The Raconteur

They have closed im told… gutted?!

The Raconteur is without doubt my favourite new find.
I enjoyed escaping the cold wind outside and cosying up with a rum & raisin cocktail (ok, two rum & raisin cocktails!) in this lovely bar just before Christmas.
The atmosphere is lovely and every sip of their delicious drinks is a treat.
A great place to catch up with a close friend, or enjoy a romantic evening for two.

Reading most reviews people have had great experiences here but unfortunately that wasnt the case for me. I won a competition a while back which was for 2 cocktails here. We were only able to go in to claim them a couple of months after winning but were told in no uncertain terms that the competition prize had expired and no we couldnt have the cocktails. This was unfortunately on two levels as we were never informed there was a time limit on the competition prize so how could we have known this and also the manner of the refusal to honour the prize was, in my view, completely unacceptable. The guy serving at the bar simply flatly refused in a fairly hard manner without any word of ‘really sorry about this’ or ‘let me see what we can do as way of ensuring you are still happy customers’…there was none of that and so from a customer service point of view it completely failed in my eyes. I believe businesses should do their upmost to ensure customers are very happy with the customer service they recieve and if they are not then this should be highlighted to others in the same way good customer service should be highlighted to others.

They make knock-​out good dirty martinis here.
Really nice atmosphere as well.
Plus the complimentary pretzels… mmmmm… yum.

«An excellent choice madam». The waiter really couldn’t have said it any better to sum up my entire cocktail experience here.
Upon entering this tucked away ‘local’ feeling bar, Miss V and I were greeted warmly by both (extremely attractive) bar tenders. And it felt genuinely like they were glad we were there. For 5.30pm on a Saturday evening this was quite lovely.
As soon as we were seated, one of the (extremely attractive) bartender’s came over with two glasses of water and a dish of hand-​made pretzels. Wow. In the last bar we’d been to we’d had to ask for water three times before they brought it (to accompany our drinks) so this was ideally timed, but also a very nice touch.
The menu was quite a delight to read and it took us a while to choose. Cocktails I’d never heard of, interesting twists, and it listed every single ingredient (including egg white) which I appreciated.
Upon choosing my first, the (extremely attractive) bar tender smiled with an «excellent choice madam». I was actually taken aback. Y’see, this bar is in Stockbridge and a Stockbridge regular I am not. Without trying to stereotype, Stockbridge is a ‘Nice’ area of town and whilst I am a nice girl (without the capital N), there are quite a few establishments in Stockbridge that may scorn, scoff or treat you with mild disdain if you don’t have the matching pearls and cashmere. Oh wait, is that stereotyping?
Anyway, the bartenders really acted as though they enjoyed our visit to the bar. Every cocktail we tried was delightful, decadent and quite different. Although small in size we sipped them slowly, and savoured. The last page of the menu has a list of ‘house rules’ one of which is «do not become intoxicated». And you really get that vibe here. They want you to enjoy your drinks, maybe have a few, but don’t ‘hit the place up’ for a right good schwally.
The other customers were all locals, enjoying a wine or cocktail. There were no pre-​Saturday evening flocks of girls or groups of lads. Just couples, groups of friends, and with a subdued ambience. The music was also lovely.
I adore Cheryl C’s description below: «I wanted to feel like a lady from the 1940s, sipping on cocktails and looking elegant and awesome». So did I Cheryl. Although it seems that I also had the same predicament of messy hair, mispronouncing names, and also stuffed up sinuses that made me sound a wee bit special. But as I said, the bartenders treated me with the same respect and warmth as if I’d been Elizabeth Taylor herself.
Despite that this isn’t in my local neighbourhood I will be making every effort to come here more, and go out my way to have a quiet Sunday evening here. It really does tick every box, and then some. Pretzels and (very attractive) bar tenders. What more could a Lady want?

I’m going to make an extreme statement.
The Raconteur is THE BEST COCKTAIL BAR IN EDINBURGH.
I felt the need to put that in all caps just to drive my point home. Seriously. The best. Like, whoa.
I had a lovely girly day with Jenny L today; our day involved cocktails from three different bars, ending with the Raconteur.
I don’t even know where to start because everything about this place just worked for me.
When we walked in we were immediately greeted by one of the (incredibly attractive) bartenders. We sat down and I popped up to the bar to grab a cocktail menu but was beaten to the punch but a different one of the (incredibly attractive) bartenders as he was on his way to our table with menus, water and tasty tasty pretzles.
Water and snacks without asking? From (incredibly attractive) really nice staff? Awesome.
The drinks menu is a really good/​fun read as a lot of the drinks have little stories that go along with them and the whole thing is worth a serious amount of time as everything sounds lovely and you can choose just one. Well, just one to start with anyway.
I learned today that quite a lot of cocktails are made with egg white to give them a nice foamy top. Lots of bars don’t mention that. This place, does. I appreciate that because I want to know every ingredient that goes into my drinks, not just the booze and other main flavours.
Our cocktails were fantastic and we agreed that next time we would sit at the bar to (be closer to the incredibly attractive bartenders) watch the drinks being made.
The vibe is really what did it for me here. It was laid back, the staff were all so nice and genuine, and the clientele had a distinctly local vibe. It benefits from being set back because those who go here don’t just stumble in, it’s a proper destination.
Just in case I’ve not gushed enough — I cannot WAIT to go back and continue working my way through that cocktail list.

As far as cocktail bars go, Edinburgh certainly has no shortage of them and you will find an abundance lined up along George Street, some more predictable than others. As the other reviewers have mentioned, The Raconteur is in a less obvious place and best kept for those in the know.
I love The Raconteur and it’s my second favourite cocktail bar in Edinburgh, pipped to the post by Bramble which is just amazing and unlike any other cocktail bar I’ve ever been to. The Raconteur is also very original and has a great, imaginative range of cocktails to guzzle down, or to sip… however you fancy.
I love the old school décor and the relaxed atmosphere that makes sipping on a cocktail even more enjoyable than usual. The staff are very friendly and have a lot of cocktail making skills ensuring that whatever cocktail you go for, it will be extremely well made.
Try the lemon and rhubarb cobbler, one word; amazing.

The Raconteur sits in a hidden away part of Stockbridge down at the bottom of Dean street, but don’t let this put you off, if you put in the effort to find this little gem you are in for an absolute treat. Started up by a group of the best intoxicologists in Edinburgh, the Raconteur is an example of style achieved from substance the feel is ver speakesasy, and this coupled with the friendlyness of the staff makes for a chilled and sociable atmosphere. One of the raconteurs strongest cards is it’s cocktail menu, which is original varied and remarkably reasonably priced. the bar staff all know about the cocktails, why they work, and what each of the ingredients adds and would be more than happy to speak to you about it, also if you tell them what sort of thing you like the staff can either recommend a drink for you, or even if you ask really nicely create one for you.
Also if you go on a Sunday, you can enter one of the friendliest and most intimate pub quizzes I’ve ever been to.
Ultimately I’d recomend that you get in to this place soon, so that you can claim that you were one of the first to discover what will no doubt become an Edinburgh classic.

I must be honest, this isnt somewhere that I have been aware of for very long — it’s a bit out of the way, but the Raconteur does well for being away from the main hubbub of the city. Once you do find it and get inside, be prepared for a lovely shock — there is an amazing atmosphere as soon as you walk in. Chilled, good music, and a buzz of chatter which makes any bar all the more welcoming.
Of course, you’ll want a drink once you are there, so the best bet is to go for the cocktails — they are fantastic, and made with some of the best ingredients and skill I have ever seen in a place like this. Be warned though, its not really the type of place you would find real ale and whiskey, so move along if thats what you fancy.
The staff are friendly and most important of all know what they are doing when it comes to recommending and thenm preparing the drinks — it must be quite a skill.
Very cool indeed.

A very nice addition to the Stockbridge bar gang, with that old fashioned, in a good way, classic cocktail bar look going on, and the wooden bar and cocktail décollage lined up looking all pretty, in order to lure you into drinking several cocktails plus a glass of fine bubbly on a school night… oops.
I’m not usually a huge fan of propping up the bar and sitting around on bar stools, but for The Raconteur I made an exception, as I wanted to feel like a lady from the 1940s, sipping on cocktails and looking elegant and awesome, but I fear the reality was that my hair was in a mess, and I managed to mispronounce the name of my cocktail, so not really a recipe for classy success.
So onto the nice plush purple seating we sat, and the cool but nice, and more importantly attentive bar staff, made my friend and I a range of tasty cocktails. The choices on the menu are different to the almost identical mojito, cosmo list you see in a lot of bars, with some unique concoctions going on, which make it quite exciting when you’re selecting. Last Word is a good call, cherry sweet, but most definitely alcohol laden.

Tucked away down a side street it has the exclusive feel without being stuffy. You always feel a little bit cooler if you know where it is but your mates don’t… that’s a bit sad eh?
Perfect cocktail menu, not at all your sex on the beach type with sparklers and umbrellas (but I’m sure if they made some kind of irony version it would be perfect). I had some kind of chocolate orange tequila short which was made by using two boiling hot pans while the liquid was poured between them — it tasted great and the showmanship was outstanding.
The bar staff are polite and knowledgeable and know exactly how to make you feel involved with the vast world of expensive booze.

I will concur with the previous reviewer. I was in Edinburgh solo on business, looking for a place to hang out for an evening and get a feel for the town. I had dinner at Tigerlily and the bar tender suggested The Raconteur.
The bartenders were great hosts, and they know cocktails like maybe no other bartenders I have ever met. I have a new found respect for the term mixologist.
Great time, great people, great impression of Edinbugh. Thanks.

This was by far my favorite night out spot I found In Edinburgh. If I lived here, this would be a regular place for me, it has all the components a local would look for:
1. Off the beaten path, it’s tucked in a residential area, and not even on a corner– I perhaps was the first tourist to ever find their way through the door, and that’s a good thing.
2. A nice, chill atmosphere, with good music playing not too loud so you can enjoy conversation.
3. Fantastic cocktails… made with care and excellent ingredients. If you are ready to move past pints and nips, this place is like an oasis of serious mixed drinks.
4. A welcoming staff that takes cares of it’s patrons. These guys know how to mix a drink, and prescribed the perfect cocktail to match my tastes. They even inspired me and guided me on my hunt for a place to pick up a couple bottles of bucky on a sunday morning before I flew home!
The Raconteur is just perfect. It’s cool in all the right ways, and none of the bad. 10 Stars!