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Rose Street, Edinburgh

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The Bad Ass - Edinburgh
The Bad Ass
by steventilly
Rose Street tips and photos posted by real travelers and Edinburgh locals.
• 12 Photos
• 10 Reviews

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Rose Street: The Abbotsford Bar & Restaurant
  • Tip Rating:
  • Courtesy of www.beerintheevening.com - Edinburgh
    Courtesy of
    www.beerintheevening.com
    by St_Vincent
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    Despite a rather uninspiring exterior this is a nice looking pub inside, complete with wood panelling and a marvellous decorative ceiling. There is a large island bar with good service and a good range of real ales. Seating around three sides of the pub is popular for lunchtime meals and there is also a restaurant upstairs. The service in the Abbotsford is some of the best I have experienced.

  • Theme: Eating and Drinking
  • Address: 3-5 Rose Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2PR
  • Directions: The first, or last, pub at the east end of Rose Street
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    Rose Street: Rose Street - The Ultimate Scottish Pub Crawl
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  • If you see this sign - you're in the right spot! - Edinburgh
    If you see this sign - you're
    in the right spot!
    by MarieGutscher
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    Rose Street is one of the most famous streets in Edinburgh, mostly because of the number of pubs that are packed into it and perhaps also because it used to be a very well known red light district. Ahem…it isn’t anymore, it’s a lovely street now.
    My dear friend Adelle asked me if I wanted to take the “ROSE STREET CHALLENGE” – start at one end and have one drink in every pub – the goal being to reach the end of the street and still be able to move one leg in front of the other.
    I passed on this challenge as I don’t have a very high alcohol tolerance and figured that I’d be arrested and thrown in an Edinburgh drunk tank before making it halfway down the street.
    However, if it’s a pub crawl you want – this is the street to accomplish it on!
    After your pub crawl, when you’re all uninhibited from the booze you can stop in at the huge internet café and email all of your friends – an excellent idea but only if you can still type and only if you don’t end up sending them embarrassing emails that say,
    “I'm here in Rosesstreet an whent pub crallwing…it was fun. But I nevr told yu hwo much I luuuvvee yuo! Yer my best friend – you realy ar…I mean it…I never told you…but you’re my bestesst friend in th ewhold world!”

    As with most establishments in Scotland do not show up in jeans and "trainers" AKA running shoes in most pubs. Put on your chino's and loafers before going out on the town!

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  • Theme: Eating and Drinking
  • Directions: Rose Street runs parallel to Princes Street.
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    Rose Street: Dirty Dicks
  • Tip Rating:
  • The next place we went in was Dirty Dicks - and it turned out to be an affiliate of The Bad Ass, much the same style, decore, atmosphere... nice again, but not so different.
    There is a third affiliated pub "Clever Dicks" on The Royal Mile.

  • Theme: Eating and Drinking
  • Address: Rose Street
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    Rose Street: Nightlife Hotspot
  • Tip Rating:
  • One of Edinburghs most famous streets, Rose Street runs parallel to and one street back from Princes street. It runs the whole length, from Charlotte Square to St Andrews Square and is lined with pubs and eateries, as well as some shops. It's a good place, by day or by night.

    Seemed to be "casual" but there may be trainers/jeans restrictions.
    Many of the places along here are quite "cosy" and have candle lit tables and quite atmospheric interiors. We were quite surprised at how they differed from a lot of the pubs at "home".

  • Theme: Eating and Drinking
  • Directions: This is the first place we called at, The Bad Ass!
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    Rose Street: Crammed full of memories! DIRTY DICK'S
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  • Exterior of Dirty Dick's, Edinburgh (Aug. 2008) - Edinburgh
    Exterior of Dirty Dick's,
    Edinburgh (Aug. 2008)
    by JessH, 2 more photos
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    Managed by the same company that runs the Bad Ass (just a few doors to the left) Dirty Dick's was established in 1859. Before you think that the pub's name sounds like something you could catch on a stag-weekend or a naughty holiday to Thailand, here's the story:
    Dick was an old lad in the 1850s who cleaned-up the mess (dung) that the horses left behind all along Rose Street. This job earned him the nick name of 'Dirty Dick'. Apparently the owners of the pub (which today has his name) used to offer him drink and a hot meal. Eventually his hard life in dirt and poverty caused Dick a relatively early death… and it is said that some family members were trying to find him because his mother had given him away as a baby, but now he was the last heir to her fortune.

    The interiors are a remarkable reminder of the pub's history, with a massive collection of bric-a-brac & memorablia of by-gone events and people dating back to the 1850s. There isn't a single square inch of wall & ceiling that isn't adorned with something.

    Service here is extremely friendly (they have a board above the bar promising to be) and the food was also really good. During our 2 visits it was always quite busy, both on a weekday and the weekend, with many groups of friends or also families enjoying the food & drink on offer.
    Talk about food! Their menu states that they serve "Traditional pub food with a classy edge" & it has pretty much everything you'd expect to find in Scotland. From small snacks such as toasties and soup, all the way through elaborately prepared main courses and of course scrumptious desserts; in my opinion Dirty Dick's can proudly call itself something slightly above merely a 'pub' - we really enjoyed our times here and I'd definitely visit there again on our next trip to Edinburgh.

    John enjoyed the traditional Haggis, Neeps & Tatties (that's "with mashed turnips & potatoes" in English ;-) in a whisky-cream sauce, and I ordered the same, apart from the fact that my Haggis was vegetarian (made from grains, pulses and oats) and both were really good.

    Smart-Casual; during daylight hours even casual will do.
    However, as most pubs in Edinburgh, groups wearing rugby/football team colours aren't necessarily welcome.

    NOTE: the only 'down-side' or negative remark that I have would be that the pubs/restaurants along Rose Street seem to be a bit pricier than those in the Grassmarket. So if you're watching your budget, best give the establishments on Rose Street a miss. Rose Street runs pretty much parallel to the Grassmarket just a little bit further uphill.

    Opening hours:
    Sunday-Thursday: 11.00am -12.00midnight.
    Friday & Saturday: 11.00am-01.00am.
    The kitchen is open until 11:00pm.

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  • Theme: Eating and Drinking
  • Address: 159 Rose Street, EH2 4LS Edinburgh, Scotland - UK
  • Phone: 0044-(0)131-225 4610
  • Directions: Exactly opposite Richard Graham's: Scotland's oldest Whisky & Cigar merchant.
  • Website: www.belowthebeltfoodco.com
  • Other Contact: Email: info@dirtydicksbar.com
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    Rose Street: Is it a Pub? Is it a Bistro? THE BAD ASS
  • Tip Rating:
  • Inside the Bad Ass Bistro, Edinburgh, Scotland - Edinburgh
    Inside the Bad Ass Bistro,
    Edinburgh, Scotland
    by JessH, 3 more photos
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    * * * UNDER CONSTRUCTION * * *

    *
    *
    *
    Opening Hours:
    Sunday-Thursday: 11:00am-01:00pm.
    Fridays & Saturdays: 11:30am-01:00am.

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  • Theme: Eating and Drinking
  • Address: 167 Rose Street, EH2 4LS Edinburgh, Scotland - UK
  • Phone: 0044-(0)131-225 1546
  • Directions: Just 2 or 3 doors to the left of "Dirty Dick's.
  • Website: http://www.belowthebeltfoodco.com/bad-ass-bistro/
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    Rose Street: Pub Crawling
  • Tip Rating:
  • Rose street is parallel to Prince's street and is the ultimate pub crawl location. That's pretty much all that's there, pubs and a few restaurants. You could drink your way from one end to the other if you've got lots of stamina. Rose street is pedestrian only but the cross streets are open to traffic so if you do over indulge, mind how you cross over.

    Another great pub is the STanding Orders on George street, a few blocks farther parallel to Rose. It used to be a bank or large public building and it's now a bar of elegant proportions.

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  • Theme: Nightclub
  • Directions: Parallel to Prince's street.
  • Rate   Not Helpful  1   2   3   4   5  Very Helpful
    Rose Street: Pub Crawl
    I can't remember exactly how to get to it, but it's called Rose Street and has a lot of pubs on it! You wouldn't have to go anywhere else in the city for a few lagers! It is a pedestrain street full of pubs and shops too. A very lively atmosphere!

    Depends, but "nice casual" would work for most places.

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  • Theme: Eating and Drinking
  • Address: Rose Street
  • Directions: The website can help you out more than I can!
  • Website: http://www.edinburgh.pubs.freeuk.com/rosent.html
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    Rose Street: Sometimes You Just Need a Good Fling
    Situated right across the street from the Internet Café – this little pub is warm and inviting.
    I sat at the window and had a pint of Guinness and some chips for lunch with plans of people watching before carrying on up to the Castle.
    That would have been fine but the people who sat next to me were so friendly I ended up sitting there chatting with them for hours!

    The staff were very kind and the décor was simple but hearty…if you can use hearty as a descriptive word for interior design.

    This pub is a perfect lunch/people watching pub!

    I was unaware of a dress code in this establishment but as a rule assume no jeans or sneakers will be allowed.

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  • Theme: People Watching
  • Address: 49 Rose Street
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    Rose Street: Pubs
    Nice pub....you can find out what is nice in it

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  • Theme: Eating and Drinking
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