Arcade Bar, Haggis & Whisky House
Haggis and a whisky list the pub puts at over a hundred bottles, in a small Old Town bar whose hygiene rating has been a fail since February 2026.13
Why go
The pub's own page puts the proposition in one sentence: it calls itself the only haggis and whisky pub in Edinburgh, with over one hundred whiskies and a range of speciality fair trade teas alongside the haggis.1 The whisky count is the house's claim. The independent read comes from CAMRA's branch listing, surveyed October 2023: An atmospheric small pub very handy for the Old Town attractions, easily missed on the steep street
, with a ground floor bar that boasts an original Drybrough's mirror
, one changing cask beer named Haggis Hunter, and food served lunchtime and evening. The listing carries the fuller trading name, Arcade Haggis & Whisky House, which is worth knowing because the hygiene register uses the shorter Arcade Bar.2
Good to know
- Hours: nobody publishes the pub's opening hours. CAMRA records meal service noon to 9pm, lunchtime and evening.2
- Kids: children over 8 are allowed in both lounges until 9pm, with children's portions of menu items, per CAMRA's listing.
- Getting there: 48 Cockburn Street, on the curve down from the Royal Mile. CAMRA puts Edinburgh Waverley at 180 metres.
- Hygiene: Food Hygiene Information Scheme IMPROVEMENT REQUIRED, inspected 16 February 2026, FHRSID 120048, with NewRatingPending false as at 7 August 2026, meaning no re-inspection is queued. Recorded here as a fact for you to weigh.3
- Not to be confused: The Milkman at 52 Cockburn Street holds its own separate Improvement Required. Different business.4
Verdict
could-visit — A Cockburn Street pub that sells itself on haggis and whisky and claims over a hundred bottles behind the bar. The thing to know before you go is not on the menu: the premises holds a Food Hygiene Improvement Required from 16 February 2026, and as of August 2026 nothing is queued for re-inspection. That is disclosed here as a fact rather than as a verdict, and it is the reason the tier sits where it does. The one independent account is CAMRA's branch listing, an atmospheric small pub with a single changing beer and food served noon to nine; the whisky count and the only-pub-of-its-kind claim are still the house's words.