The Best Hidden Bars of Edinburgh

Behind barbershop mirrors, beneath bookshops, down unmarked stairwells — the capital’s finest drinks are rarely found on the first try.

Edinburgh has always kept secrets close — it’s a city built on closes, wynds and cellars that hide as much as they reveal. That instinct carries straight through to how it drinks. Some of the best bars in town don’t bother with a sign. You’ll find them behind a barber’s chair, beneath a fortune teller’s table, or through a door that looks, quite deliberately, like nothing at all.

This is a guide to twelve of those places: the speakeasies, the subterranean cocktail dens, the rooms you only find because someone who lives here told you where to look. Bring cash for the odd door charge, book ahead on weekends, and don’t tell too many people — that’s rather the point.

In This Guide
1. Panda & Sons
2. Bramble Bar & Lounge
3. Hoot The Redeemer
4. Bryant & Mack
5. The Last Word Saloon
6. Lucky Liquor Co
7. João’s Place
8. The Bon Vivant
9. The Devil’s Advocate
10. Copper Blossom
11. Heads & Tales
12. The Voodoo Rooms

01
Panda & Sons
New TownQueen StreetCocktails
The bar that started Edinburgh’s modern speakeasy obsession, and still the one everyone else is measured against. From the street it’s a vintage barbershop — chairs, mirrors, the lot. Ask nicely and a section of bookshelf swings open onto a cavernous, low-lit basement bar with a serious cocktail programme, including sub-zero freezing techniques you won’t see used many other places in the city.

Know before you go: This is the hardest reservation on the list. Book well ahead for weekends, or try your luck walking in on a quiet weeknight.

02
Bramble Bar & Lounge
New TownQueen StreetCocktails
Slip down an unmarked stairwell on Queen Street and you’ll land in one of the city’s most enduringly loved basement bars. Bramble is softer and cosier than its speakeasy neighbours — think low light, worn leather armchairs and alcoves built for conversations you’d rather no one overheard. The cocktail list changes seasonally, but the unhurried, low-hum atmosphere never does.

03
Hoot The Redeemer
New TownHanover StreetCocktails & Beer
From the same team behind Panda & Sons, Hoot The Redeemer sits in the cellar of a Hanover Street townhouse and commits fully to its 1950s New Orleans funfair theme — a fortune-telling machine at the door, free popcorn, and a slushie machine doing double duty for cocktails. The beer and cider list is proudly all-Scottish, running through the likes of Pilot, Stewart Brewing and Thistly Cross.

Good for: A livelier, less hushed alternative to the classic speakeasy formula — better suited to groups than a quiet tête-à-tête.

04
Bryant & Mack
New TownRose StreetCocktails
Disguised as a private detective agency amid Rose Street’s cluster of old-fashioned gastropubs, Bryant & Mack leans hard into its noir premise — filing cabinets, case files and the low, conspiratorial murmur of a room where everyone seems to be keeping a secret. The cocktail menu plays along, arranged like evidence files rather than a standard drinks list.

05
The Last Word Saloon
StockbridgeSt Stephen StreetCocktails & Whisky
A short stumble down some steps on St Stephen Street brings you into The Last Word — a vintage, low-lit saloon from the same team behind Bramble, pouring cocktails and single malts to a soundtrack of quiet jazz. It’s a genuine local favourite, tucked well away from the Old Town’s tourist trail, and often the one regulars name as their actual go-to rather than their tip for visitors.

06
Lucky Liquor Co
New TownCocktails
Smaller and more playful than most on this list, Lucky Liquor Co trades speakeasy theatrics for laid-back creativity — an intimate room where the focus stays squarely on inventive, well-made drinks rather than a concept to perform. A good choice when you want the quality of a hidden bar without the queue or the door policy.

07
João’s Place
St James Quarter11th Floor, W EdinburghCocktails
Every bar on this list hides below street level except this one. Perched on the 11th floor of the W Edinburgh in St James Quarter, João’s Place takes its name and its warmth from São Paulo’s Liberdade neighbourhood, pairing skyline views across the city with cocktails built around Brazilian flavours. A rare hidden bar where the reveal, when the lift doors open, is the view rather than the room.

Staying near the Old or New Town?

Book central Edinburgh accommodation within easy walking distance of every bar on this list.

08
The Bon Vivant
New TownThistle StreetCocktails & Small Plates
Tucked down Thistle Street, The Bon Vivant pairs a continental, relaxed atmosphere with thoughtful small plates and a serious cocktail and champagne list. It’s less about a hidden door and more about a room that quietly rewards those who bother to find Thistle Street in the first place — one of New Town’s most pleasant, and least signposted, drinking streets.

09
The Devil’s Advocate
Old TownAdvocate’s CloseWhisky & Cocktails
Hidden down one of the Old Town’s steep, cobbled closes off the Royal Mile, The Devil’s Advocate occupies a handsome former Victorian pump house and pairs an outstanding whisky list with confident, spirit-forward cocktails. The close itself is easy to walk past entirely, which is exactly why locals prefer it to the bars sitting in plain sight up on the Mile.

10
Copper Blossom
New TownGeorge StreetCocktails
Slotted discreetly into George Street’s run of grander, louder venues, Copper Blossom is easy to walk straight past — until someone opens the door and you catch the low light and hum of conversation inside. It’s the kind of find that tends to happen by accident, which is precisely how the best hidden bars still work in a city as thoroughly mapped as this one.

11
Heads & Tales
New TownCocktails & Whisky
A gin-and-whisky-forward hidden bar with a strong following among locals who take their spirits seriously. The room favours atmosphere over spectacle — dim, snug and built for settling in rather than passing through, with a drinks list deep enough to reward a second and third visit.

12
The Voodoo Rooms
New TownWest Register StreetCocktails & Live Music
Above the Café Royal near St Andrew Square, The Voodoo Rooms occupies a grand, ornate function room that most passers-by never realise is there. By night it shifts between cocktail bar and live music venue, with a programme of gigs and club nights that makes it one of the better hidden spots for an evening that runs later than planned.

Before You Go

-Book ahead for the big names. Panda & Sons and Bramble both get busy Thursday through Saturday — a table booked a few days out saves a wasted trip.

-Most are cash-and-card friendly, but a few smaller spots run card-only or have a modest door charge on weekend nights after 10pm.

-New Town clusters well. Panda & Sons, Bramble, Hoot The Redeemer, Bryant & Mack, The Bon Vivant, Heads & Tales and The Voodoo Rooms all sit within a fifteen-minute walk of one another — a natural route for a bar crawl.

-Dress code is generally relaxed, smart-casual is safe everywhere on this list.

-Fancy a guided route instead of finding them yourself? Small-group cocktail and speakeasy tours run regularly through the New Town and Old Town.