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The Cafe Royal Bar, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
EH2 2AA
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Old Boots left this review about The Cafe Royal Bar
January 2026 update
Only two beers on, not particularly good either, usual struggle to get near enough to the counter to get served. Swerving the Stewart beer I had a sad MoR Songs of Haze. Bit of a downfall for a previously excellent pub / tourist trap. Still very popular and busy, stick to the Guildford is my advice.
19 January 2014
Warning live review
Another Classic Edinburgh pub I haven't reviewed. I had to visit as a local landlord visited and found fault with every beer on sale here, well I've just had a faultless pint of Broughton Dark Dunster so he got a particularly bad day or ......
There's a couple of the ever reliable Kelburn and an EPA from the Edinburgh Brewing Co so I might just try that before the Abbotsford. My mistake it's a 3.4% so maybe I'll save it for breakfast . Anyone mentioned the 40+ malts?
On 27th January 2026
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3937 recommendations about 3601 pubs]
David Walton left this review about The Cafe Royal Bar
Visited 05/11/25
Cask was Pentland IPA, Backing Blue session IPA and Jack Back session IPA all from Stewart Brewing, the Gloaming 80/- and the Bonnie & Blonde pale ale both from Loch Lomond brewing, the Royal Mile IPA from Broughton, the Jeely Piece double APA and the Songs of Haze hazy IPA both from MoR. The keg offering was Asahi, Stewart's Lager and Stewart's 80/- both from Stewart Brewing, the Edinburgh Pale from the Beer Factory, Thistly Cross cider, Guinness, the Pilot Blond, Paolozzi lager, the Lawless Village IPA from Bellfield, the Peach Melba Sour from Pilot, Estrella Galicia and the lager from Innis & Gunn.
Another grand pub, but not as opulent as I had worked myself up to experience - here was me thinking Trump's gold laden remodelled Oval Office in an old school Edinburgh pub and Oyster restaurant! The venue is tiled with an ornate, but not opulent island bar with tall stool seating around the bar counter. High painted ceiling - OK a fair amount of gilding thereon and around the tops of the walls between the grand windows. To the left of the entrance (mind the step down immediately inside the entrance if you are looking for the opulence), a series of semi-circular booth style tables with leather seating in the windows and regular chairs the other side thereof. Nice art deco style globe lighting suspended from the ceiling and a fair quota of typical houseplants. In front of the entrance and along an ornate wooden mirrored partition screening off the formal restaurant and stretching to the rear wall the other side of the bar counter was a line of tall round tables each with two tall, backed stools occupied by elderly ladies doing lunch. The rear (from the entrance side) wall has large tile art framed works of first division inventors (think Watt, Stephenson, Faraday, Caxton etc) either side of an impressive wooden fire surround with ornate mirror above. There was a line of tall tables along this wall also. Whilst a good venue with decent beer and plenty to look at felt like it was a distance second in the race against the Guildford Arms a minute walk away.
On 8th November 2025
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1349 recommendations about 1332 pubs]
Will Larter left this review about The Cafe Royal Bar
I've been in the Cafe Royal a couple of times before, and found it busy and crowded. This latest visit, on a Friday shortly before my 2pm train from Waverley, was no exception. On another much busier occasion I can remember being in a bit of a crush by the hand pumps, but this time there was just a couple sitting on stools by the counter, who generously made room for me to photograph the six pump clips. I spotted a duplicate set around the corner, so went around there to choose my beers: Mor Cobble, an 80/- which was a bit strong at 5% abv, having "... layers of rich malts, combining flavours of blackcurrant and caramel with dried fruit and roasted nuts" according to the brewery's Facebook description of their own beer; or a rather tired and lacklustre beer, the victim of its own excess strength when fighting for attention among five other beers in a pub where hardly anyone is drinking cask beers (NBSS 2, £7/pint). My other half pint was from Broughton Brewery in the Borders, but I had to Google it to find out, as the pump clip just said Murray's Pale Ale 3.6%, so probably a recreation of a long lost beer. This was a little better, though green instead of stale (NBSS 2.5, £6.70/pint). The other four beers included another 80/-, this time from Loch Lomond, and three from Stewart Brewing, whose beers need careful handling in my experience and I wouldn't even consider them in a place like this. The Cafe Royal is a beautiful building with some amazing art works on the walls, but I'll not bother coming here again. For pictures, there's the National Gallery of Scotland; for pubs, there are many better than this - one just around the corner, in fact: the Guildford Arms.
On 14th October 2025
- rating: 4
[User has posted 4674 recommendations about 4283 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Cafe Royal Bar
Another fine example of a Historic Pub Interior, definitely worth a visit. When I was perusing the beer board, I noticed they had most of the details in order, apart from the actual price. I asked the barman for the price of a pint for a 4% bitter and after checking his till, he told me it was £6.05 per pint, which was on the pricey side and why add 5p at those prices. The beer board read Stewart Pentland IPA, Murray's Pale Ale, David's Not So Bitter, Kelburn Pacific Porter, Kelburn Pale ale and Broughton Royal Mile.
On 19th July 2023
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3745 recommendations about 3745 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Cafe Royal Bar
Just up the alley to the side of the Guildford Arms,this is also a must visit. A superb Victorian baroque style interior with on the left wall a series of framed ceramic murals of famous victorians,an ornate ceiling,large windows,curved banquettes and an island bar with bar stools with backs.Take a look at the oyster bar to the rear,just for diners but superb.There are a host of original features everywhere.
Real ales on my trip were Alechemy Maltbomb,Spey Valley Spey's Cadet (£5,NBSS 3.5),Kelburn Goldihops and Pivo Estivo and Stewart Pentland IPA.
The only fly in the ointment was the overloud and poor quality muzak.The food offering specialises in oysters and champagne with other fish options and you pay for the privilege of drinking here but don't miss out,it's a real treat.
On 19th November 2022
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3126 recommendations about 3126 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Cafe Royal Bar
A remarkable Victorian interior, somewhat reminiscent of a Parisian 'salon de thé'. A fine moulded ceiling all around the island bar, but perhaps best known for the six tiled portraits by John Eyre dating from 1886. Also has more three more murals plus eight stained-glass windows showing Victorian sportsmen in the smaller Oyster Bar dining room off to one side. Incredibly, it was sold in the late 1960s to be knocked down to extend the Woolworths store, but the city planners thankfully saw sense and the building was listed shortly afterwards. Each side of the bar has a bank of four handpumps, with a better selection of real ale than on my previous visit some ten years ago: Pentland IPA and Radical Road Reverse from Stewart Brewing, Strathaven's IPA and Old Mortality, and Wood's Ebony oatmeal stout from further afield. A 'must' for beer-loving visitors to Edinburgh.
On 30th December 2021
- rating: 8
[User has posted 9063 recommendations about 9063 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about The Cafe Royal Bar
A good sized bar and restaurant tucked a little out the way but nonetheless only a very short stroll from the main Princes Street thoroughfare, it is quite elegant in style and clearly has an upmarket focus with various notices promoting champagne, lobsters and oysters.
Internally, the main part of the pub is one large, open plan room with a central island bar counter. There is a further “Oyster Bar” off to one side which I assume was more of a restaurant. This was separated from the main part of the pub with some elaborate carved wood partitioning, etched mirrors and stained glass. The flooring was some sort of marble style tiling and there was a high ceiling with elaborate cornice work and gold paint. Large windows on two sides were draped with dark curtains and let in plenty of light. Seating at the front of the pub was curved booths with brown padded cushions whilst there were high stools around the bar counter and at the rear. A number of large tiled drawings of scientific discoveries such as Michael Faraday’s work on electro-magnetism were an unusual and interesting feature along the rear wall. Pineapples seem to be something of a theme here and appeared in various places, including lamp shades on the bar counter and in the windows.
Beers on tap were Wild Side IPA, Greene King IPA, Stewart’s 80/-, Murray’s Pale Ale, Stewart’s Radical Road Reverse and Stewart’s Pentland IPA. Ciders though were slightly disappointing with just Aspall’s Suffolk and Old Mout Cherry & Berry. Whilst not a pub in the traditional sense, I thought this was a worthwhile pit stop, and it certainly worth a look for the architecture alone.
On 5th April 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 2008 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about The Cafe Royal Bar
Destination pub if you are in Edinburgh. Just over the road from Waverley Station.
Absolutely beautiful inside - central bar - high seats all around which can make bar access tricky. Tiled murals to one side - booth seating to the other. Partitioned Oyster Bar at the end. The bar menu includes a whole lobster for £45. That gives you a clue.
Always get a decent Local Scottish Beer here - last time, It was Broughtons Pale Ale.
On 12th January 2018
- rating: 10
[User has posted 277 recommendations about 276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about The Cafe Royal Bar
Very ornate old style bar as described below.8 real ales and food served.Makes a good double header with the Guildford Arms(10 real ales) next door.
On 15th August 2016
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3035 recommendations about 2965 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Cafe Royal Bar
The star turn of Edinburgh’s heritage pubs. A high-ceilinged, ornate interior with a large oval-shaped island bar, mirrored wood dividers, stained glass windows, fantastic moulded red gold & white ceiling, marble edging. At the far side of the pub is the star attraction, a full-length tiled wall (from 1886) depicting a number of famous inventors at the time of their particular discovery. To the right of the bar, behind the aforementioned mirrored wood divider, is a starched white tablecloth restaurant area which is also ferociously opulent. Eight ales in total with four each side though annoyingly this fact was not signposted so I accidentally missed out on a really good beer. What I did end up with were Edinburgh EPA (very good nick) and Pundie (good). At £4.10 it was an expensive pair of halves but given the location, perhaps not obviously unpredictable. It’s a real ‘must-do’ and came out second the Bow Bar in terms of pubs visited during my stay. A few yards from Waverley BR so no excuse not to stop-off next time. Incredible to think that this was slated for demolition back in the late 60’s – what the hell were people on back then? A real ‘do before you die’ place.
On 25th January 2016
- rating: 9
[User has posted 5992 recommendations about 5971 pubs]