No. 12 Forres Street was built in 1826 for a New Town advocate. Two centuries later the rooms still match their original proportions — we kept the fireplaces and the shutters, and added felt, whisky, and a brass card-scissors at the door.
Four regulation poker tables arranged in two rows, each seating eight to nine. Fixed dealers on duty from 7pm Tuesday to Saturday; before 7pm the tables run self-dealt. House rules are etched on a small brass plaque above the fireplace. The bar is five steps away, through the folding doors, for the guest who wants a glass without leaving the hand. Sound stays in this room: the doors close properly. No clocks.
A short mahogany bar with eight stools, two wingback fauteuils at the window, four small tables for two and three. Shelves behind the bar hold thirty-odd whiskies, organised by region. One small screen shows sport with the volume set for that table's preference. Best for an hour before the card room opens, or an hour after it closes. Conversation sits well here.
Five tables, mostly for four, one for six by the garden window. A short menu, rewritten fortnightly. Scottish produce, French technique: Fife beef, West Coast shellfish, Isle of Mull cheese. The cooking is unhurried. We do not accept bookings shorter than 90 minutes; you are meant to linger.
Forres Street sits on the slope behind Moray Place, a quiet curve in the back-streets of the New Town. Three minutes to Circus Lane, seven to Princes Street, fourteen to Waverley Station. Drop off at the foot of St Bernard's Well and walk up the hill; arrive, as the 18th-century advocates would have, at a plain door in sandstone.
You come up the hill from the water and arrive, as the 18th-century advocates would have, at a plain door in sandstone. — a regular, quoted with permission
Membership costs £200 a year, renewed in January. We do not maintain a waitlist — applications are reviewed through a weeknight interview and a signed copy of the House Rules. Reciprocal arrangements with two London clubs and one in Glasgow, not publicly named.
| Tier | Annual fee | Guests / evening | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full | £200 | Up to 3 | Card room priority |
| Associate | £120 | Up to 2 | Snug & dining only |
| Out-of-Town | £95 | Up to 3 | Residence outside EH postcodes |
Membership does not exempt members from the Gambling Act 2005; all play is subject to house compliance under Gambling Commission operating licence 055682-N-334892-001.
Collared shirt required in the card room; trainers and shorts unsuitable after that hour.
During active hands, placed face-down or silenced. No voice calls in the card room.
No audible commentary on a hand in progress at another table.
By a member, under the 24-hour membership-and-guest rule. No off-the-street gambling; Challenge 25 applies to all.
At the door, at the table, or at the bar — on reasonable grounds.
Two starters, four mains, one pudding. Suppliers named beside the dish. We cook in the French technique — stocks, sauces, precise butchering — and source almost everything from Scotland. What we cannot source here, we source honestly.
I walk across Dean Bridge most Thursdays. The house is quiet, the dealer is quicker than me, and the claret is kept at the right temperature. I could not ask for more.FERGUS · Member · Stockbridge
We brought eight people up from London for my brother's birthday. It was handled quietly, from the cloakroom through to the coffee.ROSALIND · Guest · Morningside
Confirmed within four hours during trading hours.
Tables, stakes, dealer policy, the full twelve house rules.
From a sit-down for ten to a full-house hire for forty.