Sandy Bell's

Head down Forrest Road towards the university and you'll find yourself in one of Edinburgh's most unpretentious corners. Sandy Bell's isn't the kind of place that tries to be anything other than what it is: a neighbourhood bar with serious folk credentials and a jukebox that knows what it's doing. The walls are covered in music posters and photographs, the beer selection is genuinely good (proper Scottish ales sit alongside reliable standards), and any given evening you're likely to stumble into a session with musicians who actually know their way around a fiddle or bodhrán. You'll rub shoulders with students, locals who've been coming here for decades, and the occasional visiting musician who's heard the reputation. It's the kind of bar where time moves differently—in a good way.