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The Tolbooth Tavern beneath the Canongate Tolbooth and its arched pend.
Edinburgh

The Tolbooth Tavern

A tavern in part of the Canongate Tolbooth of 1591, where tolls were once collected, now serving Scottish food and whisky on the Royal Mile.

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Welcome

Halfway down the Canongate, a turreted stone building with a great clock hung out over the street on iron brackets is the Canongate Tolbooth, built in 1591.

It was where tolls were collected from travellers entering the old burgh of the Canongate, and part of it is now the Tolbooth Tavern, its name in gold letters above the windows beside the arched pend.

Inside, the bar is dark and warm, with wooden panelling, shelves of books and a gantry of whisky. The food is Scottish and hearty: haggis in several guises, Cullen skink, fish and chips and burgers, with a long choice of malts for anyone who wants a dram alongside. It makes a good stop halfway between the castle and the palace.

The tavern opens every day from eleven, with food from noon. The rest of the Tolbooth holds the People's Story, a free museum of the lives of Edinburgh's working people.

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The Daily for 4 November, from Scotland with love. A pink sandstone castle bristling with conical turrets and a Union Jack flag rises above a gravel forecourt, autumn-tinged ivy climbing one wing beside cannon displayed on the lawn.
Close byRoom & RumoursA coffee shop and doughnut bakery in one of the railway arches of East Market Street, by Waverley, with fresh doughnuts every day.1 min by roadSee itRoom & Rumours
Before you go

Open every day from eleven, with food from noon, and light bites only late in the evening.

Where
167 Canongate, Edinburgh EH8 8BN.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
11am–11pm
Tuesday
11am–11pm
Wednesday
11am–11pm
Thursday
11am–11pm
Friday
11am–11pm
Saturday
11am–11pm
Sunday
11am–11pm

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Where it is

On the Canongate, the lower half of the Royal Mile, under the Tolbooth clock.

Close byThe Canongate.
  1. Dunbar's Close GardenDunbar's Close GardenA small walled garden off the Canongate, laid out as a 17th-century town garden.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. Painted figure of a newsboy shouting above The People's Story signThe People’s StoryThe city's free museum of Edinburgh's working people, from the 18th century to now, in the Canongate Tolbooth of 1591.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. Cadenhead'sCadenhead'sThe Canongate shop of Cadenhead's, Scotland's oldest independent whisky bottler, founded in 1842, with whisky drawn straight from the cask.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. Antique plates and framed portraits line the walls of a lace-tabled tea roomClarinda's TearoomA tearoom on the Canongate since 1976, named for Burns's Clarinda.Under a mile 1 min by road
  5. Illuminated LOUDONS sign above dark glass entrance doors, reflecting nearby buildingsLoudons New WaverleyA family-run cafe and bakery in New Street Square.Under a mile 1 min by road
  6. Scottish Poetry LibraryScottish Poetry LibraryA free library of poetry off the Canongate.Under a mile 3 min by road
Directions
Roofless nave of Holyrood Abbey, gothic tracery window framing bare stone ruinsAttractionsHolyrood AbbeyA step away
Sandstone mansion with tall chimneys and turret, fronted by a lawnAttractionsLauriston CastleA step away
Pink and pale blue hydrangea blooms among dense green leavesAttractionsDunbar's Close GardensA step away
The front of the Black Grape on the Canongate, its sign over arched windows in a white building.RestaurantsThe Black GrapeA step away
Small statue mounted on a stone corner between an arched window and sash windowsAttractionsMorocco Land0.2 miles
Restaurant dining room with pendant lights, stone walls and set tablesRestaurantsWedgwood0.2 miles
Restaurant tables set with wine glasses beside a large potted monstera plantRestaurantsThe White Horse0.2 miles
Scottish Textiles Showcase, EdinburghShoppingScottish Textiles Showcase0.2 miles
Scottish Parliament building's angled roof beams with Salisbury Crags behindAttractionsScottish Parliament Building0.2 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the Tolbooth, and when each is next free.

A hotel studio room with a beige fitted kitchen unit and stainless sink beside a bed dressed in white and teal cushions, a wall of black-framed pictures above a patterned headboard.Old Town Chambers
  • To stay
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from the Tolbooth Tavern
Check datesA round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.Moment George IV Bridge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from the Tolbooth Tavern
Check datesA turreted sandstone building with conical spires catches the evening light above rooftops, a large pine tree standing beside it.The Scott Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Edinburgh
  • A mile from the Tolbooth Tavern
Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Edinburgh
  • A mile from the Tolbooth Tavern
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in EdinburghAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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