Bow is the shit. Ok, the historic dispensation system doesn’t really deliver the best pint, but the selection is large and ever-rotating. The whisky list is killer. The atmosphere is brilliant, historic. A must-visit in Edinburgh. Eat at Oink across the street.

An excellent little pub, rather authentic with efficient service and a solid selection of 8 casks. More English beers than most amongst the pack, you’ll have to look elsewhere for rarer scottish specimen, but with its central location, it’s a must in Edinburgh.

The rack of whiskeys is so alluring here, it’s hard not to stare. I don’t even think the back bar is stocked with anything else but whiskey. They basically replace the standard row of commercial spirits with a proud selection of single malts. As for beer...on our first visit the ales were not in great condition unfortunately. But that was mid-week during the day when turnover was probably bad. Returned during the weekend and all were in good shape and several of the taps had changed in a matter of days. The weekend crowd was fun, but certainly not a young or beautiful crowd. They have a decent bottle selection too. Oh! If you like pulled pork sandwiches there is a great little sandwich shop across the street called Oink! Only open during the day but it’s awesome. This whole little area is cute.

In this basic, long and narrow pub room you will find 8 cask ales (mostly British in my 2 visits) with lots of seasonals and some rarities. The place is pretty quiet as it can’t hold that many people, but it greatly lacks atmosphere, which is why I wouldn’t see myself spending a full evening here. If you are a beer geek though, you will get enough real ales to keep you busy for a few hours, and as a visitor to Edinburgh, you will pass through the nearby Grassmarket, so why not pass by and see what’s being served? I’ve only been twice so far, and was rewarded with great selections (Dark Star, Ossett, Harviestoun, etc.) of well-tendered ales both times.

Impossible not to admire this lovely pub. Interesting cask range, awesome whisky selection and brilliant staff. Popular with locals and visitors alike. Crackin’.

Not really what You can call a "cozy" pub, but a quite authentic bar with a large selection of cask ales (and whiskys); in summer they there’s an annual beer-festival with a fine selection of scottish (and english) ales. For those tourists, who don’t like these gorgeous british ales, three czech lagers (Urquell, Dark Budvar and Staropramen) are offered regularly. Na zdravi !

Visited at lunchtime on Saturday 8th Decemeber ’12. Medium sized single room venue, bar to the left as you enter. 8 cask, largely scottish micros including Tryst, Stweart and Hghland Brewing Co on my visit, nearly always one or two English offerings as well. Place was pretty busy so we stood by the bar. Service was prompt and we never had to wait. Have visited the Bow many times, classic trad bar and a must on a visit to the Burgh!

8 casks. Lots of bottles. Cozy small pub. Reasonable prices. Nice location. Friendly service. I guess that’s all and that’s also what it takes.

Stylish and characterful real ale and whisky pub near the National Library. Excellent selection and fast rotation of seven cask ales, served by classic Scottish air pressure dispense. The real ales are often from smaller and independent breweries. At one of my visits I found Brewdog Punk IPA on cask. Has also got a big selection of Scottish malts. They certainly know how to handle ale and whisky at this one roomed pub. Definitely one of the very best for beer drinking in Edinburgh. Last visited 12.11.2008 with Finn and a few other Norwegians.

Traditional single-room freehouse pub located in old-town Edinburgh. Lots of interesting Scottish micros on cask and a few token Northern English. The bottle selection is compact, but well-chosen. If you like whisky this is also a great place to visit. Really enjoyed it until it started to get very busy, but then again is was a Saturday. Prompt and friendly service. An Edinburgh must-visit.