The Cloisters

Quiet haven for lovers of quality beer, with a large range of whisky and an open fire to warm your toes by.

The 2019/20 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

Funny old thing, fashion. Bars like The Cloisters have ticked along for years and have perhaps never quite been given the recognition they deserve for surfing the wave of the craft beer movement – if not starting it off in the first place. Here, big beards and fancy beer flights are swapped for a quiet expertise, a warm welcome and a rotating range of 19 cask and keg beers from brewers like Pilot, Cairngorms, Alchemy and Black Isle. There’s a nicely edited range of bottled beers from Europe and further afield, and a decent, locally sourced burger to boot. It’s an atmospheric spot for a quiet pint or two, especially when the Edinburgh rain lashes against the window and the open fire flickers invitingly inside.