The Diggers

Great beer and great whiskey at a reasonable price

This is a great wee pub! A bit limited on seating, but it has plenty of room to stand and a wee snug room round the back. It’s a very traditional pub which is nice in this age of glass, steel and concrete everywhere. There’s a good selection of beers and spirits, and they are doggy friendly. I think they are the only pub I’ve ever been to that have their own range of merchandise too! You can get keyrings, t-​shirts, mugs… all sorts! I was tempted by the purple hoodie, I might have to travel back to Edinburgh to get myself one! I hear they do pies too, so a return visit is highly likely!

Yaaasss! Proper pub where you can get a pint and a pie. This is definately on the traditional end of pubs in Edinburgh. I love the décor and traditional tables. They are the half width tables attached to the floor, just enogh room to balance your pints and a bag of crisps. The service and selection of top shelf booze is excellent. The pies arent bad either. The taps are your traditional one cider, guiness, a lager and some ales. Suits me for the sort of evenings we have in here. Prices are inexpensive and it is an ideal place to while away a lazy afternoon. Just mind the football timings, if there is a game on down the road this place is hoachin’.

When I wrote my original review I was perhaps a little biased against the pub because of the connection to the Hearts football team. While I can’t stand football, I do like good beer, well poured at a fair price and Diggers checks all 3 of those boxes.
I do have an affinity for traditional pubs, well those which do things right and the Diggers comfortably falls into this category. I happen to like a pie and a pint or quiet hour to read the paper and have a couple of beers. I happen to like that the staff know, care about and taste the beers and will recommend one to you.
The Diggers hasn’t changed and I hope it never does. I still wouldn’t come here on a match day, but then that is true of a lot of pubs (any with TVs generally), so I shouldn’t hold that against the Diggers. This isn’t my local, but I probably stop in 3 – 5 times in any given month and I haven’t had a bad visit.
So there we are, judged on its merits The Diggers is my kind of pub, the beers are well kept and the prices are fair, so I am a fan.

Proud to call it ‘my local’.
I moved to Edinburgh last Summer and when wandering my new neighbourhood, came across ‘The Diggers’. What immediately struck me is how appealing it was from the outside as it was then found to be on the inside. The place is immaculate.
It is also the definition of a ‘real pub’. A mix of all ages, professions and characters mean there is never a lack of banter. Maria and the team behind the bar very quickly get to know you and you are soon acknowledged as a ‘local’ yourself.
Well behaved ‘Dugs’ are welcome and are part of the furniture, (often on it too) which I love. Great place to watch the football, laugh out loud craic from a bunch of bone dry humoured comedians will keep you entertained during even the most brain numbing games.
Prices are very reasonable and the rolling special offers on the huge selection of Malts are borderline ‘giveaway’.
The Toilets are a thing of beauty… now how often do you say that? ‘Go see’ and you will understand.

I’m a huge fan of this pub! Maybe I’m getting old but it is a ‘proper’ pub with ‘proper’ (quarter gill) measures and is ‘properly’ priced. If you are a whiskey fan then this is a great pub with types (and prices) to suit all budgets. A good range of beers is on offer from independent breweries (yay!) and they do a specials list of drinks — been in when there’s been a gin list so some of the independent brands on there as well as some of the trendier and better known brands.
Wine is reasonable and drinkable unlike in some of the other traditional pubs. Yes, it is populated by locals but of all ages which makes a change from fighting through the throng on tourists in town bars. Also, where else would you be given (free) bowls of stovies at 6pm on a Friday night?

This place I went a couple of years ago for dinner with a man who is now my ex bf. We thought it might be nice but thought naahhh. Boring pub. I prefer karaōke me.

A traditional style pub but a bit boring the bar staff would dissolve if they were to smile I have tried this place a few times and found it very clique there is not even as much as a juke box tv goes on for football end of story I won’t be back If you are under 70 years old stay away you won’t fit in

This is the kind of pub that everyone wishes was close to their house. Old fashioned and traditional with a wide range of whisky and good ales (including the excellent Stewarts Diggers’s 80). Everything is well kept, the bar staff are friendly and the there is a great atmosphere everytime I’ve been in.
If you are looking for some bar food, this is not the place. Its all about going for a pint with friends, having a chat and a laugh, although you may be lucky on a Saturday afternoon to pick up a pie or some stovies. I’ve never heard music being played in the pub and the small back room can be booked for private parties.
If Hearts FC are at home the place has a great atmosphere pre and post match. However, if you plan to drink here before the football, be early as this is probably the most popular pubs in the area, and for good reason.

Although offically caled Athletic Arms, it is almost universally known as The Diggers, due to its proximity to the graveyard. I can imagine that if I was older, with a full time job, this would be one of my favourite pubs I came here with my Mum and Dad and they really enjoyed it here. But it wasn’t my ideal type of place, and seem catered for an older crowd rather than students like myself.
The décor of the pub is pretty cool and is laid out much like a traditional pub, there is a compass imprinted in front of the bar, always good to have a good direction of where home is for those who have have one too many! There is also a games room towards the back where you can play chess, draughts and darts.
There was also a pretty good range of bar snacks from the conventional crisps and peanuts to steak pies and toasties, all very reasonably priced. There is nothing really wrong with Diggers, it’s just not really my scene.

What can I say — a real pub. Old fashioned, great service, great beer. A real Edinburgh institution. Well worth the trip out from the city centre.
Combine a visit here with food at the Caledonian Sample Room just along the road in Angle Park Terrace for a cheap but excellent night out.