Review: Usquabae, West End, Edinburgh

Whisky lovers, there's a new playground in town!

Usquabae is underneath Ryan's Bar in the West End. The door is on Hope Street, across from the Angel's Share if you don't want to walk through Ryan's.

I'd heard about this new whisky bar last year and had been eagerly awaiting its arrival. After having drinks in the West End with friends, I thought I'd pop down and see if it might have opened while I was away. I was glad to discover they'd been open a week already.

At 9ish on a Friday night, there were a couple of groups in already. We sat at the bar and I found it a little noisy and hard to have a quiet conversation. 

There are plenty of low tables as well as little booths to sit in which might have been a better choice.

They also have two whisky rooms which would be quite fun for an intimate tasting or just hanging out for a couple of drinks.

The main draw is the 400 whiskies they have. There's also a few gins and a selection of beers on tap and in bottles.

I can see this place being popular with the after work crowd in the West End. They also have a menu full of Scottish food, from cullen skink, to Balmoral chicken and cranachan. 

I look forward to coming back at some stage soon for a meal and to try some more of the whiskies on offer.