The Albanach

An excellent place to stop and try whisky when in Edinburgh. The barstaff were knowledgeable about what to try and friendly. They’ve got beers and food as well, and it’s a traditional pub in that sense. I didn’t try the food so I can’t vouch for it, but the whisky and beers were great. It’s not a big place and it can get a little crowded with tourists, but it’s a good spot to step out of the rain and enjoy a dram of Scotland’s finest.

Fantastic pub on the Royal Mile, just down from Edinburgh Castle.
They have a huge selection of whisky, nearly 30, plus a choice of beers & cider.
A simple but full menu if you’re hungry. The soup & pulled-​pork sandwich are particularly good. Will need to come back to try more!
The staff are really what make a pub and this place is no exception!
Do yourself a favour and drop in.

When some of my coworkers and I decided to do an impromptu leaving-​do/​Thanksgiving/​pre-​Christmas meal, the Albanach snagged the prime position of venue for the evening. Despite my leeriness of venturing too close to the Royal Mile’s more touristy (and thus pricier) pubs and restaurants, the Albanach managed to impress me with solid food, decent service, and reasonable prices for the whole shebang.
Despite there being 8 of us piling in on a busy Friday night, the service was prompt and reasonably friendly – not quite the sort of personalized experience you’d perhaps receive in a nicer restaurant, but it was certainly a step up from your local old man pub. We were seated upon our arrival at a table pre-​loaded with Christmas crackers (score!) in a cozy but spacious dining area and drinks came out not long after. (Extra perk: the Albanach has a relatively sizeable whisky menu – double score for me!)
We’d already placed our orders ahead of time from the set menu, so that took care of a lot of the normal confusion that comes along with group dining. That sorted, the food when it arrived was surprisingly good – stuffed mushrooms as the starter, veggie tart with vegetables and sauce to drown them all in as the main for the veg-​heads, whereas enormous platters of turkey and steaks went around for the carnies. I didn’t hear much complaints out of the lot of them except, if anything, that there was too much meat to devour in one go! Considering there were a lot of happy plates going around, I’d say this wasn’t the worst complaint for the books!
All in all, the Albanach is a pretty decent joint if you’re in the area when push comes to shove. Certainly for the price I think you could do a lot worse in the vast majority of places in Edinburgh around the Christmas season, as we paid around 17 for two courses, fiver for reservations included. Not bad Albanach – you’ve won me over this round… perhaps I’ll make a return at some point for another dram in the future!

Light Lunch on a very Rainy day here in Edinburgh. The menu looked good and there was a fire. We have a booking for dinner so I opted for Cullen Sky and the wee cuz had Haggis Fritters with a whiskey sauce and salad. I a pint of Peroni and the wee cuz had the usual Rose Wine with sods.
The Cullen Skink was piping hot and very tasty a wee bit heavy on the potatoes and lacking in Fish but hit the spot. The wee cuz loved the Fritters we had thought of having a pudding but sadly no space left.

This was my first meal in Scotland and it was delicious! I really enjoyed the steak pie and the sticky toffee and date pudding!

We walked into this pub completely at random and what a great choice we made!
I ordered the Slow Roasted Lamb Shank which was cooked nicely. The lamb was juicy and flavorful.
The boy had the Rob Roy which was black pudding wrapped in a chicken boob wrapped in Scottish bacon. What a fantastic flavor combination!
Our waiter was amazing at giving us recommendations, being attentive, and he had a great personality!

A good spot to meet up with friends for drinks. Lots on offer, plenty of seating, and quick service. Yay!

Ein uriger Pub mit einer Riesenauswahl an Whiskies (ca 200 offene Flaschen). Es gibt unter anderem traditionelles schottisches Essen und die Möglichkeit, unterschiedliche «Whisky-​Menüs» zu ordern. Die Bedienungen sind sehr freundlich. Neben Single Malt gibt es auch eine recht große Auswahl an Bieren. Klare Empfehlung, ein Muss für jeden Whisky-​Liebhaber

The food was really, really delicious. My mom and I got the vegetarian cheese platter which came with a selection of three cheeses, a bunch of green and kalamata olives, a delicious chutney of se kind, bread, butter, and salad. There was lots of cheese, and lots of olives, they didn’t skimp. I also got a whiskey on the rocks just to try, and a coke– both were reasonably priced.
The one area that wasn’t great was the service– I don’t like to say this because everyone seemed quite nice but no one was very helpful! We couldn’t figure out how the seating worked, and I asked the guy behind the bar if we could sit anywhere. So we did… and no one came to help us. So we got up and moved to a different area and got service. We didn’t understand how it worked, it was obvious, and some direction would’ve been nice. Also the service was a little clumsy and no one seemed very knowledgable. I’m sure behind the bar they are but the waitresses were just kind of off. Really nice, but a little awkward. Overall, however, I’d go back.

For a bar that is right on the corner of the Royal Mile and Cockburn St (note: this is pronounced «co-​burn», but giggle away) this pub is both nice and Scottish, to make it appealing to tourists, but also laid back, got a great selection of whiskies and lots of wee nooks and window sill seats to sit at and enjoy a wee dram. I actually quite like it for just that purpose. I wouldn’t see it becoming a local boozer, but they’re whisky selection is superb. It was here I tried the Ardbeg Alligator, immediately fell in love, swore off all other whisky, went out to seek a bottle and then swiftly decided a £40 Talisker wasn’t so bad in comparison to the pricey little number the Alligator is. Don’t come cheap. Anyway, I digress. Go here for the whisky, find a nice seat, and just enjoy.

My first full Scottish breakfast was eaten at this location. Mainly because it seemed to be the likely place to go when I looked around a bit. Full Scottish breakfast complete with haggis and with a Glenmorangie hot toddy was perfect for a cold day. Huge amount of food for a reasonable price considering it’s located on the Royal Mile.
My wait person/​bartender was very knowledgeable about whisky. Seeing as I know less than nothing about whisky, it was nice to get the crash course in whisky.

A perfectly serviceable and cozy option on the Royal Mile. It’s inoffensive and the tourists will probably love it, as it’s stacked with Scottish feeling.
One niggle is the seating, which I always feel there isn’t enough of. The pub itself has a nice atmosphere, but the long galley style means that seating is stacked up against one side of the room and there’s not really all that many spots to pull up a pew.
However, it’s a friendly little place, and location-​wise is well oriented. Nice spot for a catch up with a friend.

Wasn’t a fan of the Fish & Chips. Can’t mess up a bottle of Innis & Gunn, so 3 stars for having a nice outside patio and enough room inside to house a crowd. Too many other pubs around to give this a second try.

We stopped in here post dinner for a drink. I had a champagne cocktail, sorry Scots, don’t hate me, I just can’t drink whisky, and certainly not straight with a bit of ice. People looked happy with their drinks though. Also the selection was vast.
I had a good time, despite not being a whisky drinker!

Every time someone visits me from a foreign country, I bring them here. Although it’s on the Royal Mile, this is anything but a tourist trap — the food is traditional, but delicious, and has a cozy atmosphere without too much tartan. I have never eaten anything bad here, but the venison sausages and the cranachan come highly recommended.
I’m not a whisky drinker — I hear their selection is extensive, though — but I am an ale fan, and was a bit disappointed in the lack of Scottish ales on tap.

Really enjoyed the atmosphere here. Loved the Scottish salmon and the whisky cream sauce. Oh and the sticky toffee pudding. One server was incompetent. The others were wonderful.

A Whisky trail stop
gastro-​pub is quite busy
wasn’t so friendly

This was a really cool place. The girl behind the bar was extremely nice, which helped since I was on my own and it was early for lunch so the place wasn’t overly full. It was the first time I’d ever tried haggis, and it was very good. I loved the whisky cream sauce they gave with it.
There is a good selection of scotch whisky (I think it’s hard to find a bad selection around Scotland), and the beers are alright, but nothing special on tap. It isn’t the cheapest place to eat though, but I think the food has the quality to warrant the increase in price.

My family came here to eat dinner after visiting the Edinburgh Castle because it was a convenient walk and my sister had noticed their «We serve traditional Scottish food all day!» sign outside. We had just arrived to Scotland not that long ago and were curious about their traditional food. We’d noticed that the outdoor seating was filled with people drinking ales and having a good time chatting, which may be a sign that this is a popular place for beer. However, we weren’t planning on drinking and were seated more inside.
Our waiter was very friendly, was quick to give us water, and gave us ample time to decide what we wanted to order. We ordered the:
Beer-​battered Haddock served with tartar sauce, chips and peas (
) — This dish was very good. There were two giant slabs of fried haddock whose batter was fried to golden and crispy and meat was super tender and flaky. The haddock is no doubt super fresh and had an amazing texture. The chips were like steak fries, thick and fried to a crisp on the outside and chunky and soft on the inside. The peas were cooked perfectly and looked like little emerald gems! Highly recommended!
Wee Taste of Haggis (
) — Okay, so we were obviously curious about the infamous Scottish haggis and couldn’t leave town without trying it. I’m glad they offered a smaller portion of haggis on their menu, probably knowing that some people only want to try it but not eat a heaping pile. My parents thought they did a good job getting rid of the lamb stench (our family’s not big on eating lamb), but I could instantly taste the pungency of lamb with a small scoop and had to wash it down immediately. Even though I was not a fan of this haggis dish (or ANY haggis dish anywhere, now I’ve learned), my parents weren’t completely averse to it. The yam and mashed potatoes lacked seasoning and we could not finish it.
Scottish Beef Stew and Dumplings (
) — This dish was all right, nothing bad but nothing spectacular about it. The beef stew was not as thick as I was expecting it to be, but the restaurant was pretty generous with their meat portions. The dumplings were a little big and doughy, but were not bad once cut up into smaller pieces and dunked in the stew. The stew was served with regular bread and butter, which we couldn’t finish.
Black Pudding and Goat Cheese Stack (
) — So, here is the lamb again. Initially, my sister suggested we order it since we were on a roll with trying Scottish food, but I did not know what black pudding was. Apparently, it’s congealed lamb blood. I tried a little of the black pudding with goat cheese (which I am also not a big fan of), but the lamb stench was still too much to bear. After this dish, I think it is safe to say that for me, lamb is only for the eyes and not food. In the end, even my parents could not finish this dish. However, they did enjoy the caramelized red onion chutney very much!
So, needless to say, I’m quite torn about The Albanach. On one hand, I really liked their haddock, but our family, in a brave attempt to try traditional Scottish food, could not seem to adapt to the pungent taste of the lamb. The prices were reasonable for their portions, though, and the service was also decent.

Nette Kneipe mit rustikalem Ambiente und einer großen Auswahl an Whiskies. Besonders zu empfehlen ist die Lost destillery Tour mit drei Whiskies aus seit langem geschlossenen Brennereien. Für £ 14,99.

As you walk inside The Albanch, it’s just plain cool. Period. The warm wood walls and the spacious bar and the cozy nooks in the back felt immediately welcoming. Our sever greeted us and took us to a table along the large windows facing Cockburn Street. The old world views of the alleys out the back definitely felt very Edinburgh.
At first glance, I was having trouble deciding on what to order. Nothing seemed to pop out at me and I wasn’t sure I was even feeling «pub fare». However, as our waitress walked up, I suddenly eyed the «Mull of Kintyre Macaroni». We asked the waitress what her favorite items were and she suggested the Balmoral Chiceken or the Mull of Kintyre Macaroni. So that’s what we went with. Boy, we were glad that’s what we picked! Everything was fantastic. I scarfed up every bite of the goeey macaroni goodness.
The service was fantastic and we really enjoyed our server. She was friendly and conversational. It was a great last meal for our visit to Edinburgh. We definitely wanted to stay longer in Edinburgh and The Albanach only added to our desire to stay in Edinburgh. Loved it!

The food was great; the service really spotty. If you are a tourist visiting Scotland and you have no idea what to eat, coming here would be a great idea. Over 100 whiskeys and all kinds of traditional scottish food, it’s a great sample of scotland.
We started out with a starter portion of haggis with neep and tatties. Having never had haggis before, i was impressed with how tasty it was. So when we were finally seated, i ordered the balamore chicken stuffed with haggis. Unfortunately, the chicken was a bit dry, but the gravy made up for it. The pesto penne was a bit greasy, but tasty.
Sure the place is a bit expensive, and touristy, but if you don’t know where you’re going and what you’re eating, and you have a very short amount of time in Edinburgh, this is definitely a great place to start.