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The pub’s story
Milnes Bar is formally at 35 Hanover Street, with street-level access from Rose Street and basement access from Hanover Street; it belongs in a Rose Street crawl for that physical connection, not because it has a Rose Street postal number. The current operator dates Milnes to 1910 and promotes its literary association. Secondary local accounts say London and Milnes began as spirit merchants that year and evolved into a public house in the 1950s; those details and the ‘Poets’ Pub’ reputation should be treated as attributed until independently documented. CAMRA records a venue made from two earlier pubs, with rooms and alcoves on two levels, dark wood and the ‘Kremlin Bar’. Today it is a large, multi-roomed food, cask-ale, whisky, sport and music venue. Visit for its maze-like rooms and literary atmosphere, while keeping the setting and the business chronology carefully separate.
Literary connections
Each note states whether the link comes from a writer’s own words, a fictional setting, a commemorative name or a venue tradition.
The post-war Milne’s Bar circle
Mid-20th century
National Galleries and the Scottish Poetry Library describe Milne’s as an important haunt for Hugh MacDiarmid and a post-war circle that included Norman MacCaig, George Mackay Brown and others. This is a cultural meeting-place connection, not proof that every named poet was present on every occasion.
- Milnes Bar National Galleries account of Bellany, MacDiarmid and the Milne’s discussions.
- Norman MacCaig Scottish Poetry Library biography placing MacCaig in the post-war Milne’s group.
Alexander Moffat’s Poets’ Pub
1980
Moffat’s painting is an imaginative composite of Milne’s, the Abbotsford and Café Royal, populated by key modern Scottish poets. It is not a literal record of one gathering at this bar.
- Poets’ Pub National Galleries identifies the painting as an imaginary, composite pub vision.
Edwin Morgan
1990
Morgan is often swept into broad accounts of the ‘poets’ pub’, but he wrote that he was not part of that crowd. The app therefore does not present Milne’s as one of his regular haunts.
- Eddie @ 90 Morgan’s own qualification that he was not part of the Milne’s crowd.
What to notice
- 01
Use the formal address for navigation: 35 Hanover Street, EH2 2PJ. Rose Street is a street-level access, not the official postal address.
- 02
The ‘since 1910’ and literary stories are operator/secondary accounts; they are part of the venue’s character but not independently proven continuous history in this record.
- 03
During the Fringe the operator currently says it cannot take bookings; walk in instead and expect a multi-roomed venue with level changes.
The time rail
The building, the pub and its interior may date from different periods. The timeline keeps documented dates separate from tradition.
The current operator dates Milnes Bar to 1910; local secondary accounts say London and Milnes began as spirit merchants that year, so this remains attributed.
A local secondary account says the spirit-merchant business became a fully fledged public house in the 1950s; no independent archival record was found in this review.
Alexander Moffat’s ‘Scottish Poets in Milnes Bar’ is dated 1980 in an educational publication, evidencing the venue’s later literary cultural association.
CAMRA’s local guide described the present venue as created from two previous pubs, including Milne’s ‘Poets Pub’, with rooms and alcoves on two levels.
The operator confirms the formal 35 Hanover Street address, Rose Street and basement access, current daily hours and food service.
The current operator continues to market Milnes as a literary pub with food, drinks, live sport and a wide-access facilities offer.
Sources & confidence
The operator establishes the current pub, formal address and visitor offer. National Galleries sources provide the strong cultural evidence: Milnes was a significant haunt for Bellany and his circle, and Poets’ Pub deliberately combines Milnes, the Abbotsford and Café Royal. This profile does not claim a preserved historic interior or invent a Rose Street postal number.
Research reviewed
- Milnes BarBelhaven Pubsofficial
SupportsCurrent operator identity, ‘since 1910’ literary positioning, facilities, food/drink/sport offer and current weekly opening hours.
- Contact UsMilnes Bar / Belhaven Pubsofficial
SupportsFormal 35 Hanover Street address, daily opening and food-serving times, current Fringe booking notice and operator access information.
- MilnesEdinburgh and South-East Scotland CAMRAspecialist
SupportsRose Street street-level and Hanover Street basement access, two-level layout, predecessor-pub/Poets Pub account, dark wood and Kremlin Bar description.
- Milnes BarUse Your Localeditorial
SupportsSecondary 1910 spirit-merchant, 1950s public-house and literary-figure narrative; these claims are explicitly treated as attributed.
- Robert Fergusson (1750–1774)The Royal High School / Royal High Communityeditorial
SupportsDated 1980 Alexander Moffat image caption ‘Scottish poets in Milnes Bar’, supporting the later cultural-literary association.
- Milnes BarTripadvisorappearance
SupportsBusiness-managed current listing corroborating the formal Hanover Street address, current hours and literary positioning.
