Taking the ‘bar’ exam — Touring 11 of Edinburgh's wonderful law-themed pubs

Scotland’s capital city is awash with pubs that have legal connections. Drinks writer Peter Ranscombe acts as our guide during a trawl through 11 famous examples.

The Advocate

Like the Tardis, it’s bigger on the inside. Once based in Dunbar, pub chain Belhaven is now part of East Anglian brewing giant Greene King, which explains the dull but reliable selection of beers on tap and draught. The cheapish and relatively cheerful food menu is surprisingly good for such a ubiquitous behemoth, and The Advocate makes a big play of being dog friendly – a useful selling point in the Old Town. Disappointingly few powdered wigs and white tabs on display from its clientele, although the novelty framed drawings help redress the balance.

Cloisters Bar

It’s not just about civil and criminal cases in Edinburgh – Cloisters in Tollcross does a mean line in canon law too. The bar is housed in neighbouring St Michael and All Saints Episcopal Church’s former parsonage. Just like the church building, the parsonage was designed by Robert Rowand Anderson, arguably best known for the Scottish National Portrait Gallery on Edinburgh’s Queen Street and the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow. One of Edinburgh’s great real ale pubs – and now home to Heavenly Scran’s macaroni cheese creations and chicken in a basket.

The Conan Doyle

Named after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – who created the original super sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, and was born just yards away – The Conan Doyle sits on a prominent spot, offering views down Leith Walk and Broughton Street, or up to the City Observatory atop Carlton Hill. Don’t be put off by the fact that it’s part of Nicolson’s – one of Mitchells & Butlers’ chains – there’s always local favourite Stewart Brewing on keg and often on draught. A Holmesian violin and magnifying glass are among the cheesy decorations.

Deacon Brodie’s Tavern

Faded brass panels inside this Royal Mile stalwart tell the story of Deacon Brodie, respectable cabinetmaker by day and notorious housebreaker by night. Hanged in 1788, he inspired Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Sitting opposite the High Court, Deacon Brodie’s is another pub in the Nicolson’s chain and so sports the same beers as The Conan Doyle, including the ever-excellent Stewart Brewing. Not for the faint-hearted during the crowded Fringe, but worth a look in a quieter moment.

The Devil’s Advocate

Nope, not named after the 1997 Keanu Reeves flick that borrows heavily from Milton’s Paradise Lost, but after the apprenticeship, or ‘devilling’, for wannabe advocates. The dream combination of a Bon Vivant Group bar in a Chris Stewart Group property redevelopment – a vaulted Victorian pump house on Advocate’s Close. We’re firmly in whisky territory here, with an excellent list. If you’re a walk-in on a busy night wanting fed, stay alert: in the past, I’ve been reassured I’m next in the queue but then forgotten about.

Hotel du Vin

Edinburgh’s – and, arguably, Scotland’s – most-notorious serial killers, Burke and Hare, murdered 16 people in 1828, selling the bodies to Professor Robert Knox’s anatomy school. Their notoriety is memorialised in a mural on the wall of one of Hotel du Vin’s meeting-cum-private-dining rooms. The hotel stands on the site of the Bedlam asylum, after which the neighbouring student theatre in a former Free Church building is named. Apropos its name, wine is the order of the day, with by-the-glass options including Clare Valley Riesling and Sicilian Nero d’Avola.

The Jolly Judge

Tucked away on James Court – one of the closes off the Lawnmarket, that bit of the Royal Mile that runs from George IV Bridge to Castlehill – The Jolly Judge is the very definition of a hidden gem. Independently owned, the pub pours beers from many of Scotland’s most exciting craft breweries, from Cromarty and Swannay to Newbarns and Tempest. Full-on tartan carpets and wooden beams add to the appeal for tourists, while the beer garden is a wee sun trap on summer days. Crimson robes are optional.

The Last Drop

Imagine someone took The Conan Doyle, squashed it under some brick arches in the Grassmarket. Et voilà – you have The Last Drop, named after one of Edinburgh’s gallows, which hosted its final execution in 1864. The tale of Burke and Hare is stencilled in black lettering against its whitewashed walls, beneath a framed hangman’s noose. It’s the third in Nicolson’s’ hat-trick on this list, but arguably the one with the most character. Outside tables lend a continental feel on dry days during the Fringe.

Maggie Dickson’s

Two doors down from The Last Drop sits Maggie Dickson’s, which commemorates the legend of ‘Half Hangit Maggie’, who survived being hanged in the Grassmarket in 1724 and lived for a further 40 years. Owned by Scotsman Hospitality – the group behind Edinburgh stalwarts including Biddy Mulligan’s and Ghillie Dhu – kegs rule over casks, but there are plenty of topping options to adorn the loaded fries and nachos. The complicated ordering restrictions for its tables out in the Grassmarket prove Edinburgh still has work to do on outdoor licensing.

The Oxford Bar

Hidden away on Young Street – one of the continuations of the New Town’s Thistle Street – The Oxford Bar was pulled kicking and screaming into the limelight by author Sir Ian Rankin when he turned the pub into the favoured drinking hole of his lead character, crusty detective John Rebus. Its old-world charm sometimes sits at odds with the never-ending parade of tartan noir fans taking photos under its sign, but the real ales mean it’s always worth elbowing your way through the throng to grab a pew.

Panda & Sons

Scotland may have only ever flirted with temperance rather than going in for full-blown Prohibition, but that hasn’t stopped the trend for 1930s-style American speakeasies. Cocktail fans enter Panda & Sons from a pretend barber’s shop at the Charlotte Square end of Queen Street, descending the stairs and then pulling open the false bookcase. Come for the cocktails, stay for the unbeatable ambiance and bonkers banter with the bartenders. As well as its regular cocktails, the bar also produces an ever-changing seasonal selection, each with its own creative story.