I moved here for what I told everyone would be a year, maybe two. That was over a decade ago. In that time I’ve lived in Marchmont, where the beer gardens don’t really exist and everyone drinks in tiny front rooms instead, and Leith, where they’ve multiplied so fast I’m still finding new ones.
I’ve stood in a beer garden queue in a raincoat in July because that’s just how it goes here, and I’ve sat outside in February in a coat that made me look like a sleeping bag with legs because the sun came out for forty minutes and nobody was going to waste it indoors.
So this list isn’t ranked on square footage or how a place photographs. It’s ranked on the thing that actually matters here: does it work when the weather turns, which it will, usually while you’re still holding your drink.
I’ve noted how to actually find each place, because half of these aren’t on the main drag and Google Maps has a habit of dropping you at the wrong entrance to Summerhall specifically, every time, for reasons I’ve never worked out.
Best Beer Gardens in Edinburgh
The Hanging Bat Beer Garden, Fountainbridge
Where it is: Tucked behind the bar itself, off Lothian Road near the Fountainbridge end, you walk through the pub, past the tap wall, and out a door at the back you’d miss if you weren’t looking for it. Not visible from the street, which is exactly why it stays civilised.
What you’ll get: A proper back garden, not a converted car park with picnic tables bolted down, and a rotating tap list that changes often enough that regulars check it before deciding whether to bother going elsewhere first. I’ve had arguments here about whether a specific saison was “too much like perfume” that’s the level of pub this is. First-timers should know it shuts early on weeknights, around 11, so this isn’t your late one.
The Southsider, Newington
Where it is: On West Richmond Street, just off Nicolson Street if you’re coming from the university side, close enough to Surgeons’ Hall that half the crowd on any given evening is medical students decompressing.
What you’ll get: Small, unfussy, and it holds afternoon sun in a way the bigger gardens on this list don’t manage, because it isn’t boxed in by tall tenements on every side. There’s a quiz on Tuesdays that spills the whole crowd outside, chairs scraping, someone arguing about a capital city, avoid that night if you want to actually hear the person across the table from you.
Panda & Sons
Every “best beer gardens in Edinburgh” list I’ve read in the last two years includes Panda & Sons, and every single one is wrong. It’s a genuinely good cocktail bar on Queen Street, speakeasy-style entrance behind a barber shop front, but there is no garden. Not a terrace, not a yard, nothing. I don’t know who wrote the original version of that claim, but everyone’s been copying it since without checking. Moving on.
The Old Chain Pier, Trinity/Newhaven waterfront
Where it is: Out past Leith proper, along the coastal path toward Trinity, a fifteen-minute walk or a short bus from Newhaven, right on the water, with the Forth in front of you instead of a back wall.
What you’ll get: Not technically a garden, it’s a terrace, and the seating is closer to picnic-bench-on-a-pier than lawn, but on a clear evening in June, when it barely gets properly dark until close to eleven, nothing in the city centre touches it. Food’s ordinary pub fare, nothing to write home about, and that’s fine because you’re not here for the menu.
Teuchters Landing, Leith
Where it is: Dock Place, right at the water’s edge near the Shore, easy to find because the outdoor seating is literally built onto a jetty, you’ll see it before you see the pub sign.
What you’ll get: Floating tables over the Water of Leith, which sounds like a gimmick until you’re sitting on one with a dram in hand and a duck considering whether to come beg for chips. It fills fast the second there’s any real sun, this is one of the least secret spots in the city, whatever anyone tells you, so if there’s more than four of you, book, or accept you’re waiting.
The Boundary, Bruntsfield
Where it is: On Leven Street near Bruntsfield Links, you can’t really miss it, the garden runs along the side of the building and is visible from the pavement.
What you’ll get: The biggest genuine garden on this list, and it fills completely within about ninety minutes of the first proper warm Saturday of spring, which is a thing Bruntsfield locals track the way other people track a football fixture list. Good pizza, plenty of heaters once the sun drops behind the hill, and enough tables that first-timers won’t feel like they’ve wandered into someone’s regular spot.
Malt & Hops, Leith Shore
Where it is: Right on the water at Leith Shore, a few doors down from the more famous restaurants, small frontage, easy to walk straight past if you’re not looking for it.
What you’ll get: No garden to speak of, just a handful of outdoor tables facing the water, but a decent cask ale here on a May evening, watching the light change on the buildings across the water, is one of the better hours you’ll spend in this city for the price of a pint. It gets cold fast the second the sun drops behind the buildings on the far bank, bring a layer, every local sitting outside here in a jumper in July isn’t being precious, they know something you don’t yet.
The Barony Bar, Broughton Street
Where it is: Halfway up Broughton Street, easy walk from Picardy Place or the top of Leith Walk.
What you’ll get: A front terrace rather than a back garden, you’re watching the street, not hiding from it, and an unfussy, been-here-decades character that a lot of newer places try to manufacture and can’t. First-timers: this is people-watching-with-a-pint, not a quiet retreat.
Summerhall Courtyard, Summerhall
Where it is: Off Summerhall Place, south of the meadows, the whole building used to be the vet school, and the courtyard is inside the old quad, so you go through the main entrance and it opens up unexpectedly once you’re through.
What you’ll get: The closest thing Edinburgh has to a proper continental beer garden, long communal tables, Barney’s Beer taproom pouring, and enough space that even mid-Fringe it doesn’t feel like standing room only, though I’d still go slightly off-peak in August if you want an actual seat rather than a perch.
The Roseleaf, Leith
Where it is: Sandport Place, a short walk inland from the Shore.
What you’ll get: More garden-adjacent than full garden, a small outdoor seating area rather than a lawn, but the slightly chintzy, unhurried charm of the place and a genuinely good drinks list make it worth the mention, especially for a slow Sunday rather than a big group night.
The Rest of the Thirty
11. The Regent, Abbeyhill: Small terrace on Montrose Terrace near Abbeyhill, close to Calton Hill. Friendly, gay-friendly local, no pretension, good if you want an unhurried pint after a walk up the hill.
12. The Pond, Leith: On Bath Road, small garden out back through the main bar. Deliberately eccentric decor, younger Leith crowd, worth it once for the novelty and again because it’s actually good.
13. Sofi’s Bar, Leith: Henderson Street, near the top of Leith Walk end. Tiny outdoor seating, cider-focused menu, more atmosphere than square footage, go for the drinks list, not the space.
14. The Bon Vivant, New Town: Thistle Street, front terrace on the cobbles. Good for watching New Town foot traffic go by, not somewhere to expect a table for six.
15. The Village, Bruntsfield/Tollcross: Home Street, near the King’s Theatre. Reliable neighbourhood garden, unremarkable in the way that makes it a genuinely good regular spot rather than a destination.
16. Joseph Pearce’s, Broughton Street: Small courtyard-style space accessed through the back of the bar. Low-key, Scandinavian-leaning menu, quieter than most on Broughton Street.
17. The Wheatsheaf, Swanston: Out past the city, near Swanston village at the foot of the Pentlands. A proper trip, not a casual detour, but the garden’s big and the hill views are the whole point.
18. The Skylark, Newhaven: On the harbour front at Newhaven, past Leith. Waterfront terrace, good fish and chips, worth combining with a walk along from the Shore.
19. The Golf Tavern, Bruntsfield: Overlooks Bruntsfield Links, so the “view” is people playing pitch-and-putt in front of you. Front terrace gets sun most of the day when there is any.
20. The Bridge Inn, Ratho: West of the city, on the Union Canal. Genuine day-trip territory rather than an after-work stop, but the towpath garden and canal boats passing by make it worth doing once a summer.
21. The Volunteer Arms (Canny Man’s), Morningside: Morningside Place. Eccentric interior, cluttered with taxidermy and oddities, tiny garden that trades comfort for character entirely.
22. The Cumberland Bar, Stockbridge: Cumberland Street, New Town side of Stockbridge. Well-regarded garden with a big tree that gives actual shade, rarer here than you’d think, since most Edinburgh gardens are just open concrete yards.
23. The Antiquary, Stockbridge/New Town: St Stephen Street. Small terrace, better wine list than most pubs bother with, quieter crowd.
24. The Salisbury Arms, Newington: Dalkeith Road, near the Commonwealth Pool. Spacious garden, popular with post-swim regulars and students, expect a younger, louder crowd on weekend afternoons.
25. The Constitution, Leith: Constitution Street itself. No-frills front seating, nothing dressed up about it, good if you just want a straightforward pint on the street Leith is named after in half its bar signage.
26. The King’s Wark, Leith: The Shore, opposite Teuchters Landing. Historic building, small front terrace, better food than most on this list if you want to make an evening of it.
27. The Diggers (Athletic Arms), Polwarth: Angle Park Terrace, near Tynecastle. Classic, slightly rough-edged Edinburgh boozer with history longer than its outdoor space — you’re here for the pub, the garden’s an afterthought.
28. The Caley Sample Rooms, Haymarket; Angle Park Terrace end near Haymarket station. Bigger terrace than most this far down the list, useful post-work spot if you’re heading out of the city by train.
29. The Doric, Old Town: Market Street, near Waverley. Small upstairs terrace with an unusual angle looking down over the station and the tracks, worth it for the view alone, not the space.
30. The Auld Hoose, Southside: St Leonard’s Street. Modest outdoor seating, but a properly reliable local rather than a destination the kind of place you end up in without planning to.
Why Leith Wins, If You Only Have One Afternoon
If you’d asked me eight years ago where to find a decent beer garden, I wouldn’t have pointed you toward Leith, it was still mostly warehouses, a rough stretch near the docks, and a handful of stalwart pubs that had nothing to do with outdoor drinking culture. That’s changed completely, and not gradually, it happened in a run of maybe five years, new places opening along the Shore and up toward Newhaven, and it’s not a “rising neighbourhood” anymore, it’s just where the best outdoor drinking in the city already is. If someone tells you Leith is “up and coming,” they haven’t been.
Marchmont and Bruntsfield are the opposite story, no showstoppers, but a level of consistency that comes from gardens filled with locals rather than tourists, which changes the whole feel of a place. Nobody’s performing for anyone else’s benefit.
Old Town is genuinely bad for this. The closes and wynds don’t leave room for gardens, so what exists is small terraces squeezed onto whatever ledge was available, The Doric’s upstairs terrace being the best example. Don’t come here expecting grass. Come for the view over the station instead.
New Town gardens tend to be front terraces on cobbled streets rather than proper back gardens, in keeping with the Georgian layout, less privacy, more street noise, but a specific kind of charm if you like watching the city go past.
When to Actually Go
Forget generic “best time to visit Edinburgh” advice, that’s written for people planning a whole trip, not choosing a garden. For beer gardens specifically: late May through early July gives the longest daylight and best odds of staying dry, though “best odds” here still means bring a layer regardless. August is Fringe season and anywhere central is standing room only from midday onward, Leith and Bruntsfield are your escape valve if the crowds get to be too much.
September is underrated: fewer people, still mild evenings, and you can actually get a seat without a wait. Winter beer gardens are real here too, not a compromise, heaters, blankets if the place has them, a pint outside on a crisp, clear February afternoon when the light’s low and gold for about ninety minutes before it’s gone.
That’s the version no travel site bothers writing about, because it doesn’t photograph the way a sunny July Saturday does, but it’s the one that actually tells you something about how the city lives with its own weather.
What’s Actually Changed
Ten years ago, half this list didn’t have outdoor seating worth mentioning, a pub garden here was an afterthought, not something built deliberately. Leith’s transformation is the biggest single shift I’ve watched happen.
Meanwhile a couple of places I’d have put on this list five years ago have closed or changed hands and gone downhill since, which is the honest reason to treat any beer-garden list, including this one, as something with a shelf life rather than gospel. If it matters, a group booking, a special occasion, ring ahead, especially for anything smaller than a proper big pub garden.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best beer garden in Edinburgh for a sunny day?
The Boundary in Bruntsfield and The Southsider in Newington both hold afternoon sun longer than most, since neither is boxed in by tall tenements on every side. Both fill fast on the first genuinely warm Saturday of the year, so get there early or expect to wait.
Are there any beer gardens in Edinburgh open in winter?
Yes The Hanging Bat, The Cumberland Bar, and The Boundary all stay open year-round with outdoor heaters and covered sections. Winter beer gardens are a real local habit here, not just a fair-weather feature people abandon once it turns cold.
Which Edinburgh beer garden is best for a group of six or more?
Summerhall’s courtyard and The Boundary both use long, communal-style seating rather than small individual tables, which makes a real difference once you’re past six people trying to fit around a two-top.
Is Teuchters Landing worth the hype, or is it overrated?
Mostly worth it the floating jetty tables over the Water of Leith are a genuinely unusual setting for this city, and the food and drinks hold up their end. It’s one of the least secret spots in Leith though, so don’t expect to walk straight in on a sunny evening; go early or book ahead for a group.
Which Edinburgh neighbourhood has the best beer gardens overall?
Leith, without much competition anymore. The stretch along the Shore and up toward Newhaven has more genuine outdoor drinking spots than any other part of the city, a shift that’s happened mostly in the last five to eight years, so older guides that still call it “up and coming” are out of date.
Claire Bennett is a travel writer, editor, and the Founder of All Things Edinburgh. A Journalism graduate from Edinburgh Napier University, she has worked in travel writing and digital publishing for several years, producing destination content focused on Edinburgh and Scotland. Her work combines firsthand local knowledge with thorough research to help travelers make informed decisions. As Editor-in-Chief, she ensures every guide meets the site’s editorial standards for accuracy, clarity, and relevance.