The 11 Best Beer Gardens in Edinburgh (2026)

Teuchters Landing is the one to lead with, because nothing else on this list does what it does. The pub occupies the former waiting room for the old Leith-to-Aberdeen steamboat ferry, and the site has grown to encompass a main bar and conservatory, a proper beer garden, a bothy, and — the reason it's here — a floating pontoon deck moored out over the Water of Leith. You can genuinely sit with the water moving underneath you, which is not a sentence I get to write often about a pub.

It's dog-friendly on a lead, except on major rugby days when the crowds make that impractical. There's no published price list, so budget standard Leith gastropub prices for the haggis, the fish and chips, and the whisky flight. The one honest catch: it's popular enough that a pontoon table on a warm evening means a wait, and a couple of reviewers note it can turn cold out there fast once the sun drops. If you want the water without the queue, go for an early evening rather than prime time.

The Pear Tree has the biggest beer garden in this list by reputation, a converted courtyard behind an 18th-century townhouse with picnic benches, a stage for live bands, and what regulars call the biggest outdoor screen in the city — genuinely the move for a big match. It's a five-minute walk from the university, which explains the crowd on a weekday evening.

One thing worth knowing before you go: dogs are not allowed, in the garden or the pub, with no exceptions — a surprise given how dog-friendly Edinburgh generally is. Heaters are there but at least one reviewer found them underpowered on a cold night, so this is still fundamentally a summer plan. Food can mean a real wait when it's busy (over an hour on a big match day, by one account), so if you're hungry, order early or eat first.

Old Chain Pier trades size for setting: a small outdoor terrace right on the Firth of Forth in Trinity, on the site of the original 1820s Chain Pier (destroyed in an 1898 storm — the stone land-anchor from the old structure survives as part of today's bar). The venue's own line is that it has the best view in Edinburgh, and on a clear evening with the sun going down over the water, that's a hard claim to argue with.

The beer garden runs on a first-come basis — no reservations for outdoor tables — with last food orders at 8:30pm and the kitchen closing at 9pm, so this isn't a late-night plan. Dogs are welcome on a short lead. There's no exact price list published, but the food (mussels, fish and chips, seafood pasta) gets consistently good reviews. It's a proper trip out from the centre, best paired with a walk along the Trinity/Newhaven waterfront rather than squeezed into a city-centre evening.

The Espy sits right on the Portobello promenade, close enough to the beach that Time Out has ranked it among the city's best beer gardens in its own right. The pitch is simple: fish and chips, a pint, and the Firth of Forth a few steps away, with the seat by the window or the sea-facing table the one everyone asks for.

It's dog-friendly and wheelchair accessible (entrance, seating and toilet). The honest catch, per reviewers, is that the outdoor area itself is a little dated and could use a refresh — go for the setting and the food rather than expecting a design-led space. No official price list is published online, but it's priced like a straightforward seafront pub rather than a destination restaurant.

The Sheep Heid Inn is reputed to be one of Scotland's oldest pubs, tucked into the village of Duddingston beside the loch, with a skittle alley and a garden the venue itself describes as dining 'under the open sky.' It's the pick if you want to properly leave the city centre behind: the walk here from the Southside, over or around Holyrood Park with Arthur's Seat on one side, is genuinely one of the nicer approaches to any pub in Edinburgh.

The garden is uncovered, so treat this as a fair-weather destination rather than a year-round plan. The venue publishes no dog policy or accessibility details, so ring ahead if either matters. Sources, so it's worth a quick check ahead if either matters to your visit. Book for dinner if you want to eat — it's popular enough with locals and out-of-towners both that a walk-in table isn't guaranteed.

Salisbury Arms in Newington reads as a proper dining pub with a courtyard and garden attached, rather than a drinks-first beer garden — go in planning to eat as well as drink. The kitchen publishes exact prices, which is more than most on this list manage: billionaire's fries at £6.50, a fillet steak sandwich at £14.50, and a 2-course set lunch from £21.95.

It's run as part of a larger pub group, so the dog and accessibility policy published online is generic brand-level guidance rather than specific to this address — call ahead if either is a dealbreaker. It's a short walk from the Commonwealth Pool, so it pairs well with a swim or a gym session if you're staying in the area.

The Beehive Inn is the easiest add-on if you're already in the Old Town: it's right on the Grassmarket, with over a century of history and a small beer garden to the rear. It's not a raised terrace with a Grassmarket view — keep expectations modest on size and outlook — but it's a genuinely pleasant spot for a pint between Old Town stops, and the steak and ale pie is a reliable order if you're eating.

Dog-friendly, with disabled facilities on site (though the venue doesn't publish further detail on exactly what that covers). No exact prices are published online. Given the location, expect it to be busy with a tourist crowd alongside the regulars, especially in summer and during the Fringe.

The Golf Tavern looks out over Bruntsfield Links, the pitch-and-putt course that's genuinely one of the oldest golfing greens in the world, which makes the outdoor seating here a different kind of view from anything else on this list — green space instead of water or courtyard walls. The pub tells its own history back to 1456, a claim I couldn't independently verify beyond the pub's own account, but by any measure it's one of the older continuously run pubs in the city.

Details on the garden itself (size, cover, heaters) aren't published anywhere I could find, so treat it as an outdoor-seating pub rather than a big dedicated garden. One recurring note in reviews: the food is priced higher than the quality suggests, so this is more a drinks stop with the view than a food destination.

The Outhouse is Broughton's hidden one: a walled courtyard down a lane off Broughton Street, away from the traffic and noise of the main road, with two outdoor screens for football and a reputation among regulars as one of the best enclosed beer gardens in the city. It's recently changed hands, now run by St Andrews Brewing Co, after a spell up for sale.

It's reported to run covered seating and outdoor heaters, though I wasn't able to confirm that directly with the venue, so don't bank on it in the depths of winter without checking first. Dog-friendly and wheelchair accessible. There's no standing beer-garden menu published online — treat any promotional pint price you see quoted online as time-limited rather than the standard rate.

Ryrie's Bar by Haymarket station is the practical pick: a proper old pub with plenty of character indoors and an outdoor area reviewers describe as good for fresh air and a view, rather than a garden that's a destination on its own. Its real strength is location — genuinely the most useful stop on this list if you're heading to or from a Murrayfield rugby international, and it gets properly busy on match days as a result.

Dog-friendly, with disabled access listed. No exact prices are published online. If you just want somewhere reliable with outdoor seating near the station rather than a special-occasion garden, this is the one.

The Finch is the newest name on this list, and also the smallest and least reviewed — which is fair warning that it's more a good neighbourhood find than a headline destination. The building and garden are the same ones that were The Pond for years, then The Bullfinch from 2021, before reopening as The Finch in June 2025 under new owners; the beer garden survived every rename, even if the quirky, fairy-lit decor The Pond was known for has been replaced by a plainer, brighter room.

It's a genuine local's spot in Leith, a short walk from Teuchters Landing, so the two pair naturally into one Leith beer-garden evening. There's no published dog policy or accessibility details or exact prices from official sources, so treat those as unknowns rather than assumptions — but the reviews on the actual garden and the welcome are consistently glowing for a bar that's only been under this name since last summer.