Edinburgh

[Whodrankmytea]

I'm having a short break in Edinburgh with my adult son soon and after advice on must do places to go and any restaurants/bars/pubs to go to. Arthur's Seat and the Castle are definitely on our list and we've booked a free walking tour. Places to eat - we're looking for anywhere a bit different but not overly expensive (but any recommendations would be appreciated) and the same with bars/pubs. And if there are any with music maybe for some evening entertainment.....Our accommodation is in the West End if it makes any difference but it's only a short walk from the centre. Many thanks.

I’ve not been but someone was recommending to me the other day Munas Ethiopian restaurant at Tolcross which would fit the bill of a bit different. You’d have to walk 15 minutes up from the West End or jump on the bus. So many places to eat though! Music wise I can’t claim to have been out that recently but there are the folk pubs Sandy Bells, the Royal Oak, usually entertaining, and pubs like Bannermans and Stramash on the Cowgate have bands. That area can get quite raucous at the weekend.

Brewhemia is great for food, atmosphere & entertainment. You need to book though.

Alot of pubs in the grassmarket is good for live music at weekends.

The mash bar is lovely and different for food (lots of unusual and different flavours of mash!).

What about a gin or whisky tasting experience- there are lots.

Ghost tours are great at night, particularly the Vaults one.

Chaopayra has amazing views - Thai. Again you must book.

Also in the St James Quarter at the other end of Princes St is Ka Pow which is fusion between Scottish and Thai food, mid range price for Edinburgh but very nice and again, a bit different. Also at St James is Bonnie and Wild food court with lots of options and there is another food court near by - Edinburgh Street Food.

Yes I was going to say also a ghost tour woth a tour of the vaults is fun and genuinely quite scary although I am a wuss.

I always like the camera obscura too and had a lot of fun at the Edinburgh Dungeon recently having never been before. You do get a bit of history as well as the jump scares. Edinburgh is such a macabre city!

Thanks for the replies - I've added a few places to my list and some eating places I would not have investigated.

Very casual but Cold Townhouse in the grassmarket for Pizza and amazing views from the roof bar

If you want a quirky museum, there is a pathology museum.
https://museum.rcsed.ac.uk/

The national musuem is free and massive. I spent 2 days there because there was so much to see and do.
www.nms.ac.uk/national-museum-of-scotland/

If you're staying at the West End then Whigham's Wine Cellar and Ghillie Dhu are a "bit different" for a drink. The food in Whigham's used to be ok too.
Panda & Sons is also a bit different for drinks or cocktails.
Definitely Brewhemia
Voodoo Rooms and Cafe Royal pubs
Most of old pubs along the Royal Mile are nice inside. Whiski Bar used to do decent food and the staff were always quite knowledgeable about whisky if you fancy tasting some. Or they do some whisky flights on their menu. They often have music on in an evening. The Whiski Rooms (same company) is a more formal restaurant and they have tutored tasting sessions.
Holyrood 9A bar also used to have music on some nights.
You can also walk down into Stockbridge from the West End.....Hector's, Stockbridge Tap, The Raeburn, Rag Doll bar, The Baillie Bar are all good pubs.

Highly recommend that you stroll along to Dean bridge and take the cobbled road that dips down into the Dean village...from there you can walk along the water of Leith to Stockbridge and beyond (its a ravine), lovely!

the cobbled road that dips down into the Dean village - Bell's Brae!

Thanks @Yolo12345 and @MiddleAgedDread for clarifying the best way to see Dean Village and Stockbridge - I've added this to my list.

Note that there's not actually a village as such at Dean Village, it's just a section of the Water of Leith with some nice old buildings. It's where people used to have to wade across the river before they built Dean Bridge. It's a nice walk under the bridge and down into Stockbridge though.

Book the castle ASAP. Been to Edinburgh three times now and I've not been able to book a few days in advance because it's been booked up. You would think I would have learnt the first time!

Oh thanks @KarateSchnitzel I never imaged it would get booked in advance!

I went with my adult sons a couple of months ago. Definitely prebook the Castle.
We all enjoyed the one-hour tour of Holyrood distillery, despite not knowing anything about whisky or being drinkers of it...3 tastings and around £20 each.
We ran out of time but had been hoping to do a tour of the Vaults.
The Beehive on Grassmarket was good for pub food and friendly.
We only had 2 full days there (and the weather wasn't the best) and are definitely going back, as so much more to do - and the buildings are beautiful.

Bonnie and Wild in the St James Centre is great for food, it’s just casual not fancy.

The Museum of Scotland is well worth a trip - so much to see there.

The Botanics are nice for a wander if you have a wee hour or two to kill.

The Surgeons Hall is very interesting (but gruesome!) if you have time. There’s also Dynamic Earth which is down by Parliament but I haven’t been for a while.

Forgot....The real Mary Kings Close is near the Castle and might appeal?

@Internetwanderer Thanks - just looking at the Distillery now - which tour did you do? (not whisky drinkers either but might be an idea)

I enjoyed taking the tram all the way to Newhaven, had a lovely walk around and excellent fish and chips.

Hi, I've just looked on their site...it was the Distillery tour, 1 hour 3 tastings (1 was of their gin). It's down as £25 pp.
(But I've also spotted another at £29pp that seems focused purely on whisky with 4 tastings)..Definitely do an actual tour not just tastings in the bar. You can always stay on after, or arrive early... their bar had a menu of approx 60 lesser known whiskies, all with flavour descriptions and they were really friendly.

There is also a chocolate tour near the castle if more your thing!

Dynamic earth is well worth it if you are interested in planets, space, volcanoes...the part about the Voyager expedition is absolutely amazing

Pop over to the Royal Yacht at Leith. DH enjoyed the engine room and staff quarters. I loved seeing the royals quarters.

I adore Edinburgh, you cant go wrong. A few years ago I dragged my other half up there for nearly a week because I wanted to see the Ray Harryhausen exhibition, I know it's a bit niche but I never ask for anything so I cashed in my holiday requests!
Boy was it good, and the national portrait gallery was so good, we actually looked up property prices because we wanted to go back regularly. I still think moving to Edinburgh would be cool.
I love getting the train up it feels like a real train journey like in Harry Potter or Agatha Christie. It's the opposite of my London commute.