The Black Cat in Edinburgh, City of

Cozy pub with a large selection of beers

Was wonderful to participate in our first pub quiz (and not coming in plumb last). The bar food was good (esp the chicken wings) and the IPAs were superb. The pub quiz was really fun and we hope to take part in one again soon!

met the love of my life here and had to walk away like nothing happened... excellent bar!

Friendly bar staff and good music

Friendly and serviceminded staff. They made really good recommendations. I was lucky to be here whilst they had live music - great atmosphere

Typical pub with an above-average whiskey menu! Tastings are possible at any time, the number and selection of whiskeys is absolutely outstanding and definitely superior to other pubs in the city!

The Pub you must visit in Edinburgh! Splendid live music, beer and sharing dishes perfect for spending happy moments. Also suitable for couples and families! &…Pets friendly! Congratulations Black Cat!!!!! 🏴 sven

All time classic pub located on rose street.

Small pub, but they do say good things come in small packages! Very busy on a match day but a great atmosphere and vibe. Friendly staff and locals. 2 handpumps, both local breweries and very good. TV for the rugby too, loved it

A true gem. Great atmosphere, friendly staff and fantastic Whisky. The best part was the musicians playing folk music and making this a truly amazing experience.

Lovely traditional pub with normal prices for Scotland

Set in a picturesque narrow alley with a cobblestone street, the atmosphere is lovely. The service was excellent.

A corker. One of Edinburgh's must visit bars. Knowledgeable, friendly staff and the nights when musicians come in and just riff make it an Edinburgh delight 👌🤗

Some of most amazing experiences in my life. There were maybe around 20 guests and 14 musicians playing their folk music. Staff was very friendly and quite good whisky collection and cask stout was perfect

Sunday afternoon and most amazing folk music!

Good beer, excellent staff and good live music. Quite pricey though

We had a lovely time having a few drinks sitting at the bar. Robbie and Kaitlyn were really lovely and gave great recommendations for our weekend here. Thank you guys!

Great vibe in the pub, love the folk music that was being played

I dare say it's one of the best in Edinburgh! The music is wonderful! Comfortable place but arrive early because it is very crowded and disputed. 1000000/10000000000000

The staff was very unhelpful. We wanted to have lunch there, but we were unpleasantly told that they only serve food in the evening. We were really looking forward to visiting this place, but the unpleasant staff ruined the experience for us. We are unable to rate the drinks or food because we left after this unpleasant encounter.

To be honest I visited for the hype of the reviews but left disappointed. The bar has cramped seating, the bartenders were stale and the drinks were overpriced. Must've caught them on a bad night

It was hard choosing my favourite pub in Edinburgh, however I’ve got to hand it to The Black Cat. Not only is it located on one of Edinburgh’s prettiest streets [Rose Street] it has a fantastic range of whiskies [one of the largest collections in New Town] and has all the fixtures of a classy, traditional Scottish pub. They also have live traditional Scottish folk music some nights.

Liked the relaxed atmosphere and choice of music.

Very quiet but we were in really early. Nice little bar. The staff member behind the bar was lovely. I hope you have a safe journey to New Zealand

Authentic boozer with local music

Unfortunately, the first time I tried to stop here I had to turn back - there were no more free places. That's actually a good sign. So I stopped by again 1.5 hours later and was lucky. After a few Leith Juice beers (how strong can a beer actually be?!) a group of three started playing Irish folk. Simply wonderful!

Good Whisky range poor Staff behaviour...

Nice little bar with live music

Called in the afternoon and booked a table for the evening. Great easy going atmosphere. Loved all the black cat art work!

The atmosphere is fantastic, but the bartenders are a mess. The girl didn’t know what she was doing and the guy was a real jerk

All good, staff, atmosphere, service.

Love this place! Great traditional ales

Great staff and atmosphere. Live music certain times of the week.

Great little pub on Rose street.

Very cozy. Nice old musicians playing traditional jigs. Good local options on tap.

Lovely pub with a live set by a local jamming reggae.

Updating my review. Staff are very unfriendly and prices have shot through the roof. Advise going somewhere else. Used to rate this pub highly.

Great pub! Many whiskeys to choose! Friendly and helpful staff! A+

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 👌.

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!

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.

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

Friendly and knowledgeable staff, good atmosphere. Keep it up

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.

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

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

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.

Perfect pub. Love music and good drinks

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