This bar on South bridge is a fantastic place to go in Edinburgh for live music, great beers and good company.
The staff are brilliant, very friendly and accomodating.
As it is such a bsy place, it won’t take long before you are mixing and mingling with the crowds.
Even the locals or even visitors will go out of their way to squeeze you into a seat with them if you can’ find anywhere to sit, and before long you have struck a conversation and sometimes even make new friends.
This is a cellar bar, you enter from the street and go down a steep set of steps to the seating area and bar.
There is another entrance round the side of the building on Niddrie street just of the high street.
This used to be a very mixed up layout in the past with the bar at the far end and the bands under the stairs at the entrance which often made it difficult to get about and on busy evenings very hard to get to the bar.
However it was re-vamped a few years ago and now it is so much better laid out with the bar running down one side and the far end was extended to accomodate the bands and it has made much more seating areas.
there are a couple of alcove quiet seating areas away from the main bar if you want to avoid the loud music.
Talking of music, this is an open mic place where people can have the opportunity to show off their talents, which makes it a very interesting night out as you get something different every time.
As well as open mic nights there are regular live bands playing.
It is a great place to visit and is open till late.
Well reccomended and well worth the visit.

Binkies is Brill! Always there when you need it and always live music until 2.30 every morning. Check the posters at the door to see when your favourite band is playing and take a healthy bank balance downstairs with you as you won't get change out of a tenner for three drinks.

Music is varied in style and quality and will draw in serious crowds on good nights but the bar staff work hard and the service is usually efficient and cheery.

Despite the look of the place, this is not a locals only place and everyone, from regulars to a one-off tourist party, is made to feel welcome here.

A great pub with live music and a lively atmosphere. It is a special favourite of mine as it is one of few pubs to stay open until 3am every night! This is really good if you fancy staying out to chill out but are not in the mood for a club. It is not the cheapest pub but when all is taken in to account it is certainly value for money. Prices are average for the area.

It is in a handy location in the centre of town. I have enjoyed many a late night there!

Binkies is an Edinburgh institution.

It might be a bit unsalubrious, it can be hard to get a seat, etc. but that's the POINT. Messiness is the glory of rock and roll and it's what Binkies exudes.

Edinburgh's music scene is sadly lacking compared with Glasgow and it's because there aren't enough places like this. The main reasons to go to Binkies are that a) there's live music every night b) it's open till 3am and c) it's free. Anywhere would do well with these 3 things and WB's is famous for doing it in its own wonderfully messy style. You could go in your pyjamas and no-one would care because they're here to hear some music. A healthy mix of people populate the bar from old cock rockers to curious tourists and kids who've started a band fresh from learning 3 chords.

Edinburgh needs Binkies.

Someone hailed it as their favourite place in the world, upon which recommendation I thought fit to rely, but Whistle Binkies truly smells like a toilet and is full of grubby rockers. Live music and cheap drinks, but such a nasty environment cannot lend itself to much more than a quick, cheap stop-off before moving swiftly on.

This is a good venue for live music, especially up and coming bands. You get a real feeling that Whistle Binkies is committed to supporting local acts.

It can get extremely crowded in Whistles but it captures the underground atmosphere so well. Drinks can be expensive and service sometimes hard to get cos of the crowds. In general though, it's worth it.

I went here for a night out and fell in love with the place.

It has lovely arched ceilings that really accentuate that you are undergroud, its like being in caves.

The drinks were quite cheap and the place had a great atmosphere where everyone was talking to everyone and getting along together.

The live music was great and that was at an open mic night so imagine how good it can be!

If you arrive at Whistle binkies before it starts to fill up it can seem like a draughty, dreary place. However as the night progresses and the more and more people arrive the atmosphere definitely improves. There is usually a live band on (normally indie but I have been there when a country music band was playing before) and you usually have a good night.

The worst thing about the place is the toilets. They are down stairs and they smell bad. Sometime you can even smell them from the top of the stairs which is not good!
The best thing about it is it is open till 3am (on weekends anyway) so once you're in and enjoying yourself you don't have to worry about shifting.

Whistle Binkies is a great place to head if you fancy listening to some new music, fresh from the singer/songwriters of Edinburgh and beyond. With a low ceiling and dim lighting, its not somewhere to go if you want a pint and a chat, and it can be difficult to find a seat. But the music is great fun to listen to and is really varied so is bound to include something for your taste.

Although Whistle Binkies is rather drafty and hard to find seats in, it does boast one of the best new talent stages in the city. There's an utterly random selection of styles, singer-songwriters and young indie/rock bands being the most usual, and they're not always good, but its definitely worth a try. The drinks could do with being cheaper and the bouncers nicer, but the bar staff are very helpful. Careful - there's sometimes a charge on the door on weekends.