Summerhall

Summerhall is a great place for catching up over coffee and cake, for great food, socialising over drinks and for a huge variety of events and shows. Prices are incredibly good value and the quality and service are impeccable. Also a lovely, relaxed atmosphere

We attended the out of sight, out of mind art exhibition and it was fantastic. So inspiring and brilliantly curated. The Summerhall itself is spacious and has lovely community feel, with a huge variety of events and workshops going on all year round.

Bespoke Gin Distillery providing unique products Provides a number of different experiences such as Gin tasting, Gin cocktail making masterclass with matching Scottish cheeses from Mellis a Scottish cheesemonger. I would definitely recommend both experiences. The Tour guide on each of these experiences was Marina Capaldi, who has an excellent knowledge of Gin and cheese and provides a fantastic event with a warming and bubbly delivery.

I hope this wonderful space never falls in to the hands of property developers. Fantastic cafe at MF Coffee and a popup arts and crafts shop open at the moment too. Love it and Wilma the dug approves too.

Whisky tasting was fascinating, had the opportunity to taste a couple of drams and a cocktail. Lovely atmosphere and great tour guide. After the tasting we had a few drinks and some food in the bar. Great selection of beers on offer and the food was absolutely delicious. Well worth a trip

Didn't take pic's. The bar was packed but, great atmosphere, bar staff friendly even though they were busy. We were to see a play there and again, staff were great

Tried Muay Thai class here with Alex Sneddon, 31 December 2025. Loved it, thank you !

This place is lovely Art Cafe Outdoor seating A variety of entertainment listings (need to book ahead) like axe throwing Escape rooms Cocktail making etc They have well kept loos No parking that we could find though

What a fantastic tour! Our guide, Jamie, made it an unforgettable experience. He could tell I was from Texas (I think the cowboy boots and hat gave me away) and saddled up to all my antics. Jamie is witty and very energetic which makes it so much fun to visit the Summerhall Distillery. Also, the gin tasting was amazing, helping our group to identify the differences between each batch and identifying what we would all like based on our preferences. I've been to many a distillery tour and I reckon I can't think of anyone better than Jamie and Summerhall!

Obviously I am a fan of summerhall as I've checked in twice recently and that is because the food is delicious and if you don't mind looking at X-rays of lungs and intestines while you eat, you'll love it too. The only complaints I have is that it can be a little chilly and you don't get enough tea, I would prefer a pot of tea or maybe a bigger mug to last while I wait for my food and preferably have enough left to enjoy with my meal instead of having to gulp it down quickly before it goes cold otherwise a great place to get some delicious food and also great for kids as they have a children's menu and toys.

I feel a bit underqualified to be doing this review of Summerhall, as I've only been in it for a couple of events and it's such a huge place with many rooms and hidden nooks and crannies to explore. It's during the Festival that it really comes into its own, with several performance spaces in various rooms. There's a cafe on the ground floor that is light and airy with some comfy seats, but the courtyard sports several pop-up food and drink places, including a cheese toastie stall (not that I'd partake of such myself, but they seem very topical just now!). There is even an on-site micro brewery, and the beer isn't half bad. It's a little bit out of the main centre of things, but there's more than enough here to make it worth while spending a few hours chilling in the courtyard and catching a few shows during the Fringe.

Cute enough and they let dogs hang out, too. Decent selection of beers/whiskys~ quirky/casual.

This is one of those places where events happen all the time but not very many people know about it. It's a well kept secret. I've been to gigs, comedy, charity do's and quirky secret society events here and I've never been disappointed with the place. There's a bar called the Royal Dick to satisfy even the thirstiest camel and a cafe serving coffee and the usual snackage if you're not in the mood for the hard stuff. My advice - drop by and pick up a programme and keep an eye out for Fringe events that aren't in the main programme. You may very well be pleasantly surprised!

I should be giving Summerhall five stars but there's so much of the place that I haven't seen, so I've opted to leave myself some room to grow when I come back to update this review in the future. A warren of gallery spaces, workshops, dissection rooms, events spaces and corridors make for a unique venue. Edinburgh is hopefully a city able to take advantage of the possibilities that this opens up: a space for every event, and in time I'm sure every event will find its way through these spaces. There's also a very smart bar right at the heart of the venue, with an eclectic array of wall decorations - much of it veterinary, some of it anthropological in origin. During the summer months, and presumably also at times of inclement weather, there are performances and drinks to be had in the central courtyard, some of it from the on-site brewery. Is there anything this place lacks? Well, I shall go looking on repeat visits and report back.

Not a bad place to see a band (& they're making the effort to bring in a good many of those) although the signage could be clearer so you're not wandering in to other events whilst trying to find the hall being used for the show. We saw Eagulls play a week or so ago and the sound was pretty decent + there are a few sofas through by the toilets so you can lie around rather more comfortably than in most other venues in the city.

A little difficult to find but worth it. We wandered in here recently and were glad we did! The bar is well stocked and decorated with various artworks that are part of the ongoing exhibitions. Other decorations are 'veterinary school' themed, with chemical containers, weighing scales, pictures of dog fetuses and we were pretty certain the table we were sitting at was a dissection table! As a group of scientists none of us mind, but I'm not sure it would be everyone's cup of tea! The toilets were in a big cold room which I didn't like. It reminded me of being in the old science buildings in my old college late at night. A bit creepy! The bar staff were nice and answered all our questions, gave recommendations on drinks and were courteous when closing time came around. I'll definitely be back, apparently they do food too and the menu looked delicious. PS apparently it's open all year round!

What a great venue! We wandered over from the Meadows park, which is pretty close if you're walking. The building itself is very grand, quite beautiful. I can see how it can be quite easy to get lost inside. It's huge! We went for a fringe art exhibit which had been going on for almost 2 months. The exhibit itself was very interesting and some of the pieces of art were absolutely amazing! We found it quite fun to explore the different levels of the grand building. It almost seemed like we were on a treasure hunt, never knowing what we might stumble upon! The rooms are huge and the main hall is really large and fabulous. The back garden is a very nice place to hang out on a nice day. There is plenty of seating and a table football available to play with! There is a wee cafe inside which was bustling with people and the smell of fresh backed cakes & coffee. Very inviting and warm. Excellent place for wee ones!

Being the old veterinary school, it reaps of history but some may be screamish to what hapened here. Now it houses small firms, exhibitions, events and Barney's Beer with it's new lease of life. I like the original part of the building, I'm not too sure by the added parts that were built in the sixties are the look ugly. A good place to catch a beer is just at the old schools pub which is located at the back of the main foyer.

Gorgeous. Lovely. Potentially creepy and kind of brilliant. The Summerhall was once a veterinary school, then it sat, empty and unloved, until a madman with more money than sense bought it and gave it over to artists. Artists who might, for instance, install a beam in a room covered in petroleum jelly. This sort of thing happened in the late 50s, 60s, and 70s. Possibly even inthe 80s, but by then things were privatised and all sold off. Events happen here. And there's a café with odd and cheap food and drink. It's a Good Thing for Edinburgh. And it appears to be getting better. Pop in and wander through.

Summerhall is a great place to hold events. Being an old vetinary school, I've been to interactive plays (Zombies!) and talks here. Every Tuesday night, the Ceilidh club setup shop here. Outside of that, there are plays, other talks, events and yoga that run here. It's a great facility and highly worth a visit to check out what is on if you are in the area.

I've only been to Summerhall for swing dancing events, held in the main hall upstairs, but it seems perfectly okay. It's an attractive venue, and being the old Dick Vet school there's a microscope in the bar and a room called the Dissection Room. The downside would be the toilets, which seem few and far between (and unisex). The two upstairs were clean, but there's only two which can result in a queue. Plus the hot taps didn't work. I don't even mean it wasn't hot water, they just didn't work. But apart from the loos it's really okay, and I imagine I'll be back for non-swinging events come August.

Stumbled in for a bit of theater during Fringe Fest. After hanging out in the courtyard and cafe, we decided to spend the rest of our festival hanging around. We saw great, experimental theater and loved the building and its culture.