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The pub’s story
The Devil’s Advocate arrived at 9 Advocate’s Close in 2013. The close is the older layer: Forever Edinburgh traces it to the fifteenth century and the council connects its name with Sir James Stewart, Lord Advocate. That does not make the venue building medieval. Historic Environment Scotland identifies it as a former boiler house for the Edinburgh Evening News, appearing on the 1896 Ordnance Survey map. It belongs to a broader listed complex with distinct components: a Peddie and Kinnear block of 1859-61, an 1882 printing-works and office element, and a separate 1928 Evening News block. Urban Realm records conversion of the boiler-house ground floor for the bar and insertion of a mezzanine. The operator’s “pump house” and “powered the city” marketing are excluded here because the authoritative record supports neither. Today it is a whisky, cocktail and Scottish-food bar; its own visitor page warns that access involves stairs.
Film and television details
Each entry separates the real venue from its fictional role and states which part of the site was filmed. Scene notes avoid major spoilers.
Clique
On screen: Holly’s workplace
The Devil’s Advocate was used as Holly’s workplace in the second season. The official guide establishes the narrative role but does not name an episode or define whether every shot used the real interior.
Filming footprint: Exact scope not confirmed
- Clique Official Edinburgh screen guide identifying The Devil’s Advocate as Holly’s season-two workplace location.
Nearby screen locations
These are separate filming or historical locations. They are not extra pub listings, and they do not show that filming happened inside this venue.
- Cockburn StreetPublic outdoor locationCockburn Street, Old Town
Avengers: Infinity War 2018
Cockburn Street was dressed for the Edinburgh action sequence, including the exterior used for the fictional fast-food shop. Temporary production signs are no longer present.
Avengers: Infinity WarFast & Furious 9 2021
Film Edinburgh lists Cockburn Street among the city-centre locations used for F9.
Fast & Furious 9Hallam Foe 2007
Cockburn Street is one of the Edinburgh locations identified for Hallam Foe.
Hallam FoeAccess: A steep, curved street with uneven paving and kerbs. View from the pavement; do not obstruct shop entrances.
What to notice
- 01
Call the structure a former Edinburgh Evening News boiler house: the official record does not support the operator’s pump-house or city-powering claims.
- 02
The medieval date belongs to Advocate’s Close, while the building components date from 1859-61, 1882, by 1896 and 1928.
- 03
Expect stairs. The terrace is small and availability should be checked before relying on it.
The time rail
The building, the pub and its interior may date from different periods. The timeline keeps documented dates separate from tradition.
Forever Edinburgh traces Advocate’s Close to the fifteenth century.
Historic Environment Scotland dates the Peddie and Kinnear block in the wider listed complex to 1859-61.
Historic Environment Scotland records this date for a separate printing-works and office element east of the close.
Historic Environment Scotland identifies the former boiler house for the Edinburgh Evening News on the 1896 Ordnance Survey map.
Historic Environment Scotland dates a separate Evening News office and printing-works block to 1928.
The wider complex, expressly including the former boiler house, was designated Category B as LB30085.
Project information dates completion of the wider Advocate’s Close redevelopment to 2013.
Time Out records The Devil’s Advocate’s arrival in the converted building.
The operator continues to publish a whisky, cocktail and Scottish-food offer and a weekly schedule.
Sources & confidence
HES provides the controlling building terminology: the listed complex includes a former boiler house built for the Edinburgh Evening News and already shown on the 1896 OS map. It separately dates the Peddie and Kinnear block to 1859-61, the printing-works and office element to 1882, and a further Evening News office and printing block to 1928. Council material corroborates the component separation and close-name history. Forever Edinburgh supplies only the close's fifteenth-century chronology. Urban Realm identifies the current bar's reuse of the boiler-house ground floor, while Time Out attributes the venue's arrival to 2013. The operator's pump-house and powered-the-city marketing is rejected because no reviewed authoritative record supports it. Coordinates are HES's locator for the broader former-boiler-house complex, not a surveyed doorway point. The phone number and published hours are dated to 12 August 2026.
Research reviewed
- Former boiler house and printing works, Advocate’s Close complex (LB30085)Historic Environment Scotlandheritage
SupportsStatutory building identity, Category B listing, 1859-61, 1882, 1896 and 1928 component chronology, and the former Evening News boiler-house identification.
- Advocate’s Close development briefCity of Edinburgh Councilgovernment
SupportsOfficial close context, Lord Advocate association and separated component chronology; not evidence that the modern bar or boiler house is medieval.
- Find usThe Devil’s Advocateofficial
SupportsCurrent address, visitor access warning, operating hours and Old Town location.
- About usThe Devil’s Advocateofficial
SupportsCurrent whisky, cocktail, Scottish-food, wine and craft-beer offer; its pump-house language is not adopted where it conflicts with the statutory record.
- The history of Edinburgh’s closesForever Edinburgheditorial
SupportsFifteenth-century Advocate’s Close context and its Lord Advocate naming association; this dates the close, not the bar building.
- Advocate’s Close: Edinburgh EAA AwardEdinburgh Architecturespecialist
Supports2013 redevelopment completion and a new bar-bistro among the completed uses.
- The Devil’s Advocate, interiors 2014Urban Realmspecialist
SupportsConversion of the former Evening News boiler-house ground floor and the inserted mezzanine; it does not date the close.
- The Devil’s AdvocateTime Outeditorial
SupportsIndependent 2013 venue-arrival record at 9 Advocate’s Close; its pump-station wording is not used for building identity.
- Out of this world rooftop barsForever Edinburgheditorial
SupportsCurrent tourism editorial mention of the small rooftop terrace and view toward Old Town spires.
- CliqueForever Edinburghofficial
SupportsOfficial city screen guide identifying The Devil’s Advocate as the season-two workplace location.
