Short of stalking them in their homes, a hobby the police take a dim view of, you can't beat the Traverse Theatre bar in Edinburgh for a bit of star-spotting.
OK. So it's not the Met Bar or China Whites in London and you're not going to see Liam Gallagher head-butting the pavement outside.
But on the plus side, nor are you likely to be confronted with an unwanted viewing of Jordan's latest plastic surgery investment as she chases another front cover.
What you might see is any number of Scottish stars who are familiar faces from TV and the movies.
Billy Boyd, our home-grown Hobbit, has drunk there, as has Richard Wilson, the man who plays One Foot In The Grave grump Victor Mel drew.
Joe McFadden of Take The High Road and The Crow Road has been known to pop in for a jar or two and Tim Roth and Christopher Eccles ton have also been sighted.
On the night we were there, Dawn Steele, AKA Sexy Lexie from Monarch of the Glen, sat at the table next to ours. She had just finished playing her part in Cutting The Rug, the second part of John Byrne's Slab Boy trilogy and was enjoying an afters how drink.
Even without the celebs, the Trav bar deserves a major role in anyone's drinking plans.
It had a small tart-up job recently, which saw the installation of three booths at the back, some new low-level seating and neon lights.
Apart from this cosmetic surgery, it has had the same decor for years yet it still manages to look more interesting than many style bars half its age. There is no ceiling to the bar so the building's guts are all exposed. If you were am on key, or just steaming and stupid, you could swing from one side of the room to the other on the steel bars that form the building's skeleton.
However, there are more conventional methods of drawing the attention of any celebs who might be in. Buying them a drink and saying how much you enjoyed their last performance might be less flamboyant, but more effective.
As well as the theatre, the building houses a large number of offices and is just across the road from Edinburgh's financial hub. This means the bar does a good lunchtime trade and can also get busy with people scoffing a couple of after work drinks or having a bite to eat.
Students from the nearby art college often appear in the evenings and occasionally groups peel off the main drag of Lothian Road. At the weekends, the crowd can be pretty young and lively. And by that I don't mean it's full of spotty 17-year olds on sharking missions.
Nor is it packed with middle aged couples worrying about getting back for the babysitter. Instead, there is usually a good mix of people and ages having a few beers and a blether in a chilled atmosphere.
As well as being one of Edinburgh's longest bars, the Trav also has one of the city's best-stocked gantries. There is the Tennent's and Stella that you can get anywhere, but they also have a couple of wheat beers on draught and some nice bottled Czech lagers.
If you really want to explore the more exotic reaches of the booze world, try the pitu. It's a Brazilian fire water they use to make caipirinhas, the trendy cocktail that keeps Rio's Mardi Gras in high spirits.
Anyway, try the Trav. It's not for nothing that it keeps on popping up in best-bar lists in magazines and guidebooks.
You never know, you might spot a celeb and it's warmer than lurking by the stage door.
Opening hours: 10.30 am-midnight Mon-Wed; 10.30 am-1 am Thu-Sat; 5 pm-midnight Sun
Prices: Pint of Tennents £2.60; large house wine £2.70; vodka and tonic £2.40.
Rating: Four out of five
Details
0131 228 3223
It had a small tart-up job recently, which saw the installation of three booths at the back, some new low-level seating and neon lights.
Apart from this cosmetic surgery, it has had the same decor for years yet it still manages to look more interesting than many style bars half its age. There is no ceiling to the bar so the building's guts are all exposed. If you were am on key, or just steaming and stupid, you could swing from one side of the room to the other on the steel bars that form the building's skeleton.
However, there are more conventional methods of drawing the attention of any celebs who might be in. Buying them a drink and saying how much you enjoyed their last performance might be less flamboyant, but more effective.
As well as the theatre, the building houses a large number of offices and is just across the road from Edinburgh's financial hub. This means the bar does a good lunchtime trade and can also get busy with people scoffing a couple of after work drinks or having a bite to eat.
Students from the nearby art college often appear in the evenings and occasionally groups peel off the main drag of Lothian Road. At the weekends, the crowd can be pretty young and lively. And by that I don't mean it's full of spotty 17-year olds on sharking missions.
Nor is it packed with middle aged couples worrying about getting back for the babysitter. Instead, there is usually a good mix of people and ages having a few beers and a blether in a chilled atmosphere.
As well as being one of Edinburgh's longest bars, the Trav also has one of the city's best-stocked gantries. There is the Tennent's and Stella that you can get anywhere, but they also have a couple of wheat beers on draught and some nice bottled Czech lagers.
If you really want to explore the more exotic reaches of the booze world, try the pitu. It's a Brazilian fire water they use to make caipirinhas, the trendy cocktail that keeps Rio's Mardi Gras in high spirits.
Anyway, try the Trav. It's not for nothing that it keeps on popping up in best-bar lists in magazines and guidebooks.
You never know, you might spot a celeb and it's warmer than lurking by the stage door.
Opening hours: 10.30 am-midnight Mon-Wed; 10.30 am-1 am Thu-Sat; 5 pm-midnight Sun 
