The Regent
Campaign for Real Ale Edinburgh and S.E. Scotland Pub of the Year 2008, The Regent is unofficially a gay bar but is very straight-friendly. Free wifi available.
Tonic
Award winning cocktail bar - their Silver Mercedes is a particularly popular choice. One of the more interesting bars in this vicinity.
Bar38
126-128 george st and all bar one 29-31 george street. if you've ever been out drinking in any uk city centre you will know what to expect of these chain pubs.
The Voodoo Rooms
Very interesting new 2008 venue that should make some of the old pretenders on George Street step up their game a bit. Just go there for a drink or two, or book a table in the restaurant area to try the ecelectic cajun-inspired menu, or check out the events listings - they have already hosted a range of gigs from folk to country to dance to rock, as well as comedy and theatre. Currently 'the' place to be seen, and for a change, lives up to the tag.
Opal Lounge
One of Edinburgh's trendiest nightspots and frequented by British Celebs. DJs play reguarly most nights. If it was chocolate it would eat itself.
The Basement
Probably the catalyst for the development of the Broughton Street "scene". The first Style Bar to move in, this is trendy but not pretentiously so. In a basement you guessed? near the top of the street. Worries that a recent refurb would spoil the ambience proved unfounded. Super range of beers including German, Czech, Mexican, and known for good quality and good value food too.
The Dome
Former bank headquarters. Very impressive to look at inside - just to into the main bar and look up. The Why Not nightclub downstairs, separate entrance is frequented by a young crowd who would love to go to Opal Lounge but know the bouncers won't let them in.
The Oxford Bar
Very basic Scottish pub, made famous by "Harry the rudest barman in Scotland" no longer there and as a backdrop for some of the action in the Ian Rankin "Inspector Rebus" novels. If you need to see the definition of "not enough room to swing a cat", see the front bar. Call in and ask for a pint of IPA with an Ardberg chaser Rebus' favourite
The Cask & Barrel
Readers of Christopher Brookmyre's novels will recognise this place as the regular haunt of investigative journalist Jack Parlabane, the venue for "off-the-record" meetings with his Police contacts. Parlabane clearly has good taste for a journalist, as the "Cask" is a proper traditional boozer with a touch of class. Nine Real Ale taps plus a number of draft lagers and many more in bottle. Good range of whisky too. Great place to watch the football or rugby as they have 6 or 7 screens dotted around. It's not uncommon to find 3 different matches being shown at the same time. Refreshingly, the screens are only switched on for specific events, and not left showing random cable channels the rest of the day, like so many pubs seem to do.
Fingers
Piano Bar with a late license so is a popular place to end the night with folk who don't fancy hitting a night club. Can attract an "eclectic" crowd so a good place for late night people watching.. If you made a comparison with the famous bar scene in Star Wars you wouldn't be the first to think that way.
Mezz
Unpretentious style bar. Good food, long opening hours and free wifi.
The Cumberland Bar
Another pub with literary connections - this is the regular hangout of the fictional denizens of Alexander McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street the real-life street is just around the corner but finding No.44 is a challenge!. Traditional pub popular with New Town locals, students, the suits from local offices, pretty much everyone in fact. Gets very busy in summer due to its lovely beer garden - one of the few pubs close to the city centre to have one. Plenty of drink options and they also do decent food. Perhaps slightly more expensive than most places on Broughton Street but cheaper than George Street.
The Penny Black
Yes you are reading those opening hours correctly. The infamous Penny Black is where many a night out aspires to get to when folk are talking big at around 1 or 2AM. Only the most hardcore will make it. Worth the effort as long as you're not easily scared, or obssessed by cleanliness.
Thistle Street and Young Street, which run parallel to George Street 1 block to the north have an intersting selection of more traditional pubs.
Cafe Royal Circle Bar
Beautifully tiled Victorian palace of a pub, designed in 1862 as a showroom for the latest fixtures and fittings. The adjacent Cafe Royal Oyster Bar restaurant continues the theme. Unmissable.
George Street hosts many of Edinburgh's trendier bars. These tend to be popular with the besuited after work crowd on a Friday. Not traditional Edinburgh bars but probably more typical of modern Edinburgh.
Mathers
Traditional bar. Good range of real ales and whiskys, reasonable pub food. Big screen for football and rugby.
Broughton Street on the north east side of the New Town has a wide range of bars. Gay, gay-friendly, traditional, trendy, there's at least one bar on Broughton Street to suit all tastes, and many of them also do good food it's a popular venue for breakfast at the weekend.
Tiny West Register Street is hidden away behind Burger King at the east end of Princes Street. It's well worth seeking out as it is home to several interesting bars.