Most people climb to the Johnnie Walker 1820 Rooftop Bar for the view, and the view delivers: Edinburgh Castle and the Old Town laid out in front of you, best of all from the terrace in summer sun. But the thing that keeps a whisky person up there is hidden behind the bar, in a back-bar list that quietly hides Fèis Ìle festival bottlings, old Flora and Fauna malts, and some of the earliest store-only Fill Your Own bottles.
This is the spoke review of the rooftop. For the full picture of the building and the other tours, start with our Johnnie Walker Experience Edinburgh guide.
What is the Johnnie Walker 1820 Rooftop Bar?
The Johnnie Walker 1820 Rooftop Bar sits at the top of Johnnie Walker Princes Street, with views over Edinburgh and the castle. The name nods to 1820, the year John Walker first opened his grocer’s shop in Kilmarnock, where the whole story began.
You do not need a tour ticket to go up. It works as a destination in its own right, serving elevated Scottish food with a contemporary twist, coffee, lunch and refined dining, alongside cocktails, whisky flights and that back bar. It is usually open seven days a week, though it is worth booking ahead for lunch.
| At a glance | Info |
|---|---|
| Location | Top floor, Johnnie Walker Princes Street, 145 Princes Street, Edinburgh EH2 4BL |
| Entry | No tour ticket required |
| Open | Usually 7 days a week (book ahead for lunch) |
| Food | Elevated Scottish cuisine, lunch, snacks, coffee |
| Drink | Exclusive cocktails, whisky flights, a deep back bar |
| Best for | The view, a long lunch, and rare drams |
The view, the terrace and the food
This is the part the travel guides get right. The outdoor terrace is the place to be when the sun is out, looking across the historic Old Town with the castle in view. We have finished a tour up here with a coffee and stayed for lunch, and the food is genuinely good rather than an afterthought bolted onto a view.
If you are planning a visit around the rooftop rather than a tour, book the lunch. It turns a quick drink with a view into a proper sitting, and the view earns the time.
Cocktails and whisky flights
The cocktails are made to a high standard, and some are exclusive to the Johnnie Walker Experience, so you cannot order them anywhere else. If you would rather drink whisky than a cocktail, the whisky flights let you choose by flavour profile and taste across a few drams rather than committing to one, which is the smart way to use the bar if you are still working out what you like.
The back bar: where the serious whisky lives
Here is the part most reviews of the Johnnie Walker 1820 Rooftop Bar miss, and the reason a serious drinker lingers. The back-bar list is one of the deepest we have seen from Diageo in a long time, and it goes well beyond the core range.
On our visits we have tasted some of the older, earliest Johnnie Walker Experience Fill Your Own bottles, which could only ever be hand-filled in the building, so they are extremely hard to find or taste anywhere in the world. We have also had rare Fèis Ìle bottlings, the festival-exclusive releases tied to Islay’s annual Fèis Ìle (the Islay Festival of Music and Malt), and old Flora and Fauna malts, Diageo’s classic series that put a spotlight on its lesser-known distilleries. For anyone who knows the catalogue, this is a list that rewards reading slowly.
If you only come for the cocktails and the view, you will have a lovely time and miss the best thing on offer. Ask to see the whisky list properly.
Private tastings at the top
Private tastings can be arranged up here too, and at the top end they are exceptional. We had a private session hosted by Ewan Gunn, Diageo’s Senior Global Brand Ambassador for luxury Scotch whisky, who has spent 27 years in the industry, and got to taste a Caol Ila Fèis Ìle bottling in that setting.
That kind of session is not a walk-up offering. It takes arrangement and, frankly, the right contacts, so treat it as a sign of what the space can do rather than something to expect on a casual visit. But it tells you the rooftop is built to handle serious whisky, not just serve highballs with a view.
Is the Johnnie Walker 1820 Rooftop Bar worth it?
For the view and a lunch, yes, easily, and it is one of the best places in Edinburgh to sit with a drink. Go in expecting tourist-destination pricing on the food and cocktails, because that is what it is, but the quality backs it up.
For a whisky drinker the verdict is stronger, as long as you use it properly. The back bar and the flights are the real draw, not the cocktails, and the rare bottlings are things you will struggle to taste elsewhere. Time your visit for sunshine, book the lunch, and spend your money on the whisky list rather than only the view.
Our rating: 4 / 5
How to visit
The Johnnie Walker 1820 Rooftop Bar is on the top floor of Johnnie Walker Princes Street, 145 Princes Street, Edinburgh EH2 4BL, with no tour ticket required. It is usually open seven days a week, and booking is recommended for lunch. If you are doing a tour the same day, ticket holders get 10% off at the rooftop bar, so it pairs naturally with the Journey of Flavour or the Luxury Cask Draw Tasting, and with Fill Your Own Bottle downstairs.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Johnnie Walker 1820 Rooftop Bar? It is the rooftop bar at the top of Johnnie Walker Princes Street in Edinburgh, with views over the city and Edinburgh Castle. It serves elevated Scottish food, coffee and lunch alongside exclusive cocktails, whisky flights and a deep whisky back bar. The name references 1820, the year John Walker opened his first shop.
Do you need a ticket for the 1820 Rooftop Bar? No. The 1820 Rooftop Bar does not require a tour ticket and works as a destination in its own right for food, coffee and drinks. It is usually open seven days a week. If you also do a tour on the day, ticket holders receive 10% off at the rooftop bar.
Can you see Edinburgh Castle from the 1820 Rooftop Bar? Yes. The rooftop looks out over Edinburgh’s Old Town with Edinburgh Castle in view, and the outdoor terrace is the best spot, especially in summer sun. The view over the historic city is the main draw for most visitors, alongside the food and the whisky list.
What can you drink at the 1820 Rooftop Bar? The bar serves cocktails made to a high standard, some exclusive to the Johnnie Walker Experience, plus whisky flights chosen by flavour profile. The back bar is unusually deep, with rare bottlings including Fèis Ìle festival releases, old Flora and Fauna malts and early store-only Fill Your Own bottles.
Can you book a private whisky tasting at the rooftop bar? Private tastings can be arranged at the 1820 Rooftop Bar, and at the top end they are led by senior figures and feature rare bottlings. These are not walk-up experiences and require advance arrangement. For most visitors, the whisky flights and the back-bar list are the accessible way to taste rare drams up there.
Is the 1820 Rooftop Bar worth it? For the view and a lunch, yes, it is one of the best spots in Edinburgh to sit with a drink, though expect premium pricing. For a whisky drinker it is stronger still: the back bar and whisky flights offer rare bottlings you will struggle to find elsewhere. Go for the sun and spend on the whisky.
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