Kay's Bar

Kay's Bar occupies a small former coach house on Jamaica Street West that traded as John Kay's wine and spirit merchants from 1819 until its conversion to a pub in 1976. The single room keeps fittings from that earlier trade, including a worn wooden counter and shelving, alongside a working fire that gives the bar its close, sitting-room feel. Real ale is the focus, with a rotating cask selection served alongside a substantial range of malt whisky. The pub won Edinburgh City CAMRA's Real Ale Quality Award in 2021 and the Edinburgh & South East Scotland branch award in 2022. Food is served on weekday lunchtimes only. It remains independently run, with no ties to a wider pub group, on a quiet residential street just off Circus Place in the New Town.