The Holyrood 9A.

The Holyrood 9A

The side-turning cask taps went out of use in October 2022, so the beer here is keg and the cider comes in bottles.

Why go

The bar sits at 9A Holyrood Road, on the run between the Old Town and the Parliament, and it traded as the Holyrood Tavern before the current name. CAMRA's Edinburgh branch records the side-turning cask taps as out of use since October 2022, so the beer is keg and the only cask-adjacent thing left is bottled cider. The same page describes a busy Old Town room with a dark wooden bar, a further room at the back and a snug at the front, and it puts food on all day with burgers as the speciality and breakfast running until noon. Alcohol does not go on sale until 11am. The branch last surveyed the pub in September 2019 and the venue's own domain no longer resolves, so nothing more recent than that survey could be confirmed. The council rated the premises Pass in May 2023.1

Order this / avoid

• Order: a burger, which CAMRA's branch entry names as the speciality of an all-day kitchen.1
• Avoid: an early drink. Alcohol does not go on sale here until 11am, and no tap list is published anywhere that resolves.1

What locals & experts say

• CAMRA (2026): the branch page is blunt about the beer, NO REAL ALE. Side-turning cask ale taps out of use October 2022. Still thought to be serving bottled real cider. It is warmer about the room and the kitchen: Popular and often very busy old town bar, where Food is served all day with burgers a speciality (breakfast served until 12 noon).1
• City of Edinburgh Council rated the premises Pass under the Food Hygiene Information Scheme on 17 May 2023.2

Good to know

• Booking: walk-in. No booking route is published anywhere that resolves.
• Getting there: on Holyrood Road, a few minutes below the Royal Mile and level with the Parliament.
• Hygiene: Food Hygiene Information Scheme Pass, inspected 17 May 2023.

Verdict

listed — A beer bar at 9A Holyrood Road, between the Old Town and the Scottish Parliament, holding a hygiene Pass from May 2023. CAMRA's own page for the venue records the cask taps as out of use since October 2022, describes a busy Old Town room and names burgers as the speciality of an all-day kitchen, off a survey dated September 2019. Its own web domain no longer resolves and no critic has published a word about the food. That is the entire evidential basis, and it supports a listed row and nothing above it.