Bon Vivant

Charming French wine and cocktail bar
Tipple of choice: If the 32 wines on the menu don't do it for you, the neighbouring shop - Bon Vivant's Companion - has hundreds more to choose from, which can be opened in the bar.

Popular plate: Also an accomplished restaurant, they do a range of GBP 1 bites to share, as well larger French fare.
Just off the main bar drag of New Town on the dimly lit Thistle Street, finding Bon Vivant feels like stumbling into a welcoming Provençal tavern after a long journey. There is a raucous cheer of happy drinkers in the background, racks of wine to work your way through and all the charm of Paris transplanted to Scotland, not to mention superb cocktails.

It has oodles of atmosphere. There are charming French posters on the wall advertising Pernod and Absinthe, tinkling jazz piano or perhaps some Piaf in the background and a generally a high-living and sociable crowd, normally pink in their smiling cheeks.