Under The Stairs

We at Under the Stairs really want you sit back, relax and enjoy yourself.

Under The Stairs

http://www.underthestairs.org

Under The Stairs

Under the Stairs (3a Merchant Street, Edinburgh) | The List

Cocktails are their forte, but a tasteful food menu makes Under the Stairs a popular lunch and dinner spot too.

The set-up is a pleasing basement cocktail bar and restaurant: like being in a cosy yet stylish cave (with bonus fish tank).

After advice from the knowledgeable staff, try an adventurous cocktail such as a Kung Fu Cantona (with rhubarb and hellfire bitters) or Red Mist Wash Over (with Vida mezcal and sun-dried tomato) – or stretch your beer muscles with a guest brew like a sour peach pale ale.

There’s also a small but beautiful wine selection, including an English white.

But don't go hungry either: the small plates contain such tasty choices as octopus escabeche and Indian-spiced baba ganoush, and there are larger plates like whole baked rainbow trout and lamb rump if you hate sharing.

10 of the cosiest pubs and bars in Edinburgh - Scotsman Food and ...

From traditional pubs to candle-lit cocktail bars, Edinburgh has plenty of welcoming spots to enjoy a drink when it gets a bit colder outside.

Take refuge on a dark night and visit one of these cosy pubs and bars to warm yourself up in no time.

Expect low beamed ceilings, a roaring log fire, relaxed atmosphere and plenty of real ale, malt whisky and pub grub lunches.

Traditional pub, The Bow Bar, is the perfect place for whisky connoisseurs and real ale aficionados to enjoy a drink.

Stockbridge neighbourhood pub Hector’s is the perfect mix between a buzzing city bar and a friendly village local.

Under The Stairs Edinburgh | Edinburgh Bar Review | DesignMyNight

Tuck away out of sight underneath the iconic George IV Bridge, Under The Stairs is a venue that takes 'cosy' to a completely new level.

Purposely designed to look like a homely living room, the lounge sofas, huge armchairs and vintage fireplaces create a serene vibe that draws in revellers from across the city.

To complete the experience, the venue's chefs have worked tirelessly to curate a menu that matches the warm environment of the lounge; traditional recipes were the only real option.

Guests can tuck into the likes of pan-friend pigeon breast, fresh seafood dishes or a hearty steak dinner at this laidback venue.

Under the Stairs Cocktail Bar Review | Cocktail Bars Edinburgh

Under the Stairs is a basement bar/restaurant situated in the old town of Edinburgh with a shabby chic interior of old retro furniture.

Happily those tumbleweeds now belong to a distant past – Under the Stairs is a bustling bolthole well worth stopping by for a drink after a day of pounding the cobbles in Edinburgh’s Old Town.

Playing on the theme of its snug basement location, the bar’s look is a study in cosiness by way of gran’s living room, albeit with younger clientele.

The drinks menu itself is a little less retrospective, with a considered, inventive collection of long and short cocktails.

Yes, their classic cocktail offerings may need a little tweaking, but from décor to drinks Under the Stairs pulls off kitsch with aplomb.

Under the Stairs | Bars and pubs in Old Town, Edinburgh

By day: herbal teas, artisan coffee and liquer-laced hot chocolate.

By night: quirky cocktails at this cosy basement bar.

It’s open from noon for espressos, herbal teas, or coffees and hot chocolates laced with liqueurs – which is worth remembering on a particularly nippy and bitter January afternoon.

Evening times are the busiest part of the day, when the long cocktail list draws in a full house of students, local shopkeepers knocking off for the night and thirsty tourists.

Rum cocktails are also a highlight - they have 16-types of rum and Cachaca behind the bar and will be happy to help you choose how sweet/sharp/boozy/short/long you’d like your drink to be.