley Station. Edinburgh Gin Distillery’s bar has a strong cocktail list but it’s all about the martini here: have it made to your own spec or try one of their many serves. Their fabby rooftop is a particular draw on sunny days.
The Holyrood 9A
9a Holyrood Road
At The Holyrood 9A, beers from five top Scottish breweries are on tap, with interesting global options on rotation including cult summer sipper Lonkero. Big two-handed burgers keep you well-fed as well as watered, and it’s one of those places that works equally well for a quick bite, making a night of it or a swift half before a show.
Tipsy Midgie
67 St Leonard’s Hill
Colin Hinds’ reimagination of the typical whisky bar conveys all the fascination of the water of life without the, well, nonsense. You can be as structured or as loose as you like: book a tasting, work your way through a flight or simply ask for a recommendation. Their Midnight Treats Fringe events sound fun too.
Cafes & quick bites
Edinburgh Larder
15 Blackfriars Street
This Old Town stalwart has been setting the good folk of Edinburgh up for the day for over 15 years now, with an all-day breakfast menu that’s the stuff of legend. Lunch is along the lines of sandwiches and soup but both menus are unswervingly focused on Scottish produce. We’ll take an extra tattie scone, please.
Gorse
207 Pleasance
This cute-as-a-button café and bakery takes its cues from Northern Ireland and is building up quite the cult following. Unusually, the savoury choices here are as good, if not better, than the sweet options, like their Tayto-inspired pastry and soda farls. Belfast’s Established Coffee is in the hopper.
Ikigai Ramen
29–30 South Bridge
It’s always worth trying to grab a table here, especially when the east wind howls down the Bridges so hard that you can’t feel your fingers. Yep, keeping warm is a year-round occupation in Edinburgh: cue Ikigai’s specialities of huge, steaming bowls of tonkotsu or tantanmen with a brilliantly spicy kick.
Kampong Ah Lee
28 Clerk Street
Kampong Ah Lee is a busy little place where you can grab flavour-packed Malaysian food. The chicken satay is drowning in sauce and spicy bowls of laksa warm the back of the throat. Order a cooling bottle of Tiger beer or BYOB. Fun, fast and casual.
Noodles Home
14a Nicolson Street
The interior is functional, there’s absolutely no Insta feed and you’ll need to pay cash, but the abruptly served bowl of hand-ripped noodles here might be the best of your life. Thick, flat noodles glistening with salty-sweet sauce, egg noodles sopping in soupy bowls; it’s all good.
Piggs
276 Canongate
Piggs offers an excellent selection of wine and traditional tapas dishes to share. Charcuterie boards of serrano ham, black pudding and manchego cheese are piled high and there’s a sausage, eggs and chips dish that is sure to fill you up. The staff are unfailingly friendly; there’s also a second branch in Bruntsfield if you’re up that way.
Santu Coffee Bar
126 Canongate
Skip the chains: Santu Coffee serves a super-fresh brew in this achingly cool café. Beans are sourced from Brazil, there’s bossa nova on the record player and the coffee machine is sunshine-yellow, adding a touch of exotic colour to the Canongate.
Tapas3
6–8 Howden Street
Ditch the Pleasance hubbub for some calm at this tucked-away tapas bar. Head for classics like chorizo in red wine or more adventurous dishes like crisp tempura aubergine with sticky sugarcane treacle. The sharing aspect (and sangria) makes this a solid choice for larger groups.
Restaurants
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The Black Grape
240 Canongate
Sleek and sophisticated, this wine bar is where Scottish produce like sea trout and wild mushrooms is crafted into a delectable selection of sharing dishes, accompanied by a varied and delightfully affordable wine list. Their cocktails are worth talking about too.
Macau Kitchen
93 St Leonard’s Street
This is Scotland’s only Macanese restaurant, a unique cuisine created in the former Portuguese colony of Macau that blends Chinese, Goan and Malaysian influences. Expect fascinating and well-flavoured dishes such as crisp coconut duck or sweet-sour-spicy squid. Corkage is reasonable.
Mother India’s Café
3–5 Infirmary Street
One of Edinburgh’s OG Indian restaurants, Mother India’s dishes come out tapas-style so it’s great for sharers and groups. It’s not fancy and it’s always busy (there may well be a queue, but it moves fast). The food is great: paneer dosa is light and crisp, spiced haddock is oven baked and tender, and chana dhal is beautifully aromatic.
Solti
10 Drummond Street
Go Nepalese at Solti where highlights include Himalayan specialities like tangy Hamali hot pot. Dishes aren’t just tasty, they’re pretty too, like mango sorbet adorned with edible flowers and samosa chaat dotted with pomegranate seeds. And there are plenty of crowd-pleasers, like butter chicken and a fiery rogan josh. Inventive cocktails are also worth a pic or two.
Soul Vegan
46 West Richmond Street
This tiny vegan Malaysian spot is just a hop, skip and jump from Pleasance Courtyard so be sure to book if you’re slotting food around a show. With links to long-time fave Kampong Ah Lee, the menu ticks all the comfort-food boxes with giant bowls of laksa or hearty katsu curries.
Tuk Tuk Indian Street Food
16 Drummond Street
The spicing is solid at both Tuk Tuk branches (the original is in Tollcross) and their tiffin set lunch is bargainous, filling and reliably tasty. But when it comes to groups this place really shines, thanks to a generous BYOB policy and family-style set menu (hardly any decisions needed). It’s roomy and the staff are good-natured.
Wedgwood The Restaurant
267 Canongate
Paul and Lisa Wedgwood have been looking after people for almost two decades now, and it shows in every little detail. Never fussy or overly formal, yet always special, Wedgwood exemplifies Scottish hospitality: fabulous ingredients (often foraged), treated gently and served in a room full of heart. Restorative, in other words.
White Horse Oyster & Seafood Bar
266 Canongate
A compelling Fringe-adjacent option that works for cocktails and fresh oysters, a combo meal of small plates or splashing out on a hot shellfish platter. The décor is simple and sleek, with dishes to match: think buttermilk cod, hake ceviche and crab scotch egg.