The Wildcat

You'll find The Wildcat tucked away on Tarvit Street in the heart of the West End, exactly the kind of place that makes Edinburgh feel like a proper city rather than a tourist brochure. It's got that rare quality of being both polished enough to take seriously and relaxed enough that you don't feel like you need to dress up or mind your manners. The cocktails are genuinely inventive without descending into molecular theatre, the staff actually know what they're doing, and the crowd is the sort who appreciate a well-made drink without the eyeroll-inducing posturing. On any given evening, it feels like the place people go because they want to be there, not because it's been algorithmically recommended to them.