Edinburgh:
There’s a theme here: a historic interior again, and along with The Abbotsford a member of a small chain. We’d left the Cafe Royal, and knew it was close, just not how close (next door). Lovely interior, great staff and beer, very, very close to Waverley Station.
Edinburgh:
Another historic interior, and this one is a stunner. Pleasant staff, lovely atmosphere; about the only complaint could be the limited seating space (but what there is is in lovely booths). Great beer, too.
Edinburgh:
Glorious Edwardian pub in one of Edinburgh’s busy streets. Fantastic heritage interior, great beer selection, and really good, different food at a reasonable price. Very friendly staff too, surprisingly chilled as the Fringe was still on.
Edinburgh:
Right by the castle, this is a tourist trap. No problem, we were tourists. Real ale, food, and a good whisky selection (unusually, I drank whisky, not wanting to down a pint with a long bus journey ahead). Inside it’s very traditional and exposed beams. Staff were friendly and efficient, prices high, as you’d expect, but it was OK.
Edinburgh:
This was a real surprise: it was on our list because of its literary connections (being the favourite bar of Ian Rankin and his well known character Inspector John Rebus).
It’s lovely. Positively lovely. It’s a bit of a timewarp, still subdivided up, and the back room we were in had a real fire. No food, no music, no TV, just a quiet, relaxing bar with some superb ale and a lovely quiet bolthole from the city. The staff and locals have a reputation for surliness, but we found them friendly- and we were very obviously tourists.
Edinburgh:
One of many pubs/restaurants in Rose St, we chose this as the menu looked more our thing, and we’d arrived in the city at lunctime. Inside, it’s standard modern slightly (but only slightly) la-di-dah bar, and pretty pleasant. Some cracking beer on offer, and the food was good. As you’d expect, prices a bit steep (£4 a pint) though.