FAO Edinburgh peeps!

[Kitten]

I've had an email off a friend of mine who says :

I have organised my sister's hen night for Edinburgh in March. We're staying near/on the Royal Mile and I just need to find out some decent bars/pubs bot too far away, where I could book an area for about 20 girlies and where they play good music and do some nice cocktails. Any help would be much appreciated!!

So help! :D

[LeperousDust]

Haha, right up my street :p

Living Rooms
Voodoo Rooms
Tigerlilly or Lulus downstairs if you want more "fun"
Le Monde or shanghai downstarits for more "fun" again Paris upstairs for a more cocktaily experience (only open thurs/fri/sat i thiiiink)
Element is an amazing little bar (quiet though) right on rose street, lovvvvely cocktails.
Tonic is pretty much the same as element but usually louder slightly younger crowd.
Amicus Apple is similar again for nice quiet drinks decent music good bartenders decent quality drinks etc...
There's a weatherspoons in an old converted bank on george street too, its still "just" a weatherspoons but it is the nicest one i've ever been too, and still weatherspoons cheap :p.
Opal lounge is also a fairly decent clubby type place to go, but it really depends what night of the week, as with a lot of these places above. Taken over by a mass of students some nights, and left to people with a little more money/class other nights.
Garibaldis make an amazing mojito, my favourite in edinburgh, the place is a bit dingy but its got a great warm feeling and cool stereotypical foregin barmen! :D

Summing up:
Amicus Apple
Element
Tonic
All decent similar independent bar type places

Tigerlilly and Shanghai are basically (expensive) hotels with clubs underneath and nice bars inbetween. Good places to go though :) Opal falls into this category too because its like the clubs underneath these two hotels and is owned by tigerlilly.

LivingRooms & Voodoo Rooms are quite expensive nice bars again with the clientelle that goes along with that.

And I think you know weatherspoons ;D

Check some of those out online mayyyybe, and if you want a more detailed response i'll spend some real time writing up later :) They are all on or within a few miins walk of the royal mile...

If you want decent places to eat i can also draw up a list for that too :p

//Edit: And i'll try and say Hi whilst you're up here!

[Kitten]

thanks Alex, I'll email her and pass on the info. I'm sure she will pop by to say hi too! :D

[Kitten]

Alex, you've now got a mega fan ;D

She asked one more ickle favour:

Actually, if your friend (who I shall refer to as The Oracle) could recommend a decent (but traditional-ish) place to eat, that would be wonderful. This wouldn't be for the girls, but for the grannies/aunties who we will be dining out with the night before the big bash.

:D

[LeperousDust]

Thank-you :) I like to think i now my Edinburgh by now! :p

Whats their spend? Traditional/Nice-ish food caaaaaaan get expensive quite quickly round those parts, being so tourist-y.

[Kitten]

£35 ish!

[_dogma_]

Oh, there's a really nice pub that serves food on Rose st. It's an older sort of traditionally pub place, could start with M any ideas LeperousDust? (don't know if I know you enough to use your name!).

Oh, and another vote for Garibaldi's, it has a pole! Hard Rock also does amazing cocktails, if slightly overpriced, as does Filling Station and TGIs. The Wetherspoons is really nice but it can be hard to get a seat and I don't think they'd hold an area for people.

[LeperousDust]

Its called Milnes or something like that, i personally don't like it, food isn't any more than you'd get a weatherspoons the few times i've been there, its probably one of the better down rose street, but they're in a postition where they don't need to be amazing. I see them as somewhat "lazy" if you understand me. Its just a pub in a good location baiting tourists in all the time, i'd suggest better pubs but they're not as close as i'd like.

As for cocktails i'd disagree hard rock filling station and tgi's are all far to commercial for me. The ones i'd mentioned (although comercial) seem to have other agenda's. A place called sygn in the west end is probably where i've had my best cocktail of my life if anyone wants to go a little further afield :p The Rutland close to that on the corner is good as well, but if i was walking there i'd personally go to sygn. The rutland club downstairs does have some funky touch sensitive bar though that i promise you wont be able to help but play with!

On the food subject i've got a mental block right now, when i'm walking round there tomorrow i'll come back with a million answers dont worry :)