The Restaurant Guide for Wine Lovers
Old Aberlady Inn
We assessed Old Aberlady Inn in July 2026 from the menu and wine list as they stood then. Dishes and bottles move on; how to drink well here changes far more slowly. We name bottles from the list we saw and say what to reach for by style, so the advice outlasts the list. Once you are seated, At the Table in the Vinealto app reads the list in front of you.
Old Aberlady Inn is a village gastropub serving all-day Scottish and Italian plates from a short, honestly priced wine list built for everyday drinking rather than exploration. The wine programme does its core job (crisp unoaked whites for the fish, soft juicy reds for the grills, most of it by the glass in two sizes) but stops short of mutual elevation, with no Champagne, no dessert or fortified wine, and no pairing thought for the harder plates. It will most suit a relaxed diner who wants a sound, approachable glass with a good pub meal and is content to be steered by style rather than by a serious cellar.
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The Bonnie Badger
Gullane, East Lothian
Modern Scottish gastropub
The Bonnie Badger is a produce-led Scottish gastropub with rooms in Gullane, where a genuinely ambitious drinks list sits behind a village-pub front. The wine programme earns its standing on a deep, biodynamic-led Champagne selection, an intelligently style-arranged list and a fine-wine-by-the-glass tier that puts grand bottles within a single pour, let down only by the absence of Sherry against the cured and salt-cured fish the kitchen loves. It will most reward the diner who comes for serious Scottish seafood and cooking and wants to drink well by the glass, from a village house pour right up to mature claret.
Read the assessmentThe Waterside Bistro
Haddington, East Lothian
Modern British bistro
The Waterside Bistro is an owner-run modern-British bistro by the river in Haddington, cooking a seasonal card that changes through the year. Its wine programme is the serious draw (broad, genuinely international, with a generous by-the-glass shortlist and carried right through to dessert wine and Port by the glass), held back only by unstated vintages and the absence of a printed pairing. It will most reward the curious drinker who likes to graze across a wide list by the glass and match each plate as it comes.
Read the assessmentLa Dolce Vita
Haddington, East Lothian
Italian eaterie, pasticceria and wine bar
La Dolce Vita is a casual Italian eaterie, pasticceria and wine bar in Haddington that cooks the Italian classics at a set-menu price. The wine programme earns its place on the honesty of its by-the-glass pricing and the coherence of an Italian-led list that shares the kitchen's idiom, from the everyday Prosecco to the small fortified shelf its puddings ask for, even if it stops short of a printed pairing or a fine-wine tier. It will most reward the diner who comes to eat Italian and is happy to drink a well-priced glass chosen to suit the plate.
Read the assessment