Unusual Venues of Edinburgh - The Rowantree

The Rowantree is an intimate and atmospheric cavernous venue nestled in the depths of the 18th century South Bridge in the heart of the Old Town, and a stone’s throw from the famous Royal Mile.

This romantic venue is steeped in colourful history, and every vaulted room that has been sympathetically restored to its former glory has a story to tell and a special place in Scotland’s past. From the rumoured hunting ground of Burke and Hare, to the spiritual home of the Oyster Club of the Scottish Enlightenment.

The Rowantree, was originally home to the renowned Lucky Middlemiss Tavern, an oyster tavern of the Scottish Enlightenment era that saw literary greats and Enlightenment figures throng the watering hole. James Hutton, Robert Burns, David Hume, Adam Smith, Deacon Brodie, Watt and Benjamin Franklin were just some of the regulars, with Robert Louis Stevenson once describing it as “a rabbit warren not only by the numbers of its twist and turns, but by its dark stairs frequented by loiterers and such other such low characters and as treacherous a place as I saw.”

Different and unique, distinctive and full of personality, and, most importantly, intimate, this remarkable venue will wow guests.