Quick info
About The Stockbridge Tap
The Stockbridge Tap is a pub in Edinburgh at 2-6 Raeburn Pl, where dogs are welcome and the rugby is shown on match days. The bar pours cask ales alongside keg beer on draft. The kitchen runs a small menu of cooked snacks, including a bacon sandwich and a pie, and Pipers crisps are stocked for the bar. A refurbishment in 2026 gave the pub more space and front windows that open. Music plays inside, and the room gets busy and noisy at peak times.
Good to know
- ParkingPaid street parking · Usually somewhat difficult to find a space
- AccessibilityWheelchair: entrance, restroom, seating
Reviews
What reviewers say
Reviewers most often mention cask ale selection, guinness, outdoor tables and bacon sandwich and pie.
What reviewers say
Reviewers most often mention cask ale selection, guinness, outdoor tables and bacon sandwich and pie.
Customer Review Summary
Reviewers split on the recent refurbishment, but the cask and draught beer selection is what most praise, alongside friendly bar staff, with one reviewer singling out the Guinness. Several describe the pub as traditional, with a good range on draft and cask, outdoor tables, and a bright, airy interior with more space. One reviewer credits a bartender with making three custom spritzes on a sunny day, and another calls the bacon sandwich and pie epic from a small cooked-snacks menu. The complaints come mostly from longtime regulars who say the place has lost its local feel. They report overcrowding, loud music, and cask beers that rotate less often, with three kegs of each now instead of one. One says a young staff member wiped froth off a cask glass with a dirty cloth, and another notes alcohol-free beer is no longer served. One reviewer says the barman stopped serving drinks near 11.30pm until a group of rugby students left, even though the reviewer was drinking alone. Several still call the staff friendly and helpful, though one dismisses them as miserable.
Customer Review Summary
Reviewers split on the recent refurbishment, but the cask and draught beer selection is what most praise, alongside friendly bar staff, with one reviewer singling out the Guinness. Several describe the pub as traditional, with a good range on draft and cask, outdoor tables, and a bright, airy interior with more space. One reviewer credits a bartender with making three custom spritzes on a sunny day, and another calls the bacon sandwich and pie epic from a small cooked-snacks menu. The complaints come mostly from longtime regulars who say the place has lost its local feel. They report overcrowding, loud music, and cask beers that rotate less often, with three kegs of each now instead of one. One says a young staff member wiped froth off a cask glass with a dirty cloth, and another notes alcohol-free beer is no longer served. One reviewer says the barman stopped serving drinks near 11.30pm until a group of rugby students left, even though the reviewer was drinking alone. Several still call the staff friendly and helpful, though one dismisses them as miserable.
Featured reviews
- Google user
“Traditional pub. Good beer selection both on draft and cask. Friendly and helpful bar staff. A good choice in the area.”
- Google user
“Reasonably prices for Edinburgh. Great Guinness. Friendly staff. Outdoor tables and a bright airy atmosphere inside.”
- Google user
“A lovely, friendly pub for cask ales and with brilliant staff. No food, but plenty of Pipers crisps available, and very dog-friendly. EDIT JULY 2026: My former review pertains to when The Stockbridge Tap was not taken over and refurbished by the Raeburn. I'm leaving my former 5-star review as a reminder of what a great, community-run pub is supposed to be, not some Instagramer coven that puts profit before customers and staff. Since undergoing the refurb, the Tap has had its soul thoroughly ripped out. Where once you could go in and be welcomed by a multitude of friendly faces, you are now met with a hive of yuppies and influencers taking selfies. Where once you could have a nice, quiet pint to yourself and read a book, you are now bombarded with the incessant chatter from the overcrowded room, the scream of toddlers running between tables and the overbearing blast of defeanening music. Where once you could enjoy a rotating list of wonderful casks and keg beer, you now have the same set beers that are slowly being whittled down in choice (though who could have expected much from the pub whose Instagram champions Guinness as exotic). Where once the staff knew your name and had time to chat to customers, the new faceless lineup just rattle off beers and prices like a call centre agent at rush hour (yes, that's their job to serve, but if I wanted a robot conveyor belt I might as well go to an Amazon warehouse). What was one of Edinburgh’s best pubs - a CAMRA award winning venue that welcomed dogs and showed the rugby - has now deformed into any other 'tradbar' that doesn't just get a paint job but an entirely new persona and clientele. They've removed table space to cram in as many people as possible, making it resemble a music festival bar at show halftime as hordes clamber over one another to reach the bar. It's overcrowded, ugly and a farcry to what it used to be: a botched makeover complete with hipsters snapping pics of their overpriced Guinness for the Gram'.”
- Google user
“Up for the day, Scotland. I always love coming to this pub—an absolutely brilliant place with a good atmosphere and a good selection of beers, wine, and other drinks. The staff are brilliant, very friendly, and helpful. I didn't have food as I was going elsewhere, so I can't comment on it. Well worth a visit.”
- Google user
“As a regular here for years I was initially impressed with the refurb. However now it is no longer a local and has lost its essence and turned into just another pub. The young staff are untrained and do not know how to pour a cask beer -one wiped the froth off the glass with a dirty cloth from behind the bar. The cask beers do not rotate as often as they get 3 kegs of each (rather than one before) as it’s do busy to keep changing they told me. It’s such a shame to loose such a good real beer pub. Now they have music as well. There is always a balance but don’t loose what you had build on it. Keep the variety of cask ale and the frequency of rotation-you charge enough to be able to do this and train your young new staff properly,”
Highlights
“Cozy, laid-back neighborhood hangout offering burgers & other familiar pub fare, plus beer on tap.”
- Great beer selection
Amenities
- Wheelchair accessible entrance
- Paid street parking
- Dogs allowed
- Dine-in
- Food at bar
- Cozy
Show more amenities
- Onsite services
- Beer
- Free water refills
- Restroom
- Usually somewhat difficult to find a space
- Offerings· 3
- Alcohol
- Hard liquor
- Wine
- Crowd· 1
- Groups
- Accessibility· 2
- Wheelchair accessible restroom
- Wheelchair accessible seating
- Highlights· 1
- Great beer selection
- Atmosphere· 1
- Casual
Location
Bars near The Stockbridge Tap
- The Bailie Bar4.61,2460.1 mi
fish and chips, handmade burgers, sunday roast
- The Antiquary Bar4.56140.2 mi£10–20ReservationsOutdoor seating
sunday roast, venison pie, fish and chips
- 0.2 mi
lamb salad, chocolate tart, paella
| Place | Rating | Distance | Price | Mentioned in reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Stockbridge TapWheelchair accessible | 4.41,020 | — | £10–20 | cask ale selection, guinness, outdoor tables |
| The Bailie Bar | 4.61,246 | 0.1 mi | — | fish and chips, handmade burgers, sunday roast |
| The Antiquary BarReservations · Outdoor seating | 4.5614 | 0.2 mi | £10–20 | sunday roast, venison pie, fish and chips |
| Rollo Restaurant & Wine Bar | 4.7196 | 0.2 mi | — | lamb salad, chocolate tart, paella |
The 3 nearest bars by distance. Ratings, hours and review terms come from public business profiles.
Similar Bars nearby
More to explore in Edinburgh
29 places
Bars in Edinburgh
Photo: The Guildford Arms · 4.5 · 4,433 Google reviews
See all 29 bars in Edinburgh
