The Canny Man's
The gantry is bright red, and there are over 250 whiskies on it.1
Why go
The bar was established in 1871 and Rosalind Erskine put it among the city's nine best whisky bars for The Scotsman in July 2025.1 The staff are the way in, and the same piece says to ask them for advice instead of reading the gantry alone.1 The decor has been gathered by the pub's own patrons since it opened.1 Felipe Schrieberg reached the same room for Forbes a month earlier and called the list as eclectic as the surroundings.2
What locals & experts say
- Rosalind Erskine, Scotsman Food and Drink (July 2025):
Established in 1871, The Canny Man's is an Edinburgh institution and described by chef Rick Stein as
the best pub in the world.
1 The Stein line is reported by the Scotsman; this entry did not read Stein saying it. - Felipe Schrieberg, Forbes (June 2025):
a famously eccentric pub running since the 19th century with a whisky list as eclectic as its décor
.2
Good to know
- The buffet: free, Monday to Thursday, between 5pm and 6pm.1
- Getting there: 237 Morningside Road, well south of the center, on the main Morningside spine.
- Hygiene: Food Hygiene Information Scheme Pass, inspected 10 August 2022, FHRSID 129420. Four years old, so the hygiene register says nothing recent about the premises either way.3
Verdict
should-visit — A Morningside pub that has been open since 1871, with over 250 whiskies on a bright red gantry and staff who expect you to ask them what to drink. Rosalind Erskine ranked it among the city's nine best whisky bars for the Scotsman in July 2025 and reported Rick Stein calling it the best pub in the world, which is his line reported by her rather than ours. Forbes's whisky writer landed on the same room from a different direction a month earlier and called the list as eclectic as the decor, which has been accumulating from patrons since the place opened. There is a free buffet between five and six, Monday to Thursday, which is an unusual thing for a bar with that gantry to be doing. Go for a dram and let the bar choose it. It stops short of the top rung on two compiled guides, no scored review anywhere, no published hours or prices, and a hygiene pass now four years old.