Oxford Bar

Located on Young Street in Edinburgh's New Town, the Oxford Bar is, in many ways, more like a home than a public house, with an unassuming facade and domestic-scale interior comprising a few small rooms, the first of which also contains the bar. Indeed it was built in 1779 as a house by John Young (the builder after whom the street was named) but is thought to have first operated as a bar in 1811. It is known to have been a confectioner's shop in 1843 but has served continuously as a bar since 1893. Now B-listed, the establishment has several literary connections, being frequented by poet Sydney Goodsir Smith (1915-75) and crime-writer Ian Rankin (b.1960), becoming the favourite watering hole of his most famous character Inspector Rebus.


Use the tabs on the right of this page to see other parts of this entry arrow

If you have found this information useful please consider making
a donation to help maintain and improve this resource. More info...

By using our site you agree to accept cookies, which help us serve you better