An Iconic Edinburgh Pub
2–4 Hope Street was built around 1790 as part of Edinburgh's New Town, when the fields west of the castle gave way to the grand Georgian squares and streets that still define the West End today. The corner of Hope Street and Charlotte Square has been a meeting point ever since.
The building holds Category B-listed status, recognising its architectural and historic importance. Its façade, shopfronts and interior details have survived more than two centuries of change, from greengrocer to public house and remain a recognisable landmark of the West End.
Built with Edinburgh's New Town
Listed building status
Rankins hold royal approval
Ryan's Bar opens on Hope Street
HISTORY OF HOPE STREET
1914
Four shops under one roof
Directory records from 1914 show the building as four separate shops under one roof, a confectioner, a florist and others trading from the same Hope Street frontage. Each had its own door, its own sign, its own corner of the trade.
It was a busy, practical stretch of the West End: flowers in one window, sweets in the next, and people coming and going all day long.
Hope Street in the early 20th century, four shops under one roof
1930s
The Rankins years
By the 1930s the site had become Rankins' Fruit Markets. The Rankins built a reputation for quality produce, supplying fruit and vegetables to His Majesty the King, while records from 1938 show orders being supplied to the Palace of Holyrood for Queen Mary.
So the stories of Rankins supplying royalty are more than local folklore, they are part of the building's history. The West End shop became known for its displays of fresh fruit, vegetables, flowers and more exotic produce, and the building is still recorded in historic archives under the name 'Rankin's Fruit Shop.' For generations of Edinburgh residents, this corner was somewhere to buy fresh produce rather than a pint, but it was already doing something Ryan's continues to do today: bringing people through its doors.
The Rankins years on the corner of Hope Street
1989
Ryan's arrives
By the late 1980s, the building was ready for another chapter. Major alterations took place in 1987, including work to the ground floor and basement that helped create the bar spaces within the building today. Then, in 1989, Ryan's Bar opened on Hope Street.
Since then, Ryan's has welcomed generations of Edinburgh locals alongside visitors from around the world. What was once a collection of small shops, and later one of the city's best-known greengrocers, became a place for food, drinks, celebrations, sport and nights out.
External shot of Ryan's back in the early 2000's
Business names change, community remains.
There is a nice continuity to the story.
A confectioner once stood here.
Florists once filled the windows.
Rankins displayed fruit and vegetables for Edinburgh shoppers.
The same corner welcomes people for breakfast, lunch, dinner and, of course, a pint with friends.
Ryan's is the active chapter in a story of wonderful history dating back to 1790 and we're proud to be a part of it
More than two centuries after the building first appeared on the streets of Edinburgh, Ryan's remains an important part of the life of the West End. Countless people have crossed its threshold over the generations to shop, to work, to meet friends, to celebrate and to spend time together. We look forward to welcoming you to be a part of that history.
