The Black Cat in Edinburgh, City of

The Black Cat is the place to go if you want to feel the heart and soul of Edinburgh. A bar that welcomes all and gives you that 'local' vibe. They are also an amazing Whisky bar, sporting an impressive array of whiskies across most of the wall behind the bar. The bar staff are friendly, chatty and can help you pick out a whisky based on your tastes. There is also entertainment on specific days ranging from live music to quizzes. Generally not too busy, but on the weekends it can get pretty full. They have food but it's not its forte, the kitchen is a very small area next to the bar. They can feed you in a pinch but this is not really a food place. Overall definitely a 5/5, this place is worth a visit!

Do this over a distillery tour and just a nice place. I would reccomend visiting the black cat over a distillery tour, we ordered two boards/flights of whisky for £20 each. (Distillery tours are £30 per head) We asked Ben sat with us and explained the regions, processes and profiles of each whisky in a casual but informed experience. The live band was great and guniness well kept and poured. Highly recommended 👌.

We had 2 whisky tasting boards and Ben talked us through it. He was great, very knowledgeable. Brilliant atmosphere!

Fun pub to grab some pints. Quick service, lively atmosphere. Went during trivia night, had a wonderful time

We just had a drink but was a great place and atmosphere 🍻

It could have been so beautiful. Rain outside, inside a great selection of beer and whiskey, cheerful service, funny. A clear map that you can't really go wrong with and yet it's still a success. In a shockingly impressive way. The ham and cheese is tough as leather, the fries are dry, the wings are smothered in crumbly breading. Conclusion: come drink and dance, but eat at home.

It's a good place for a nice wee dram. There's a lot of good Whiskys and also a very nice staff.

Nice little Pub with lovely Staff

Great whiskey tastings. Local and with fantastic folklore stories.

I dipped into this place on a Friday afternoon back in March '24. The guys were so welcoming and gave me a crash course on whiskey. I've never been fond of it, but they found me a brand that I actually loved. Really appreciate the hospitality and the chicken wings were awesome!

Most probably my favourite bar in Edinburgh. Everything is top notch

A very sociable bar. We went there for a few drinks. The staff behind the counter are very friendly and the ambience fits perfectly with the name "The black cat". We'd love to come back.

Super friendly staff who spent 5 minutes with us talking through the whiskey flight. Good portion sizes on the haggis balls too and spicy sauce was a great accompaniment.

Great selection of whisky...shame about the rude and immature staff...

What a find. Stumbled across this, excellent pub by chance, and we're glad we did. Live folk music on our first visit, and a wonderfully eclectic playlist playing the next. Whisky selection is second to none. Good beers excellent atmosphere. Highly recommended.

Service was extremely poor. Staff took a phone call instead of serving, stood talking rather than clear tables, nothing particularly welcoming.

Good bar at the end of popular Rose Street. I stopped in and wanted to grab a flight as there were a lot of recommendations in previous reviews. Unfortunately the bartender told me they weren't doing flights. They did provide a recommendation, so I grabbed a quick dram and headed down the street for a flight elsewhere.

Cool spot, friendly staff and good music.

Great friendly bar with good selection of beer and whiskys!

I'd like to second the previous reviewer on here, the fish and chips are amazing, the best in Edinburgh! Something that you should definitely try if you are ever nearby.

Super delicious food. Strongly recommend.

Friendly and knowledgeable staff, good atmosphere. Keep it up

Good Scottish music. Service was unfortunately slow and the bar was too busy

No cats, false advertising 5/5 for everything else

A wonderfully beautiful atmosphere.

Nice place mid Edinburgh. Try their whisky flights.

A great, chill spot to enjoy a drink with friends!

Lots of good beer and whiskies. Particularly great when there is live music!

Great pub with a fabulous whisky selection and very helpful staff. Absolutely stop here when you're in the area.

Very quiet place with a good atmosphere to have a drink, chill out with a wide variety of drinks: beers, teas, etc.

Super nice atmosphere with musicians! The waitress behind the bar is smiling and pleasant.

Ceilidh was ongoing. It was very nice. This is a very small pub but the people are nice and the ambiente is fabulois

I really love this place. The staff is extremely well informed about whiskey and happy to share their wealth of knowledge. I found so many great whiskeys that I had never tried.

Excellent bar with great staff.

Such a cozy atmosphere with tasty beer and whisky options, moreover you would enjoy your night while listening live music.

Little gem of a pub. Two changing beers and a kind of industrial Goth decor. Can get quite busy. Still a good pub, but lowered my rating as it is a bit on the expensive side now.

Small and cosy, live music , fun times

Spent a Sunday afternoon here listening to live folk music. Loved it!

Awesome Pub. Great staff and solid whisky selection. Great spot.

Nice atmosphere and live music.

Great place if you’re interested in your whiskies/ just general nice chat. The bartender on, Robbie, was particularly good. Deserves a raise!

My absolutely favourite place in Edinburgh, very knowledgeable staff and great variety of whisky. I recommend this place to anyone who likes whisky and other alcohol beverages 😜

Perfect casual place for Scottish whiskey introduction. Our whiskey flight (bartender’s choice) came with his wonderful exposition on the history and characteristics of the whiskey selection.

Huge selection of whiskies from across Scotland's famous regions, served by knowledgeable bartenders and real candles on the tables! Great atmosphere and location as well

The staff is extremely knowledgeable about scotch and can help you with a different selection of whiskeys to taste.

Brilliant jam session on a Thursday night.

Very small, one-room pub on Rose Street; the mirror covering the back wall makes it look bigger. Relaxed atmosphere, good real ales, a nice place for an early evening drink.

Local bar with good selection of whisky. You can’t leave Edinburgh without visiting one of the local pubs / bars with a shot of whisky. This bar - you can take under 5 child. We took our daughter there and they even have babyccino! My husband ordered a Smokey whisky while he ordered a light one for me. The pub did get busier around 6pm 7pm so make sure you get there in time on weekends

We arrived quite like to the place, so we could not eat, I cannot rate the food, but the place was very authentic, a worthy ending to our 1 week trip in Scotland :-) there was live music played by locals and the drinks were great. The whole vibe was really cool! Good experience

Good live music on Rose Street in Edinburgh

Scottish pub with a lot of drink-possibilities to choose from, good ambience, good people. Self service

Wanted a simple lunch and this certainly suited that. The menu for lunch was simple, either soup with a toastie or toastie and chips. The soup was tomato and nice. The chips were crispy and nice. Only thing lacking was the service. Nic wig you what something light and a simple drink.

The bartenders were nice and a good selection of drinks, if not a bit extortionate at £5.40 minimum. It's any wonder how students don't drink out as much.

Great little pub in the new town of Edinburgh. Worth seeking out.

Stopped off here for a nice pint 😀

The place was very well decorated, the only thing I didn't like was the service of the waiter who didn't serve the table, and the entire time we were there he didn't bother to clean the table that had glasses from the previous customers.

Scotch when you come to Scotland! So, even though I'm not good with alcohol, three 60's mature women decided to try a whiskey flight. The 3 types were chosen in a hurry and were delicious! I thoroughly enjoyed it. The bartender, his selection and explanations, were excellent.

2 well kept cask ales on. Friendly staff and atmosphere. Huge selection of spirits behind the bar

Nice pub, there is also live Scottish music inside. Drank whisky and local beer inside. Lovely and not expensive

A lovely old pub with a fantastic atmosphere. It was very busy on a Thursday night, we weren't able to get a seat but we stayed a while as we thoroughly enjoyed the live music.

Great we pub with mismatch tables and chairs but that's what makes it Great service

Perfect pub. Love music and good drinks

Visit for drinks. Atmosphere it was good and barman was helpful.

Lovely independent pub in Rose Street! Super cozy; the service was friendly and the prices were fair. One of my favorite pubs in the city!

I spent 2 excellent evenings between a traditional music concert and tasting many whiskeys! The staff gives very good advice and the atmosphere is great, I will come back! :)

Very cute bartender! Great music!

So cosy, lovely atmosphere, perfect Guinness, cute bartenders

The Black Cat is the ideal place to go for a quiet pint or two with some friends. The atmosphere is relaxed and cosy, and the staff are friendly and very welcoming. To be clear though, this is a pub, not an actual cat. A few people have clearly arrived and been disappointed that they were not served drinks by adorable black kittens dressed as bar staff. While I agree that it would be lovely, they have quite sensibly gone for human staff because 1) humans are far more likely to listen to your order and give you it and 2) cats would absolutely knock pints off the edge of the bar the moment you weren't looking. If you can get over that initial misconception then the Black Cat is somewhere I'd happily recommend.

Ci siamo fermati in questo locale mentre percorrevano la rosé street , ambiente cupo da dall’esterno ci sembrava quello più adatto rispetto a quelli che avevamo già superato. Ci siamo presi una birra prima di tornare in hotel. Ambiente informale un po’ alternativo, poche luci ma dalla temperatura calda. Se non ceni si ordina al bancone da bere. Siamo riusciti a prendere l’ultima bustina di chips per accompagnare le birre.

Posto molto bello, la ragazza ci ha consigliato che cosa bere ed era tutto molto buono

Been for a few drinks. The place was busy at the time. Live music the atmosphere was perfect for a Sunday afternoon

As someone who would not usually leave a review, I was compelled to. Bryony and Lloyd, what can I say... They poured me a Guinness and oh my god was it a Guinness. Not only that they have whisky and they know. Professionally speaking they are actual bartenders. They pour the drinks, they charge for the drinks, they can describe the drinks, they know what they are doing and I like that about them. Lots of stars!

We did a whisky flight and really liked it. The waitress was very nice and knowledgeable.

Always handy to have a bar of this quality opening at 11:00 am if you want a break from shopping and try a cask ale from one of the smaller Scottish breweries. There’s even a January Sale on so what are you waiting for❓

Characterful pub in the centre of Edinburgh, serving a variety of whisky. Black sambuca all round!

While the staff are extremely knowledgeable and friendly, the lack of a whiskey menu is a problem. You have no idea of either the selection or the price, which I found quite frustrating. No menu also makes ordering whiskey take longer than necessary.

Very cosy little pub with the genuine look and atmosphere.

Friendly bartenders! Loved the cozy vibe. Their kitchen was closed so they allowed food from outside.

Great pub ! Great selection of whiskies, pizzas are good. The bartender seems very knowledgeable about whiskies and provides great advices for you to try those less famous ones. Great atmosphere in this pub. They stayed open later on Xmas night than others on Roses' street.

Popped in to try The Black Cat's Hot Spiced Rum as advertised on chalk board. I thought it was going to be hotter, more luke warm but I like it, going to try and recreate at home. Nice wee cosy pub with friendly staff and customers.

This bar was recommended to me for its whiskey flights and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Really good service and knowledge on whiskey. Tell them what you like and they will pick out 3 whiskeys for your flight. I will be back next time I’m in Edinburgh.

Had a great evening in here with the live music. Would recommend!

Great pub with a good selection of draft beer and buzzing atmosphere

Nice little pub with a decent selection of drinks and a good atmosphere.

The atmosphere and service was brilliant in the black cat. We only called in for a swift half and left 4 hours later. Brilliant.

Great whiskey bar. Often have a folk music playing.

Was really busy but managed to get a seat plus it was my birthday so I got a drink thank you

Superb range of drams, and lovely surroundings.

Pretentious staff confusing the pubs location with Chelsea.

Just a good spot for s quiet drink in city centre

Pub típico escocés, fuera de las zonas turísticas concurridas. Gran ambiente y tuvimos la suerte de tener música escocesa en vivo. La actuación fue a las 5pm y era domingo.

Didn't eat here, but the bar staff were good and chatty.

Great whisky flight experience!

Stopped by for a drink, ended up visiting night after night when we stayed in Edinburgh. Cosy and tastefully decorated indoor space, great music, expert staff on whisky. Proper Guinness. Ideal to have a peaceful and fun night, central but far away from chaos. I will go for at least a drink when I visit Edinburgh again. Ideal for small friend groups and dates.

Enjoyed a few whiskeys and bar snacks. Great live music Sunday afternoon! Knowledgeable staff was very helpful in recommending a whiskey to try. Lovely, cozy spot!

Superlieve mensen, heel gastvrij. Geweldige tips gekregen voor pubs en restaurants

Ho scelto questo pub, tra le decine presenti in zona, perché è uno dei pochi che offre musica tradizionale scozzese dal vivo. Non sono rimasta delusa. I gestori poi sono ragazzi giovani e alla mano, sempre gentili. Collezione di whisky invidiabile. Ci si può anche mangiare qualcosa di semplice se si ha fame, o uno snack a poco da sgranocchiare mentre si beve. Luci soffuse e atmosfera rilassata. Unica pecca è che essendo uno dei pochi locali aperti fino a tardi, e di capienza ridotta, dopo le 22 tende a riempirsi e a diventare piuttosto rumoroso.

One of my favs in Edinburgh. Excellent craft beers

Good drinks, friendly service 😁

Good beer, excellent staff and actually good live music — like Take the Floor, but you're actually there