The Devil’s Advocate ★9.1

A Victorian pump house turned into the Old Town’s best-hidden whisky bar

Finding The Devil’s Advocate is half the evening: it sits at the foot of one of the Old Town’s steep stepped closes, inside a nineteenth-century pump house that once handled the city’s water. Push the door and the room does the rest — a towering back bar, bare stone, old timber and the sort of low light that keeps people for a second round. It opened in 2013 and has been a bar first, restaurant second, ever since.

The Concept · The Story

The venue belongs to the Bon Vivant Group, the Edinburgh operator behind Bon Vivant, Lady Libertine, The Register Club and Luckenbooths, and it runs the same play as its siblings: a serious drinks list in a room that refuses to be solemn about it. The name nods to the mischievous streak the owners claim for Scottish hospitality. The building carries the other half of the idea — a working pump house repurposed rather than themed, so the stone stays bare and the levels stay awkward in exactly the right way.

What to Order

The shelf is the headline: more than 300 Scottish and world whiskies, from everyday drams to peated classics such as Ardbeg Uigeadail, backed by cocktails from a bar team that collects awards. The kitchen is no afterthought either, and it reads Scottish end to end. Black haggis arrives with celeriac purée, crispy leeks and apple gel; whisky-cured Scottish salmon comes with sourdough melba toast and horseradish aioli. Chicken breast is served with black pudding boulangère and sweet potato purée, duck breast with plum and ginger sauce, and the steaks are cut by John Gilmour Butchers.

The Space

Three rooms, three different evenings. The ground-floor bar is where the noise lives, under rows of bottles. The restaurant sits on a mezzanine up a steep stair — quieter, better for a long dinner, and with the best view of the room below. The terrace is covered and heated and works year-round, which in this city counts for a lot. Worth knowing in advance: the building is historic, spread over levels and reached by steps.

Good to Know

Do I need to book? For dinner, yes — the mezzanine is small and weekend tables go early; the bar takes walk-ins when it can.

Is it a bar or a restaurant? Both, on different floors: a dram downstairs, a full meal upstairs.

What if I don’t drink whisky? The bar team is known for its cocktails, and there are wines, craft beer and low- and no-alcohol options.

Where should a first-timer sit? At the bar if the whisky shelf is the point; on the mezzanine if you want to eat properly and talk.

Is it accessible? Not easily — a historic building on several levels, reached by stairs, with no lift.

Opening hours