51. Standing Order (J.D. Wetherspoons), George Street
52. The Grey Horse, Dalkeith Road
53. The Marmion, Captain’s Road
54. The Southsider, West Richmond Street
55. Native State, Potterow
56. Assembly, Lothian Street
57. Henry’s Cellar Bar, Morrison Street
58. Festival Tavern, Morrison Street
59. Conan Doyle, York Place
60. The Stag’s Head, Broughton Road
61. MaClachlan’s, Canonmills
62. Smithey’s, Eyre Place
63. The Orchard, Howard Place
64. Barony, Broughton Street
65. Mathers, Broughton Street
66. Doctors, Teviot Place
67. Oddfellows, Forrest Road
68. 99 Hanover Street, Hanover Street
69. Whistle Binkies, South Bridge
70. The Plough Inn, Portobello High Street
71. The Galleon, Portobello High Street
72. Foresters Arms, Portobello High Street
73. The Volunteer Arms, Leith Walk
74. The Balmoral, Dalry Road
75. Robertson’s Bar, Gorgie Road
76. Joseph Pearce’s, Elm Row
77. Elm Bar, Elm Row
78. Brunswick Bar, Leith Walk
79. The Hopetoun Bar, MacDonald Road
80. Slug and Lettuce, Leith Street
81. Deacon Brodie’s, Bank Street
82. The Strathmore Bar, Iona Street
83. Tamson’s Bar, Easter Road
84. The Black Bull, Leith Street
85. The Newsroom, Leith Street
86. Waterloo Buffet, Waterloo Place
87. Ark, Waterloo Place
88. The Living Room, George Street
89. The Peartree, Chapel Street
90. 56 North, Chapel Street
91. The Meadow Bar (The Moo), Buccleuch Street
92. The Dagda, Buccleuch Street
93. Drouthy Neebors, Causewayside
94. The Junction , West Preston Street
95. The Hebrides, Market Street
96. The Doric, Market Street
97. Grand Cru, Hanover Street
98. Hudson’s Bar, Hope Street
99. Agenda, St John’s Road
100. The Centurion, St John’s Road
Saturday, 16 August 2008
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
TON UP IN CORSTORPHINE
As summer 2008 slowly appeared (and promptly disappeared far more quickly), we decided to set an evening to finish off our first hundred pubs. Corstorphine was the location chosen for this task.
Agenda (St. John's Road, 12/26/31/X48/100) is a trendy cafe-bar/restaurant which could easily be mistaken for the foyer of an hotel or – in some areas – the reception of a large office complex. Anyway, they had some good deals on bottled lagers as part of a Euro 2008 promotion. Our stay was brief, and our departure coincided with half-time in the ongoing game.
The Centurion (St John'sRoad, 12/26/31/X48/100) was chosen as our 100th pub for obvious reasons. We took up our positions in the lounge bar, joined by Neil McDonald and Grog Bingham, who seemed to have forgotten his gripes regarding the constant mis-spellings of his surname. A pleasant enough if forgettable joint, we stayed to watch Sweden round off their victory over Greece, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring a cracking goal in the process.
The Toby Carvery and Pub (St John's Road, 12/26/31/X48/100): You don't honestly expect me to write a full appraisal of every Toby Carvery or Brewer's Fayre we pass do you? What? You do? Tough.
The Corstorphine Inn (Corstorphine High Street, 1) provided our last point of call for the evening. Maybe my memory is playing up, or perhaps it was just the late hour, but the place seemed unnecesarily cavernous, which left it completely devoid of atmosphere. Redeeming features came in the shape of a good selection of real ales and an hour or so whiled away at the quiz machine.
After just over a month's break from participating in the Pub Challenge, The Management reconvened in mid-July to set out a game plan for the rest of the summer. Whigham's Wine Cellars (Hope Street, 1/3/4/10/11/12/13/15/16/17/19/22/24/25/26/30/31/33/34/36/37/41/44/X48/100) was the chosen meeting place, based on Nick's recommendation. Apparently this place is incredibly lively after office hours (and I can see why), but by the time we arrived at 10-ish only a few stragglers remained. Thankfully there was a rather attractive barmaid on shift, who successfully managed to distract me from listening to anything which Nick was trying to tell me about bus routes, statistics, or why Adam Johns should come out drinking more regularly.
Until the next time, when we shall have the benefit of the Fringe Festival and extended opening hours....
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 103
Agenda (St. John's Road, 12/26/31/X48/100) is a trendy cafe-bar/restaurant which could easily be mistaken for the foyer of an hotel or – in some areas – the reception of a large office complex. Anyway, they had some good deals on bottled lagers as part of a Euro 2008 promotion. Our stay was brief, and our departure coincided with half-time in the ongoing game.
The Centurion (St John'sRoad, 12/26/31/X48/100) was chosen as our 100th pub for obvious reasons. We took up our positions in the lounge bar, joined by Neil McDonald and Grog Bingham, who seemed to have forgotten his gripes regarding the constant mis-spellings of his surname. A pleasant enough if forgettable joint, we stayed to watch Sweden round off their victory over Greece, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring a cracking goal in the process.
The Toby Carvery and Pub (St John's Road, 12/26/31/X48/100): You don't honestly expect me to write a full appraisal of every Toby Carvery or Brewer's Fayre we pass do you? What? You do? Tough.
The Corstorphine Inn (Corstorphine High Street, 1) provided our last point of call for the evening. Maybe my memory is playing up, or perhaps it was just the late hour, but the place seemed unnecesarily cavernous, which left it completely devoid of atmosphere. Redeeming features came in the shape of a good selection of real ales and an hour or so whiled away at the quiz machine.
After just over a month's break from participating in the Pub Challenge, The Management reconvened in mid-July to set out a game plan for the rest of the summer. Whigham's Wine Cellars (Hope Street, 1/3/4/10/11/12/13/15/16/17/19/22/24/25/26/30/31/33/34/36/37/41/44/X48/100) was the chosen meeting place, based on Nick's recommendation. Apparently this place is incredibly lively after office hours (and I can see why), but by the time we arrived at 10-ish only a few stragglers remained. Thankfully there was a rather attractive barmaid on shift, who successfully managed to distract me from listening to anything which Nick was trying to tell me about bus routes, statistics, or why Adam Johns should come out drinking more regularly.
Until the next time, when we shall have the benefit of the Fringe Festival and extended opening hours....
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 103
Wednesday, 6 August 2008
NOT-SO-RECENT HAPPENINGS PART TWO
Here at The Great Edinburgh Pub Challenge, we don't usually go out with the intention of getting drunk. Sometimes it just happens as a side effect of drinking so much, but contained within this latest report is at least one occasion on which a conscious decision was made to go hell for leather.
The Peartree (Chapel Street, 41/42) is one of the best known pubs in Edinburgh, simply for the fact that it sports a large beer garden. Sadly, the place seems to have capitalised on this by raising its prices to near-farcical rates, and seems to have forgotten the fact that it's actually pretty rubbish once you get inside. OK, it's nice to have a pint outside in the sun, and it can get fairly packed around exam time or during the festival – but the Peartree seems to thrive by serving people who don't know anywhere better to go. Don't fall into this trap, please.
56 North (West Crosscauseway, 41/42) was formerly known as The Human Be-in. Thankfully they ditched the horrendous name but what does the new one actually mean? 56 miles north? Of where? 56 degrees north? 56 North seems to be more focussed on the food side of things these days – and admittedly the menu did look fairly mouthwatering – but we managed to buy the most expensive round of the Pub Challenge to date, ringing in at a little over £8 for two drinks. Ouch.
The Meadow Bar (Buccleuch Street, 41/42) is affectionately known as The Moo Bar. Nick, who had been previously unaware of this fact, was delighted to discover this as he maintains a strange – but mostly healthy – interest in bovine creatures, and can often be heard performing impressions of such animals at inappropriate moments.* The Moo had been done up since last time I was in, but maintains its intimate atmosphere. Very much student-orientated, The Moo is the kind of place you'd always be happy to meet someone for a couple of drinks, but you'd never go out of your way to drink there.
The Dagda (Buccleuch Street, 41/42): now we're talking. A tiny little joint with about 4 or 5 tables and a central bar, The Dagda is equally devoted to good ales, strong Belgian beers and malt whiskies. As a partisan supporter of each of these causes I must applaud the landlord for his efforts, and also for his gargantuan sideburns. We were joined in the Dagda by Gillian Campbell, celebrity midget and not-quite-by-that-point-other-half of Phil “Gob” B. A notorious Bad Influence, Gillian's presence would have disasterous consequences as the day wore on...
Droothy Neebors (Causewayside, 42) is located in Sciennes, a sleepy part of Edinburgh between the student meccas of Marchmont and the Southside. Droothy's therefore attracts a slightly different crowd from many of the watering holes in this area, as students are joined by everyone from down-and-outs to young professionals. The pub itself is a Belhaven franchise, and offers a range of beers wide enough for you to shake a stick at. Lager fans will be pleased to note the availability of Furstenburg, Heineken, and,er, something else (Budvar?) on draft in addition to the usual piss.
The Junction (West Preston Street, diverted 14): Nick - being the eagle-eyed creature he is – had spotted a bus traversing the unusual territory of West Preston Street, and jumped at the chance for us for us to add another pub to the Challenge. After a brief pause for some debauchery (pictured below), we made our way into The Junction for a swift couple. The Junction is incredibly spartan inside – and not in a 1970s-formica-and-linoleum way. Ownership has changed about four times over the same number of years, and the place has alternated between being a cheap, slightly rough around the edges boozer and an absolute jake hole. Thankfully it is currently going through one of the former phases. From here we headed to a party somewhere in Boroughmuirhead, the rest of the evening becoming a blurry mess...
The Hebrides (Market Street, 36): Each May a number of T-Break showcase gigs are put on at the Liquid Room, with the most impressive performers winning a place at T in the Park. We had been at one such event (featuring amongst others, Alex Cornish(wearing his trusty red check-shirt, as ever), Haight Ashbury and Tommy Reilly), and decided to stop off for a quick pint or two on the way home, here being the first stopping point. A traditional Scots pub located round the back of Waverley station, The Hebrides was packed despite the late hour, with an impromptu folk session taking place by the bar. The sizeable crowd and intimiate nature of the pub gave rise to it being bloody boiling inside though! Worth a visit.
The Doric (Market Street, 36): In the absence of a true Aberdonian (they'd never have bought a round anyway), we were joined by Stonehaven's Flora Cook for our visit to The Doric.Last orders had already been called by the time we entered the place, and to be hones the place might as well have already been shut. We were the only punters in the place, and the bar staff seemed to be in a hurry to get rid of us. God knows why....
Grand Cru (Hanover Street, 13/23/27): Go into a New Town bar (you can't really call them pubs, can you?) on a Saturday afternoon and you'll generally find two groups of people; increasingly loud gaggles of women necking a lot of wine and discussing recent shopping purchases, and groups of blokes whiling away the afternoons with a few pints rather than being dragged round the shops. On this particular Saturday, The Management represented a third distinct group. After seeing The Wynd at the Ark the previous night, Nick had ended up in the casino, and was tackling his hangover by having 'just a few'** pints to aid his progress through the day. I had elected to join him for part of that journey. Grand Cru was one of the afternoon's stopping points, and bore a striking resemblance to someone's living room, with thick carpets and big sofas. I didn't see anything which made the place stand out in the slightest – in fact the place was entirely forgettable. Nick did manage to smash his glass, however – an event which coincided with our departure...
The Hudson Hotel and Bar (Hope Street, 1/3/4/10/11/12/13/15/16/17/19/22/24/25/26/30/31/33/34/36/37/41/44//47/X48/100 is the latest in a lengthening list of pubs to become eligible for The Great Edinburgh Pub Challenge due to temporary diversions in place whilst the tram system is constructed. Notorious both for its 'grab-a-granny' club located underground and the abysmal pints they serve, I cannot think of a single reason to recommend The Hudson to anyone. Overpriced, too loud and too warm, there are bars in the West End which manage to perform the same function to a far higher standard.
Until the next time...
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 98
*Note: Entirely true.
**Note: Nick ended up in the casino for a consecutive night, and apparently incurred a hangover which lasted into the following Tuesday.
The Peartree (Chapel Street, 41/42) is one of the best known pubs in Edinburgh, simply for the fact that it sports a large beer garden. Sadly, the place seems to have capitalised on this by raising its prices to near-farcical rates, and seems to have forgotten the fact that it's actually pretty rubbish once you get inside. OK, it's nice to have a pint outside in the sun, and it can get fairly packed around exam time or during the festival – but the Peartree seems to thrive by serving people who don't know anywhere better to go. Don't fall into this trap, please.
56 North (West Crosscauseway, 41/42) was formerly known as The Human Be-in. Thankfully they ditched the horrendous name but what does the new one actually mean? 56 miles north? Of where? 56 degrees north? 56 North seems to be more focussed on the food side of things these days – and admittedly the menu did look fairly mouthwatering – but we managed to buy the most expensive round of the Pub Challenge to date, ringing in at a little over £8 for two drinks. Ouch.
The Meadow Bar (Buccleuch Street, 41/42) is affectionately known as The Moo Bar. Nick, who had been previously unaware of this fact, was delighted to discover this as he maintains a strange – but mostly healthy – interest in bovine creatures, and can often be heard performing impressions of such animals at inappropriate moments.* The Moo had been done up since last time I was in, but maintains its intimate atmosphere. Very much student-orientated, The Moo is the kind of place you'd always be happy to meet someone for a couple of drinks, but you'd never go out of your way to drink there.
The Dagda (Buccleuch Street, 41/42): now we're talking. A tiny little joint with about 4 or 5 tables and a central bar, The Dagda is equally devoted to good ales, strong Belgian beers and malt whiskies. As a partisan supporter of each of these causes I must applaud the landlord for his efforts, and also for his gargantuan sideburns. We were joined in the Dagda by Gillian Campbell, celebrity midget and not-quite-by-that-point-other-half of Phil “Gob” B. A notorious Bad Influence, Gillian's presence would have disasterous consequences as the day wore on...
Droothy Neebors (Causewayside, 42) is located in Sciennes, a sleepy part of Edinburgh between the student meccas of Marchmont and the Southside. Droothy's therefore attracts a slightly different crowd from many of the watering holes in this area, as students are joined by everyone from down-and-outs to young professionals. The pub itself is a Belhaven franchise, and offers a range of beers wide enough for you to shake a stick at. Lager fans will be pleased to note the availability of Furstenburg, Heineken, and,er, something else (Budvar?) on draft in addition to the usual piss.
The Junction (West Preston Street, diverted 14): Nick - being the eagle-eyed creature he is – had spotted a bus traversing the unusual territory of West Preston Street, and jumped at the chance for us for us to add another pub to the Challenge. After a brief pause for some debauchery (pictured below), we made our way into The Junction for a swift couple. The Junction is incredibly spartan inside – and not in a 1970s-formica-and-linoleum way. Ownership has changed about four times over the same number of years, and the place has alternated between being a cheap, slightly rough around the edges boozer and an absolute jake hole. Thankfully it is currently going through one of the former phases. From here we headed to a party somewhere in Boroughmuirhead, the rest of the evening becoming a blurry mess...
The Hebrides (Market Street, 36): Each May a number of T-Break showcase gigs are put on at the Liquid Room, with the most impressive performers winning a place at T in the Park. We had been at one such event (featuring amongst others, Alex Cornish(wearing his trusty red check-shirt, as ever), Haight Ashbury and Tommy Reilly), and decided to stop off for a quick pint or two on the way home, here being the first stopping point. A traditional Scots pub located round the back of Waverley station, The Hebrides was packed despite the late hour, with an impromptu folk session taking place by the bar. The sizeable crowd and intimiate nature of the pub gave rise to it being bloody boiling inside though! Worth a visit.
The Doric (Market Street, 36): In the absence of a true Aberdonian (they'd never have bought a round anyway), we were joined by Stonehaven's Flora Cook for our visit to The Doric.Last orders had already been called by the time we entered the place, and to be hones the place might as well have already been shut. We were the only punters in the place, and the bar staff seemed to be in a hurry to get rid of us. God knows why....
Grand Cru (Hanover Street, 13/23/27): Go into a New Town bar (you can't really call them pubs, can you?) on a Saturday afternoon and you'll generally find two groups of people; increasingly loud gaggles of women necking a lot of wine and discussing recent shopping purchases, and groups of blokes whiling away the afternoons with a few pints rather than being dragged round the shops. On this particular Saturday, The Management represented a third distinct group. After seeing The Wynd at the Ark the previous night, Nick had ended up in the casino, and was tackling his hangover by having 'just a few'** pints to aid his progress through the day. I had elected to join him for part of that journey. Grand Cru was one of the afternoon's stopping points, and bore a striking resemblance to someone's living room, with thick carpets and big sofas. I didn't see anything which made the place stand out in the slightest – in fact the place was entirely forgettable. Nick did manage to smash his glass, however – an event which coincided with our departure...
The Hudson Hotel and Bar (Hope Street, 1/3/4/10/11/12/13/15/16/17/19/22/24/25/26/30/31/33/34/36/37/41/44//47/X48/100 is the latest in a lengthening list of pubs to become eligible for The Great Edinburgh Pub Challenge due to temporary diversions in place whilst the tram system is constructed. Notorious both for its 'grab-a-granny' club located underground and the abysmal pints they serve, I cannot think of a single reason to recommend The Hudson to anyone. Overpriced, too loud and too warm, there are bars in the West End which manage to perform the same function to a far higher standard.
Until the next time...
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 98
*Note: Entirely true.
**Note: Nick ended up in the casino for a consecutive night, and apparently incurred a hangover which lasted into the following Tuesday.
Monday, 4 August 2008
NOT-SO-RECENT HAPPENINGS
Evening all. I realise it has been an exceptionally long time since the last blog entry – however this delay is fully justified as The Management have been busy with dissertations, exams (both academic and professional) and drinking – each of these things automatically takes priority to sitting on the computer typing up a report of said adventures. For this reason, this particular entry will aim to have a theme of “maximum information, minimum bullshit” - so whilst you enjoy clear and concise reviews of the latest watering holes, you won't have to put up with us making crap jokes about Adam Johns (however readers should note that this decision was aided by the fact that Mr Johns hasn't been out on the Pub Challenge in the last 6 months).
Joseph Pearce's (Elm Row, 7/10/11/12/14/16/22/25/49) is apparently now Swedish-themed, which thankfully does not mean that they now charge 7 quid per pint. Instead, this vintage pub now has a slightly camp ambiénce (it is not a pink bar though – don't worry) with candles on the tables, comfy seats and a 'children's corner', where families are encouraged to gather.
The Elm Bar (Elm Row, 7/10/11/12/14/16/22/25/49) is probably the worst pub I've ever visited. Not only is the place an absolute dive, but the service was appalling – it took myself, Nick and Ian Davidson almost 15 minutes to be served. This delay was not due to the barman's alarming likeness to Mr T, however.
The Brunswick Bar (Elm Row, 7/10/11/12/14/16/22/25/49) a bit of a strange one; the place was quite nice inside and did a great pint,but it was absolutely dead (and no they didn't have advance warning that we'd be there). There's potential for someone to make something of it when all the UNITE student halls pop up round there next year.
The Hopetoun Bar and Diner (McDonald Road, 13) is a John Barras pub, so once again I don't need to offer a detailed analysis. Suffice to say Nick managed to find himself in the company of a rather bigoted Rangers man (is there any other kind?), and Greig Bingham's name was mentioned several times. Greig Bingham was not present at this time.
The Slug and Lettuce (Omni Centre, Greenside Place, 1/4/5/7/8/10/11/12/14/15/16/17/19/22/25/26/34/44/45/49) is a chain effort and is almost indistinguishable from any of the other faceless bars within the Omni Centre. Nick was adamant that Neil McDonald should have been with us that night though, because “his nickname is The Lettuce and he looks like a slug”. Fair enough.
Deacon Brodie's Tavern (Bank Street/Lawnmarket, 23/27/41/42/45): William Brodie (1741–1788), more commonly known by his prestigious title of Deacon Brodie, was a Scottish cabinet-maker, deacon of the trades guild and Edinburgh city councillor, who maintained a secret life as a burglar, partly for the thrill, and partly to fund his gambling.
By day, Brodie was a respectable businessman, member of the burgh council and deacon (or president) of the Incorporation of Wrights and Masons. Part of his job in building cabinets was to install and repair their locks and other security mechanisms and repair door locks. He also served on a jury. He socialised with the gentry of Edinburgh, meeting poet Robert Burns and the painter Sir Henry Raeburn. He was also a member of The Edinburgh Cape Club.
At night, however, Brodie became a burglar and thief. He used his daytime job as a way to gain knowledge about the security mechanisms of his clients and to copy their keys using wax impressions. As the foremost wright of the city, Brodie was asked to work in the homes of many of the richest members of Edinburgh society. He used the illicit money to maintain his second life, including five children, two mistresses who did not know of each other, and a gambling habit. He reputedly began his criminal career around 1768 when he copied keys to a bank door and stole £800. In 1786 he recruited a gang of three thieves, Brown, Smith and Ainslie.
The case that lead to Brodie's downfall began later in 1786 when he organised an armed raid on an Excise office in Chessel's Court on the Canongate. Brodie's plan failed and Ainslie was captured. Ainslie agreed to turn King's evidence, to avoid transportation, and informed on the rest of the gang. Brodie escaped to the Netherlands intending to flee to the United States but was arrested in Amsterdam and shipped back to Edinburgh for trial.
The trial started August 27, 1788. At first there was no hard evidence against Brodie before the tools of his criminal trade were found in his house; copied keys, a disguise and pistols. The jury found Brodie and his henchman George Smith, a grocer, guilty. Smith was an English locksmith, he was responsible for a number of thefts, even stealing the silver mace from the University of Edinburgh.
Brodie and Smith were hanged at the Tolbooth October 1, 1788, using a gallows Brodie had designed and funded the year before. According to one tale, Brodie wore a steel collar and silver tube to prevent the hanging from being fatal. It was said that he had bribed the hangman to ignore it and arranged for his body to be removed quickly in the hope that he could later be revived. If so, the plan failed. Brodie was buried in an unmarked grave at the Parish Church in Buccleuch. However rumours of his being seen in Paris circulated later and gave the story of his scheme to evade death further publicity.
Popular myth holds that Deacon Brodie built the first gallows in Edinburgh and was also its first victim. Of this William Roughead in Classic Crimes states that after research he was sure that although the Deacon may have had some hand in the design "...it was certainly not of his construction, nor was he the first to benefit by its ingenuity".
The dichotomy between Brodie's respectable façade, and his real nature inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Stevenson's father had furniture made by Brodie.
Or so it says on wikipedia - the pub is a bit of a rubbish tourist trap though.
The Strathmore Bar (Iona Street, diverted 13): our visit here almost gave rise to a financial stooshie; having passed the sign calling the bar “The Trathie” (the S having fallen off a long time ago), I was sceptical of Nick's claims that the place was indeed called The Strathmore, even to the point at which I offered to raise a £300 waiger on the matter. Thankfully Mr Chris McCall talked me down from the ledge.
Tamson's (the old Footballer's Arms, Easter Road, 1/13/35) looks fairly uninviting from the outside but once we crossed the threshold it turned out to be a nice little pub. We had planned to have one pint and one pint only, but quicky developed a residency at the bar, helped by Mr Chadha repeatedly (and conveniently) missing his bus by a matter of minutes.
The Black Bull (Leith Street/Calton Road, 1/5/7/14/19/22/25/34/49) is renouned for its popularity with local punks and metal fans, and has the jukebox to match. The thought of the place provokes tinitis in me, and we were only in at the back of 7! Not one for the hard of hearing.
The Newsroom (Leith Street, 1/5/7/14/19/22/25/34/49) is a cocktail bar/juice bar/ponce fest but it served a nice halfway point for the walk between the Black Bull and our next point of call (roughly 50 yards round the corner), and surprisingly did a very good pint of Guinness. I'm not sure if it was a deliberate point given the name of the joint, or whether it was simply a reflection on the type of place The Newsroom is, but I was pleased to see that a full-ish selection of the days' broadsheets was available for persual whilst one drank their pint.
The Waterloo Buffet (Waterloo Place, X25/X26) is a strange little place tucked away beyond the end of Princes Street but before Calton Hill. Busy during the day with commuters necking a swift half before catching their buses to West Lothian or wherever it is they go, the place is dead at night – indeed our only company in the bar was a rather drunk fellow who insisted on telling us his life story. Twice. It may have been coincidence but it was at around this point that the barmaid decided to call time on proceedings. We headed straight upstairs to The Ark (Waterloo Place, X25/X26) a music venue-cum-bar where singer-songwriting and all round good guy Alex Cornish was wearing a red-check shirt and playing some tunes. If you want to read a review of the gig you should check here, we stood at the back and drank a lot of Guinness so were in no place to pass comment.
The Living Room (George Street, 13,19,36,37,41,47,X47): From time to time, The Management engage in social drinking, rather than simply dragging themselves into pubs and making jokes about Adam Johns. Our visit to The Living Room was one such occasion, as we joined PWC's finest for some kind of birthday 'do, a 21st or something*. A couple of the PWC crowd had been exercising their drinking muscles since lunchtime and thus were rather er, merry, especially one bloke who at one stage must have had about 4 pints in front of him – seemingly with each cigarette break he would forget that his collection was increasing. The place itself was quite classy, not just 'stylish' or 'trendy' as many New Town bars seem to be. Nick has asked me to point out that he found the cocktails substandard – at first I thought he was bemoaning the lack of an umbrella or cherry tomato but no, he genuinely wasn't impressed with his celery and cucumber concoction, or whatever it was. I had a mojito and an Estonian beer, both passed the test.
Until the next time....
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 88
*Note: this may not be true.
Joseph Pearce's (Elm Row, 7/10/11/12/14/16/22/25/49) is apparently now Swedish-themed, which thankfully does not mean that they now charge 7 quid per pint. Instead, this vintage pub now has a slightly camp ambiénce (it is not a pink bar though – don't worry) with candles on the tables, comfy seats and a 'children's corner', where families are encouraged to gather.
The Elm Bar (Elm Row, 7/10/11/12/14/16/22/25/49) is probably the worst pub I've ever visited. Not only is the place an absolute dive, but the service was appalling – it took myself, Nick and Ian Davidson almost 15 minutes to be served. This delay was not due to the barman's alarming likeness to Mr T, however.
The Brunswick Bar (Elm Row, 7/10/11/12/14/16/22/25/49) a bit of a strange one; the place was quite nice inside and did a great pint,but it was absolutely dead (and no they didn't have advance warning that we'd be there). There's potential for someone to make something of it when all the UNITE student halls pop up round there next year.
The Hopetoun Bar and Diner (McDonald Road, 13) is a John Barras pub, so once again I don't need to offer a detailed analysis. Suffice to say Nick managed to find himself in the company of a rather bigoted Rangers man (is there any other kind?), and Greig Bingham's name was mentioned several times. Greig Bingham was not present at this time.
The Slug and Lettuce (Omni Centre, Greenside Place, 1/4/5/7/8/10/11/12/14/15/16/17/19/22/25/26/34/44/45/49) is a chain effort and is almost indistinguishable from any of the other faceless bars within the Omni Centre. Nick was adamant that Neil McDonald should have been with us that night though, because “his nickname is The Lettuce and he looks like a slug”. Fair enough.
Deacon Brodie's Tavern (Bank Street/Lawnmarket, 23/27/41/42/45): William Brodie (1741–1788), more commonly known by his prestigious title of Deacon Brodie, was a Scottish cabinet-maker, deacon of the trades guild and Edinburgh city councillor, who maintained a secret life as a burglar, partly for the thrill, and partly to fund his gambling.
By day, Brodie was a respectable businessman, member of the burgh council and deacon (or president) of the Incorporation of Wrights and Masons. Part of his job in building cabinets was to install and repair their locks and other security mechanisms and repair door locks. He also served on a jury. He socialised with the gentry of Edinburgh, meeting poet Robert Burns and the painter Sir Henry Raeburn. He was also a member of The Edinburgh Cape Club.
At night, however, Brodie became a burglar and thief. He used his daytime job as a way to gain knowledge about the security mechanisms of his clients and to copy their keys using wax impressions. As the foremost wright of the city, Brodie was asked to work in the homes of many of the richest members of Edinburgh society. He used the illicit money to maintain his second life, including five children, two mistresses who did not know of each other, and a gambling habit. He reputedly began his criminal career around 1768 when he copied keys to a bank door and stole £800. In 1786 he recruited a gang of three thieves, Brown, Smith and Ainslie.
The case that lead to Brodie's downfall began later in 1786 when he organised an armed raid on an Excise office in Chessel's Court on the Canongate. Brodie's plan failed and Ainslie was captured. Ainslie agreed to turn King's evidence, to avoid transportation, and informed on the rest of the gang. Brodie escaped to the Netherlands intending to flee to the United States but was arrested in Amsterdam and shipped back to Edinburgh for trial.
The trial started August 27, 1788. At first there was no hard evidence against Brodie before the tools of his criminal trade were found in his house; copied keys, a disguise and pistols. The jury found Brodie and his henchman George Smith, a grocer, guilty. Smith was an English locksmith, he was responsible for a number of thefts, even stealing the silver mace from the University of Edinburgh.
Brodie and Smith were hanged at the Tolbooth October 1, 1788, using a gallows Brodie had designed and funded the year before. According to one tale, Brodie wore a steel collar and silver tube to prevent the hanging from being fatal. It was said that he had bribed the hangman to ignore it and arranged for his body to be removed quickly in the hope that he could later be revived. If so, the plan failed. Brodie was buried in an unmarked grave at the Parish Church in Buccleuch. However rumours of his being seen in Paris circulated later and gave the story of his scheme to evade death further publicity.
Popular myth holds that Deacon Brodie built the first gallows in Edinburgh and was also its first victim. Of this William Roughead in Classic Crimes states that after research he was sure that although the Deacon may have had some hand in the design "...it was certainly not of his construction, nor was he the first to benefit by its ingenuity".
The dichotomy between Brodie's respectable façade, and his real nature inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Stevenson's father had furniture made by Brodie.
Or so it says on wikipedia - the pub is a bit of a rubbish tourist trap though.
The Strathmore Bar (Iona Street, diverted 13): our visit here almost gave rise to a financial stooshie; having passed the sign calling the bar “The Trathie” (the S having fallen off a long time ago), I was sceptical of Nick's claims that the place was indeed called The Strathmore, even to the point at which I offered to raise a £300 waiger on the matter. Thankfully Mr Chris McCall talked me down from the ledge.
Tamson's (the old Footballer's Arms, Easter Road, 1/13/35) looks fairly uninviting from the outside but once we crossed the threshold it turned out to be a nice little pub. We had planned to have one pint and one pint only, but quicky developed a residency at the bar, helped by Mr Chadha repeatedly (and conveniently) missing his bus by a matter of minutes.
The Black Bull (Leith Street/Calton Road, 1/5/7/14/19/22/25/34/49) is renouned for its popularity with local punks and metal fans, and has the jukebox to match. The thought of the place provokes tinitis in me, and we were only in at the back of 7! Not one for the hard of hearing.
The Newsroom (Leith Street, 1/5/7/14/19/22/25/34/49) is a cocktail bar/juice bar/ponce fest but it served a nice halfway point for the walk between the Black Bull and our next point of call (roughly 50 yards round the corner), and surprisingly did a very good pint of Guinness. I'm not sure if it was a deliberate point given the name of the joint, or whether it was simply a reflection on the type of place The Newsroom is, but I was pleased to see that a full-ish selection of the days' broadsheets was available for persual whilst one drank their pint.
The Waterloo Buffet (Waterloo Place, X25/X26) is a strange little place tucked away beyond the end of Princes Street but before Calton Hill. Busy during the day with commuters necking a swift half before catching their buses to West Lothian or wherever it is they go, the place is dead at night – indeed our only company in the bar was a rather drunk fellow who insisted on telling us his life story. Twice. It may have been coincidence but it was at around this point that the barmaid decided to call time on proceedings. We headed straight upstairs to The Ark (Waterloo Place, X25/X26) a music venue-cum-bar where singer-songwriting and all round good guy Alex Cornish was wearing a red-check shirt and playing some tunes. If you want to read a review of the gig you should check here, we stood at the back and drank a lot of Guinness so were in no place to pass comment.
The Living Room (George Street, 13,19,36,37,41,47,X47): From time to time, The Management engage in social drinking, rather than simply dragging themselves into pubs and making jokes about Adam Johns. Our visit to The Living Room was one such occasion, as we joined PWC's finest for some kind of birthday 'do, a 21st or something*. A couple of the PWC crowd had been exercising their drinking muscles since lunchtime and thus were rather er, merry, especially one bloke who at one stage must have had about 4 pints in front of him – seemingly with each cigarette break he would forget that his collection was increasing. The place itself was quite classy, not just 'stylish' or 'trendy' as many New Town bars seem to be. Nick has asked me to point out that he found the cocktails substandard – at first I thought he was bemoaning the lack of an umbrella or cherry tomato but no, he genuinely wasn't impressed with his celery and cucumber concoction, or whatever it was. I had a mojito and an Estonian beer, both passed the test.
Until the next time....
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 88
*Note: this may not be true.
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
THE CALEY ALE HOUSE
On Saturday 15th March 2008, the Caley Ale House (see above) next door to Haymarket station will close its doors for the final time, in order to make way for the first of Edinburgh’s new tramlines. This will be a sad moment for several, including myself, as the Ale House has been one of my favourite boozers since moving to this city nearly four years ago.
The first time I visited the Caley Ale House was the first time I had a drink in Edinburgh: I was sixteen (hello licensing board, don’t bother, it shuts in ten days anyway) and had been at an Edinburgh uni open day. Having been to the token two lectures in order to tell my folks what I’d seen, I met Nick and Paul McKay for a pint. Nick insisted on ordering draught Budweiser for some reason – something which would (thankfully) be unheard of these days. Paul, of course, stuck to his usual pint of Tennents’ Lager. I can’t remember what it was specifically that I liked about the place (perhaps it was the fact that I was being served, perhaps it was the fact that I’d decided to move to Edinburgh, perhaps it was the fact that it was the first pub in which I really felt at home – who cares?) but from then on I loved the place.
Fast forward three months - just shy of a year before I moved down south actually – and myself, Nick and Paul again convened in the Caley Ale House. We had more of an occasion this time, however, as we were going to see, now-defunct band, The Stands play an acoustic set in the basement of HMV on Princes Street. Thankfully, drink tastes had moved on somewhat (for this we should probably thank Inverness’ Bar Pivo) and Pilsner Urquell was the order of the day. I honestly can’t remember if we only had the one pint or if we managed to stretch it to a second, but again it felt like home. The set was pretty good as well, and looking back at the photo, well…it was a long time ago.
It was a good while before the Caley Ale House received another visit – June 2004 in fact, and by this point the bar staff could almost have got away with serving me. Again it was myself, Nick and Paul who were present. We’d been to see Bob Dylan at the SECC the night before, and somehow Paul had ended up incredibly hungover – maybe it was just my youth but I was fine. Anyway the Pilsner Urquell was gone, and had been replaced with Germany’s Furstenburg (the first time I tried the stuff actually – I remember ranting and raving about it at a friend’s 18th when I got home that night).
Of course, after I moved to Edinburgh, visits to the Ale House became more regular. The first was as part of an impromptu pissup towards the end of my freshers week which began in the Caley Sample Rooms around 7 and ended in the Tron just after midnight. The place then became a regular drinking haunt, especially as they used to play The Best of James seemingly every time we were in. There were weeknights spent talking crap, weekend nights spent kidding ourselves we wouldn’t end up in Citrus, afternoons supping on a sly pint or two. It was even the starting place of a session of ridiculous proportions towards the end of my first year which was meant to help Nick get over his recent split from then girlfriend Liz – of course the night ended up with him being sick in the middle of Rose Street after being plied with drinks by an unknown Irish punter who’d been propping up the bar.
The infamous Rose St night, pictured
Second year came and went, still the Ale House served as a regular watering hole, and increasingly we were joined by Nick’s flatmate Ewen Leask. Into my third year of uni and visits would become almost ritual whenever Ewen returned to town – one night last summer saw us polish off twelve pints of Best each, and yet Nick somehow still made it into work the next day. Me? I’d just finished my exams, I was happy to stay in bed mate…
Shortly after that (we're talking weeks not hours, don't worry), we decided that we’d go on a bit of a pubcrawl but rather than drinking in regular haunts we’d see if we could find a few new boozers – and thus the Great Edinburgh Pub Challenge was dreamt up. Where was our first pint that day? - where else could it have been?
Given the nature of the pub challenge, visits to the pub have been in stupid places, and we’ve taken in some really awful boozers – much of the time we’d have been better off in the Caley Ale House, which has probably suffered from only a slight drop in custom over the last 6 months. Still, we’ll be there for the funeral, and we hope you will be too (black tie recommended – no white socks please Mr Johns).
Until the next time…or until then.
NB The Caledonian Ale House closes its doors for the last time on 15 March 2008. All are welcome to join The Management and friends in paying their last respects to a legendary watering hole.
The first time I visited the Caley Ale House was the first time I had a drink in Edinburgh: I was sixteen (hello licensing board, don’t bother, it shuts in ten days anyway) and had been at an Edinburgh uni open day. Having been to the token two lectures in order to tell my folks what I’d seen, I met Nick and Paul McKay for a pint. Nick insisted on ordering draught Budweiser for some reason – something which would (thankfully) be unheard of these days. Paul, of course, stuck to his usual pint of Tennents’ Lager. I can’t remember what it was specifically that I liked about the place (perhaps it was the fact that I was being served, perhaps it was the fact that I’d decided to move to Edinburgh, perhaps it was the fact that it was the first pub in which I really felt at home – who cares?) but from then on I loved the place.
Fast forward three months - just shy of a year before I moved down south actually – and myself, Nick and Paul again convened in the Caley Ale House. We had more of an occasion this time, however, as we were going to see, now-defunct band, The Stands play an acoustic set in the basement of HMV on Princes Street. Thankfully, drink tastes had moved on somewhat (for this we should probably thank Inverness’ Bar Pivo) and Pilsner Urquell was the order of the day. I honestly can’t remember if we only had the one pint or if we managed to stretch it to a second, but again it felt like home. The set was pretty good as well, and looking back at the photo, well…it was a long time ago.
It was a good while before the Caley Ale House received another visit – June 2004 in fact, and by this point the bar staff could almost have got away with serving me. Again it was myself, Nick and Paul who were present. We’d been to see Bob Dylan at the SECC the night before, and somehow Paul had ended up incredibly hungover – maybe it was just my youth but I was fine. Anyway the Pilsner Urquell was gone, and had been replaced with Germany’s Furstenburg (the first time I tried the stuff actually – I remember ranting and raving about it at a friend’s 18th when I got home that night).
Of course, after I moved to Edinburgh, visits to the Ale House became more regular. The first was as part of an impromptu pissup towards the end of my freshers week which began in the Caley Sample Rooms around 7 and ended in the Tron just after midnight. The place then became a regular drinking haunt, especially as they used to play The Best of James seemingly every time we were in. There were weeknights spent talking crap, weekend nights spent kidding ourselves we wouldn’t end up in Citrus, afternoons supping on a sly pint or two. It was even the starting place of a session of ridiculous proportions towards the end of my first year which was meant to help Nick get over his recent split from then girlfriend Liz – of course the night ended up with him being sick in the middle of Rose Street after being plied with drinks by an unknown Irish punter who’d been propping up the bar.
The infamous Rose St night, pictured
Second year came and went, still the Ale House served as a regular watering hole, and increasingly we were joined by Nick’s flatmate Ewen Leask. Into my third year of uni and visits would become almost ritual whenever Ewen returned to town – one night last summer saw us polish off twelve pints of Best each, and yet Nick somehow still made it into work the next day. Me? I’d just finished my exams, I was happy to stay in bed mate…
Shortly after that (we're talking weeks not hours, don't worry), we decided that we’d go on a bit of a pubcrawl but rather than drinking in regular haunts we’d see if we could find a few new boozers – and thus the Great Edinburgh Pub Challenge was dreamt up. Where was our first pint that day? - where else could it have been?
Given the nature of the pub challenge, visits to the pub have been in stupid places, and we’ve taken in some really awful boozers – much of the time we’d have been better off in the Caley Ale House, which has probably suffered from only a slight drop in custom over the last 6 months. Still, we’ll be there for the funeral, and we hope you will be too (black tie recommended – no white socks please Mr Johns).
Until the next time…or until then.
NB The Caledonian Ale House closes its doors for the last time on 15 March 2008. All are welcome to join The Management and friends in paying their last respects to a legendary watering hole.
Sunday, 24 February 2008
THE BALMORAL (not that one) AND OTHER RECENT HAPPENINGS
After what seemed like an absolute age away from the pub, a week or so ago The Management convened in The Balmoral (Dalry Road, 2/3/4/25/33/44) for a few jars, accompanied by Greig Blenheim (making his first appearance in a number of months – seemingly he wasn’t happy about his name constantly being spelled incorrectly) and Nick’s flatmate Colly. The Guinness was good, the barmaids weren’t bad, the booths were comfy but if I’m going to be really picky, I didn’t like the blue neon lights above the bar.
Most places we’ve been in so far have had fairly respectable clientele – ok, they may be complete and utter jakeys (quiet, you at the back) but they’ll usually keep themselves to themselves and offer nothing more offensive by way of conversation than the odd grunt or a bit of drivel falling onto their chin. It was therefore nice to go somewhere less civilised: a Hearts pub. Robertson’s (Gorgie Road, 1/3/25/33), to be precise. Now it didn’t seem that bad from the outside, just a few punters lagered up and singing karaoke, but when the first thing that someone says to you at the bar is, “Alright mate, fuck the Pope”, you know you’re in for a treat. There were interesting additions to the lyrics of Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’, there were interesting characters aplenty and there was the first blatant breach of the smoking ban that we’d witnessed. Being a big time Rangers man, I don’t think it was as much of a culture shock to Greig as it was to either Nick or myself.
For those of you who are nitpicky (and/or actually read this), you’ll notice that our Resident Statistician’s latest thrillingly informative collection of facts and figures states us as having visited 75 pubs, but the last sub-total was a mere 73. This lack of consensus is due in equal measures to his over-eager nature and my lackadaisical approach to anything he tries to tell me. Following this entry, you may consider the situation rectified.
Until the next time….
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 75
Most places we’ve been in so far have had fairly respectable clientele – ok, they may be complete and utter jakeys (quiet, you at the back) but they’ll usually keep themselves to themselves and offer nothing more offensive by way of conversation than the odd grunt or a bit of drivel falling onto their chin. It was therefore nice to go somewhere less civilised: a Hearts pub. Robertson’s (Gorgie Road, 1/3/25/33), to be precise. Now it didn’t seem that bad from the outside, just a few punters lagered up and singing karaoke, but when the first thing that someone says to you at the bar is, “Alright mate, fuck the Pope”, you know you’re in for a treat. There were interesting additions to the lyrics of Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’, there were interesting characters aplenty and there was the first blatant breach of the smoking ban that we’d witnessed. Being a big time Rangers man, I don’t think it was as much of a culture shock to Greig as it was to either Nick or myself.
For those of you who are nitpicky (and/or actually read this), you’ll notice that our Resident Statistician’s latest thrillingly informative collection of facts and figures states us as having visited 75 pubs, but the last sub-total was a mere 73. This lack of consensus is due in equal measures to his over-eager nature and my lackadaisical approach to anything he tries to tell me. Following this entry, you may consider the situation rectified.
Until the next time….
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 75
Thursday, 21 February 2008
An Update From Our Resident Statistician
I thought it was about time I subjected you all to another statistical update. In the last 43 pubs we have had a bit of a rearranging in the leader board. So, after 75 pubs we have:
Nick’s top three drinks so far:
Belhaven Best – 22 pints
Guinness – 17 pints
Deuchars IPA – 9 pints
Rodney’s top three drinks:
Belhaven Best – 26 pints
Guinness – 17 pints
Deuchars IPA – 9 pints
So far, Nick has tried 18 different beers and Rodney 19.
More importantly we have had plenty of changes in the league table of pubs:
1=The Management - 75
3.Adam Johns (!!!!!!!) – 10
4.John Murray – 8
5.Phil Brough – 7
In that time previous leaders have fallen to the following places:
9.Greig Bingham – 5
15=Ian Davidson – 3
Finally, bus route with the most pubs visited so far is still the Number 12, with 18 pubs eligible.
It’s about time that more folk joined us out and about! You must have a local somewhere we can visit...
Nick’s top three drinks so far:
Belhaven Best – 22 pints
Guinness – 17 pints
Deuchars IPA – 9 pints
Rodney’s top three drinks:
Belhaven Best – 26 pints
Guinness – 17 pints
Deuchars IPA – 9 pints
So far, Nick has tried 18 different beers and Rodney 19.
More importantly we have had plenty of changes in the league table of pubs:
1=The Management - 75
3.Adam Johns (!!!!!!!) – 10
4.John Murray – 8
5.Phil Brough – 7
In that time previous leaders have fallen to the following places:
9.Greig Bingham – 5
15=Ian Davidson – 3
Finally, bus route with the most pubs visited so far is still the Number 12, with 18 pubs eligible.
It’s about time that more folk joined us out and about! You must have a local somewhere we can visit...
Monday, 18 February 2008
PORTOBELLO (and not a mushroom in sight)
Most people choose to go to the seaside when the sun is out. Being slightly contrary folk, we decided the best time to for the Pub Challenge’s first visit to Portobello was on a freezing day in mid-January, when it was pishing it down. We were accompanied by the flying duo of Adrian and John, John having (intentionally?) missed his flight that morning (excuse: drunk the night before, slept in) and decided that the best way to spend another day up north was to hit a few pubs. Fair enough.
The Plough Inn (Portobello High Street, 15/21/26/42/49) was the first place we saw after getting off the bus and visiting the ATM. I’m a bit of a fascist when it comes to lager, preferring good imported stuff to a lot of the crap you find in most pubs – and also on a freezing day you can hardly taste the stuff. During the winter I like to drink heavies or pale ales – and the Plough Inn had none of the above. A pint of Guinness it was. Nick had the same – “This is going to be a really slow pints”, he had stressed on the bus out to Porty, before necking it in ten minutes. Just to rub salt into the wound from the previous night, they were reshowing the Spurs/Arsenal game, and this pleased John no end.
Stumbling out of the Plough Inn we noticed that we had gone past a pub called The Galleon (Portobello High Street, 15/21/26/42/49), which looked ropey from the outside. The view from the outside, however, was nothing compared to what we saw when we got in. The back room called itself “The Black Chicken Lounge”, and the clientele consisted of one woman (who had a strange likeness to Grandma from Thunderbirds) and her dog, which kept trying to hump Nick’s leg. Nick doesn’t like dogs. Tom Jones was blasting on the jukebox as we entered, and was swiftly followed by The Carpenters. There were a couple of other 60s love songs, The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen (things were going well) - and then we were shocked with Bon Bloody Jovi. Now if there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s Bon Jovi, and so there was only one viable option: put money in the jukebox and stay for another pint, much to Nick’s disgust. Given that the jukebox consisted of 60s standards and country and western (plus the obligatory power ballads compilation – hence the Bon Jovi) , myself and John took over the controls. This is what we came up with:
GLENN CAMPBELL – WICHITA LINEMAN
DON McLEAN – CRYING
BUDDY HOLLY – THINK IT OVER
ROD STEWART – YOU WEAR IT WELL
THE EAGLES – NEW KID IN TOWN
THE CARPENTERS – HURTING EACH OTHER
THE ZOMBIES – SHE’S NOT THERE (interestingly listed by our resident statistician as “The Way She Does”)
ELVIS PRESSLEY – SUSPICIOUS MINDS
DEL SHANNON – HATS OFF TO LARRY
THE SHIRELLES – WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW
THE SMALL FACES – ITCHYCOO PARK
Brilliant stuff. As much as we were tempted to stay on, the old wifey had returned to the jukebox and was queuing up at least £10’s worth of requests. A quick visit next door provided some extremely fresh tasting haddock (and not so fresh tasting chips), and then it was along to the Forresters Arms (Portobello High Street, 15/21/26/42/49), bigger than either of the other pubs and slightly less downmarket. There was a beer garden out the back, but we didn’t fancy sitting our there in the sleet, and so we watched some of the African Cup of Nations instead.
People had things to be doing, and so we headed back into Leith for our final pub of the evening. The Volunteer Arms (Leith Walk, 7/10/12/14/16/22/25/49) is famous for being the pub in Trainspotting in which Begbie is playing a game of pool with a killing hangover before a local hardman enters…you know the rest. Sadly there was no such action during our brief stay, just a pint of Caley 80 -/- and a packet of bacon fries. Worth a visit though.
UNTIL THE NEXT TIME….
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 73
The Plough Inn (Portobello High Street, 15/21/26/42/49) was the first place we saw after getting off the bus and visiting the ATM. I’m a bit of a fascist when it comes to lager, preferring good imported stuff to a lot of the crap you find in most pubs – and also on a freezing day you can hardly taste the stuff. During the winter I like to drink heavies or pale ales – and the Plough Inn had none of the above. A pint of Guinness it was. Nick had the same – “This is going to be a really slow pints”, he had stressed on the bus out to Porty, before necking it in ten minutes. Just to rub salt into the wound from the previous night, they were reshowing the Spurs/Arsenal game, and this pleased John no end.
Stumbling out of the Plough Inn we noticed that we had gone past a pub called The Galleon (Portobello High Street, 15/21/26/42/49), which looked ropey from the outside. The view from the outside, however, was nothing compared to what we saw when we got in. The back room called itself “The Black Chicken Lounge”, and the clientele consisted of one woman (who had a strange likeness to Grandma from Thunderbirds) and her dog, which kept trying to hump Nick’s leg. Nick doesn’t like dogs. Tom Jones was blasting on the jukebox as we entered, and was swiftly followed by The Carpenters. There were a couple of other 60s love songs, The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen (things were going well) - and then we were shocked with Bon Bloody Jovi. Now if there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s Bon Jovi, and so there was only one viable option: put money in the jukebox and stay for another pint, much to Nick’s disgust. Given that the jukebox consisted of 60s standards and country and western (plus the obligatory power ballads compilation – hence the Bon Jovi) , myself and John took over the controls. This is what we came up with:
GLENN CAMPBELL – WICHITA LINEMAN
DON McLEAN – CRYING
BUDDY HOLLY – THINK IT OVER
ROD STEWART – YOU WEAR IT WELL
THE EAGLES – NEW KID IN TOWN
THE CARPENTERS – HURTING EACH OTHER
THE ZOMBIES – SHE’S NOT THERE (interestingly listed by our resident statistician as “The Way She Does”)
ELVIS PRESSLEY – SUSPICIOUS MINDS
DEL SHANNON – HATS OFF TO LARRY
THE SHIRELLES – WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW
THE SMALL FACES – ITCHYCOO PARK
Brilliant stuff. As much as we were tempted to stay on, the old wifey had returned to the jukebox and was queuing up at least £10’s worth of requests. A quick visit next door provided some extremely fresh tasting haddock (and not so fresh tasting chips), and then it was along to the Forresters Arms (Portobello High Street, 15/21/26/42/49), bigger than either of the other pubs and slightly less downmarket. There was a beer garden out the back, but we didn’t fancy sitting our there in the sleet, and so we watched some of the African Cup of Nations instead.
People had things to be doing, and so we headed back into Leith for our final pub of the evening. The Volunteer Arms (Leith Walk, 7/10/12/14/16/22/25/49) is famous for being the pub in Trainspotting in which Begbie is playing a game of pool with a killing hangover before a local hardman enters…you know the rest. Sadly there was no such action during our brief stay, just a pint of Caley 80 -/- and a packet of bacon fries. Worth a visit though.
UNTIL THE NEXT TIME….
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 73
Saturday, 9 February 2008
A LITTLE CHARM
Doctor’s (Teviot Place, 2/23/27/35/41/42/45) was the meeting place for the next leg of The Great Edinburgh Pub Challenge. We were privileged on this occasion as we were joined by fans of ours who had travelled from locations as far flung as Warrington, Huddersfield, Bournemouth and, er, Leith especially to take in a few pubs with us. Ok, so that’s not completely true as they were here to see The Bluetones at the Liquid Room, but that’s hardly the point. Anyway, back to the pub reviews. Doctors is alright, does a lot of good ales’n’stuff like that, the food is decent but it’s by no means brilliant.
Complaints were being made that there was no football on show in Doctors, so we headed round the corner to Oddfellows (Forrest Road, 2/23/27/35/41/42/45), a big cavernous place which used to be meeting place of a Masonic group (hence the name) aimed primarily at students. It was deserted whilst we were in, seemingly nobody was at all interested in watching Spurs beat Arsenal in the Carling Cup semi final. Nobody, that is, except for John who is an Arsenal fan. Bet you wish you’d gone with the folk music option now!
After the gig we went to the Bow Bar on Victoria Street, which is one of the best pubs in Edinburgh. Sadly our resident statistician will not have it included in the pub challenge because it’s not on a bus route – however I’ll tell you a bit about it anyway. Offering over 100 malt whiskys and serving probably about 7 real ales at any one time, the Bow is an intimate little place which retains cigarette mirrors on the walls and maps over the seats. Poor Mike Chadha found it a bit baffling though, ordering a pint of Budvar dark – tops. We accepted that it was a schoolboy error and did the honourable thing – laughed him out of the place. Nick, on the other hand was being asked by the bar staff to pipe down and mind his language. It would be nice if other bars would follow suit, to be honest.
Once everyone had had time to compose themselves and neck a couple of jars, we headed across town to 99 Hanover Street (Hanover Street – no surprises there – 13/23/27) where Mark Morriss was playing a solo gig, along with William Douglas (don’t have a link for you – sorry about that), who had opened in the Liquid Room. Mark ran through a few songs from his Fi Lo Beddow EP and closed with a cover of Teenage Fanclub’s “Alcoholiday”, the rest of us mingled and got a bit pished.
Whistlebinkies (South Bridge, 3/5/7/8/29/31/33/35/37/49/49) was the obvious destination when we left 99 Hanover St at closing time. I’m not a huge fan to be honest with you, having had a couple of fairly unpleasant experiences inside, but objectively it’s a decent place if horrendously overpriced. Usually there is live music on, but on the night of our visit the place was uncharacteristically quiet.
Until the next time…
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 69
Complaints were being made that there was no football on show in Doctors, so we headed round the corner to Oddfellows (Forrest Road, 2/23/27/35/41/42/45), a big cavernous place which used to be meeting place of a Masonic group (hence the name) aimed primarily at students. It was deserted whilst we were in, seemingly nobody was at all interested in watching Spurs beat Arsenal in the Carling Cup semi final. Nobody, that is, except for John who is an Arsenal fan. Bet you wish you’d gone with the folk music option now!
After the gig we went to the Bow Bar on Victoria Street, which is one of the best pubs in Edinburgh. Sadly our resident statistician will not have it included in the pub challenge because it’s not on a bus route – however I’ll tell you a bit about it anyway. Offering over 100 malt whiskys and serving probably about 7 real ales at any one time, the Bow is an intimate little place which retains cigarette mirrors on the walls and maps over the seats. Poor Mike Chadha found it a bit baffling though, ordering a pint of Budvar dark – tops. We accepted that it was a schoolboy error and did the honourable thing – laughed him out of the place. Nick, on the other hand was being asked by the bar staff to pipe down and mind his language. It would be nice if other bars would follow suit, to be honest.
Once everyone had had time to compose themselves and neck a couple of jars, we headed across town to 99 Hanover Street (Hanover Street – no surprises there – 13/23/27) where Mark Morriss was playing a solo gig, along with William Douglas (don’t have a link for you – sorry about that), who had opened in the Liquid Room. Mark ran through a few songs from his Fi Lo Beddow EP and closed with a cover of Teenage Fanclub’s “Alcoholiday”, the rest of us mingled and got a bit pished.
Whistlebinkies (South Bridge, 3/5/7/8/29/31/33/35/37/49/49) was the obvious destination when we left 99 Hanover St at closing time. I’m not a huge fan to be honest with you, having had a couple of fairly unpleasant experiences inside, but objectively it’s a decent place if horrendously overpriced. Usually there is live music on, but on the night of our visit the place was uncharacteristically quiet.
Until the next time…
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 69
Thursday, 31 January 2008
ROUND CANONMILLS WAY
The weekend’s gigging had gone well, Nick had dropped off the van and had sent me a text informing me that he was studying in the Conan Doyle (York Place, 4/5/8/10/11/12/15/17/26/44/45). A couple of hours later, I was wandering into town, on a mission for something to eat when I decided I’d chance phoning him.
“You still in the Conan Doyle mate?” I asked.
“Of course I am!” came the reply. I made a quick detour to the cash machine in the Omni Centre, and had a pint of Belhaven Best in my hand within about 3 minutes. Happy days. There’s not much to say about the Conan Doyle, but I can thoroughly recommend the salt and pepper scampi.
The Stag’s Head (Broughton Road, 13/36) was our next port of call. Strangely enough it was decorated in Manchester City paraphernalia. Obviously Canonmills’ local team.
Across the road was Maclachlan’s ( Canonmills, 8/17/36), a pub which served its namesake beer. Roughly the same consistency and creamy texture as Belhaven Best or indeed any other 70-/- ale, it had a pronounced hoppy bitterness to it. Very drinkable. Also there was a nice soundtrack on in the gents (see “Quote of the day” feature, below)
Smithey’s (Eyre Place, 36) followed on. With its carpeted interior and centre bar, it was distinctly reminiscent of the Artisan out London Road way. I had a nice pint of Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted, Nick had a Deuchars.
I described The Orchard (Howard Place, 8/17/23/27) as looking decidedly beige from the outside. Nick hounded me about my overuse of that word, so I shall describe The Orchard as thus: The Orchard appeared beige from the outside, but from within, although the walls were painted a shade of off-white not too far from beige, the pub itself was not as beige as I had imagined it to be; not beige at all, in fact. That’s enough laboured beige uses now, but I can tell you that it exceeded my expectations – I’d always remembered it as the Northern Bar, but having seen its bei-sorry, off white exterior I had feared the worst. Nick said that he could quite happily have sat there for a good while after a day’s work. Is there a higher recommendation? Well yes, probably there is.
After taking a break to grab some food, we hopped on a bus and headed back up towards Broughton St. We were joined in The Barony (Broughton St, 8/17) by local folk singer Flora Cook. There was a folk quartet going on in the corner (well, I say folk loosely, as there was a guy on the drums, someone playing upright bass, a singer with one of those deep American FM-rock drawls and a guy fretwanking a Telecaster) who made a fairly solid attempt to drown out any conversation we might have dared to have. Given the standard of myself and Nick’s joke repertoire, this may have been to Flora’s benefit.
Mather’s (Broughton St, 8/17) is owned/run by the same folk who have its doppelganger on Queensferry St. The idea is the same, but the Broughton St one is a bit more conducive to sitting. I was going to make a joke about bums, but given the area we’re dealing with, that’s probably not a wise idea.
UNTIL THE NEXT TIME…
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “A dose of diarrhoea…how romantic” – automated loop in the gents’ toilets, Maclachlan’s.
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 65
“You still in the Conan Doyle mate?” I asked.
“Of course I am!” came the reply. I made a quick detour to the cash machine in the Omni Centre, and had a pint of Belhaven Best in my hand within about 3 minutes. Happy days. There’s not much to say about the Conan Doyle, but I can thoroughly recommend the salt and pepper scampi.
The Stag’s Head (Broughton Road, 13/36) was our next port of call. Strangely enough it was decorated in Manchester City paraphernalia. Obviously Canonmills’ local team.
Across the road was Maclachlan’s ( Canonmills, 8/17/36), a pub which served its namesake beer. Roughly the same consistency and creamy texture as Belhaven Best or indeed any other 70-/- ale, it had a pronounced hoppy bitterness to it. Very drinkable. Also there was a nice soundtrack on in the gents (see “Quote of the day” feature, below)
Smithey’s (Eyre Place, 36) followed on. With its carpeted interior and centre bar, it was distinctly reminiscent of the Artisan out London Road way. I had a nice pint of Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted, Nick had a Deuchars.
I described The Orchard (Howard Place, 8/17/23/27) as looking decidedly beige from the outside. Nick hounded me about my overuse of that word, so I shall describe The Orchard as thus: The Orchard appeared beige from the outside, but from within, although the walls were painted a shade of off-white not too far from beige, the pub itself was not as beige as I had imagined it to be; not beige at all, in fact. That’s enough laboured beige uses now, but I can tell you that it exceeded my expectations – I’d always remembered it as the Northern Bar, but having seen its bei-sorry, off white exterior I had feared the worst. Nick said that he could quite happily have sat there for a good while after a day’s work. Is there a higher recommendation? Well yes, probably there is.
After taking a break to grab some food, we hopped on a bus and headed back up towards Broughton St. We were joined in The Barony (Broughton St, 8/17) by local folk singer Flora Cook. There was a folk quartet going on in the corner (well, I say folk loosely, as there was a guy on the drums, someone playing upright bass, a singer with one of those deep American FM-rock drawls and a guy fretwanking a Telecaster) who made a fairly solid attempt to drown out any conversation we might have dared to have. Given the standard of myself and Nick’s joke repertoire, this may have been to Flora’s benefit.
Mather’s (Broughton St, 8/17) is owned/run by the same folk who have its doppelganger on Queensferry St. The idea is the same, but the Broughton St one is a bit more conducive to sitting. I was going to make a joke about bums, but given the area we’re dealing with, that’s probably not a wise idea.
UNTIL THE NEXT TIME…
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “A dose of diarrhoea…how romantic” – automated loop in the gents’ toilets, Maclachlan’s.
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 65
GOOD EVENING POP PICKERS
It was decided that it would be unfair for me to review my own band, and so we delegated the task to someone who could write in sentences, could hold their drink and as such would remember the performance, and could be relied upon to get it done briefly. Sadly, he was busy, and so was the next guy we asked, so it fell upon Adam Johns to become our first guest writer. Here’s what Adam had to say:
Hello fellow challengers! After persistent dedication to the cause, The Management have allowed me to write my own independent review of the most recent leg of the challenge. I would like at this point to use my newfound responsibilities to clear my name – admittedly I may not have the best of stamina where consumption of alcohol is concerned, but I do not vomit after two pints as has previously been suggested! Now back to the review – on the night of the 16th I was invited a pop concert in the renowned Henry’s Cellar Bar (Morrison St, 1/2/34/35). The event itself was a warm up gig for The Wynd as they were opening for The Bluetones the following night. The venue is well known within Edinburgh as a crèche for up and coming bands: decent sized stage, good-ish PA system and plenty of space to get your funk on, as I did. Accompanying me to spectate and indulge were recognised challengers Philip Brough and Mike Maguire, and as much as it was good to see my West Country chum, the sight of Maguire’s purple shirt did make me slightly nauseous - especially when he had worn it the previous Saturday night. What can I say? the boy obviously likes feminine colours. The drinks may have been on the expensive side but there was a well stocked variety of beers in the fridge but in a venue which shares its toilets with a Chinese restaurant the service always came with a smile that said “I’ll do you a good beer but a chicken chow mein is not on offer tonight.”
Note to perspective clientele of Henry’s Cellar Bar though: do not order double vodka red bull - it may cause you to increase your student overdraft. All in all the atmosphere, drinks and entertainment culminated in a very good night and I would recommend the venue to any music enthusiast wanting to sample some of Edinburgh’s finest musical talent.
The night continued upstairs in the Festival Tavern where… (that’s enough Adam, thank you – ed.)
There’s a great little passage in Ian Rankin’s Fleshmarket Close in which Rebus is in the Oxford Bar supping a pint of Deuchars (no change there then).
“As happened on a good night in the Ox, conversations ebbed and flowed, people joining in two discussions at once, bringing them together only for them to splinter again after a few minutes. There were bad jokes and worse puns[.]”
This describes fairly accurate the scenes in The Festival Tavern (Morrison St, 1/2/34/35), located directly above Henry’s. We had a huge crowd with us and stayed there all night long (£2.20 a pint of Best = bonus), I honestly couldn’t tell you any stories for the reasons mentioned above and also because I don’t want to mention the fact that I nearly walked into a cleaning cupboard, having mistaken it for a toilet - but it was a good time. The rest of the band (except Chris, who’d gone home to “rest his throat” for the next night) hung around, Paddy eventually needing to be put to bed by his flatmate; Nick was spouting pish to all who were prepared to listen (and a number of others who weren’t); and Adam left early, dragging Hollie with him.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT:
Chris McCall (introducing “The Boy Who Had to Deny His Pride”): “This is a song about married women”
Adam Johns: “Where’s Nick when you need him?”
Until the next time…
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 58
Hello fellow challengers! After persistent dedication to the cause, The Management have allowed me to write my own independent review of the most recent leg of the challenge. I would like at this point to use my newfound responsibilities to clear my name – admittedly I may not have the best of stamina where consumption of alcohol is concerned, but I do not vomit after two pints as has previously been suggested! Now back to the review – on the night of the 16th I was invited a pop concert in the renowned Henry’s Cellar Bar (Morrison St, 1/2/34/35). The event itself was a warm up gig for The Wynd as they were opening for The Bluetones the following night. The venue is well known within Edinburgh as a crèche for up and coming bands: decent sized stage, good-ish PA system and plenty of space to get your funk on, as I did. Accompanying me to spectate and indulge were recognised challengers Philip Brough and Mike Maguire, and as much as it was good to see my West Country chum, the sight of Maguire’s purple shirt did make me slightly nauseous - especially when he had worn it the previous Saturday night. What can I say? the boy obviously likes feminine colours. The drinks may have been on the expensive side but there was a well stocked variety of beers in the fridge but in a venue which shares its toilets with a Chinese restaurant the service always came with a smile that said “I’ll do you a good beer but a chicken chow mein is not on offer tonight.”
Note to perspective clientele of Henry’s Cellar Bar though: do not order double vodka red bull - it may cause you to increase your student overdraft. All in all the atmosphere, drinks and entertainment culminated in a very good night and I would recommend the venue to any music enthusiast wanting to sample some of Edinburgh’s finest musical talent.
The night continued upstairs in the Festival Tavern where… (that’s enough Adam, thank you – ed.)
There’s a great little passage in Ian Rankin’s Fleshmarket Close in which Rebus is in the Oxford Bar supping a pint of Deuchars (no change there then).
“As happened on a good night in the Ox, conversations ebbed and flowed, people joining in two discussions at once, bringing them together only for them to splinter again after a few minutes. There were bad jokes and worse puns[.]”
This describes fairly accurate the scenes in The Festival Tavern (Morrison St, 1/2/34/35), located directly above Henry’s. We had a huge crowd with us and stayed there all night long (£2.20 a pint of Best = bonus), I honestly couldn’t tell you any stories for the reasons mentioned above and also because I don’t want to mention the fact that I nearly walked into a cleaning cupboard, having mistaken it for a toilet - but it was a good time. The rest of the band (except Chris, who’d gone home to “rest his throat” for the next night) hung around, Paddy eventually needing to be put to bed by his flatmate; Nick was spouting pish to all who were prepared to listen (and a number of others who weren’t); and Adam left early, dragging Hollie with him.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT:
Chris McCall (introducing “The Boy Who Had to Deny His Pride”): “This is a song about married women”
Adam Johns: “Where’s Nick when you need him?”
Until the next time…
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 58
Sunday, 13 January 2008
OPEN INVITATION
The Management would like to extend an invitation to all to join us for our next pub or two: this coming Friday (18th January), Edinburgh indie-popsters The Wynd play at Henry's Cellar Bar on Morrison St (opposite the Odeon Theatre on Lothian Road). They (ok, we) are on at 7.30 and are playing a set to warm up for a gig supporting The Bluetones in Dunfermline the following night. Tickets are priced at £2 and can be bought on the door.
Do feel free to come and say hello.
Do feel free to come and say hello.
IN WITH THE NEW
Having finished in 2007 in a beige Wetherspoons environment, it was imperative that 2008’s efforts in the Great Edinburgh Pub Challenge should being somewhere with a little more character. The Grey Horse (Dalkeith Road, 2/14/30/33) was our opening pub for the year. Situated about three-quarters of the way down Dalkeith Road, just about opposite the junction with Prestonfield Road, The Grey Horse appears run down from the outside and that impression remains when you step across the threshold. However, the locals were friendly and the pints were good, so no complaints shall be heard. Sadly we didn’t get to speak to a man who was pointed out to us only by the name of Dick Savage, but I’m sure he had some fairly interesting stories. Not one for the faint hearted, but I kind of enjoyed it.
This opening junket of 2008 took place on a Sunday evening (a week ago tonight, no less), and so public transport wasn’t at its most efficient. We managed to finish our pints in the Grey Horse just in time to catch a 33 out of town, past the Infirmary, round the back of Moredun to Ferniehill and into Gilmerton. We thought that we could see a pub just around the corner and so we got off the bus at Hyvot’s Bank. Alas, it was just a corner shop and so rather sheepishly we got on the same bus as it caught up with us, probably much to the amusement of the peroxide heavy, high decibel, mobile phone “music” blaring ned types who were sat up the back. No big loss. We were only on the move for another two minutes or so, to Gracemount in fact, when we spotted The Marmion (Captain’s Road, 7/11/18), a John Barra’s pub. Being a chain effort it was mundane inside, and there is little to be said about it other than WOULD THEY PLEASE TURN THE MUSIC DOWN BECAUSE YOU CAN HARDLY HEAR YOURSELF SPEAK. High volume music isn’t necessary when there are 4 people in the bar at something past ten on a Sunday night. Oh, and there was a murder there not long back. Probably the most interesting thing about the place.
We’ve got friends from Liberton, so we missed out everything round that area on our way back in, and got off the bus at St Patrick Square in order to pay a visit to The Southsider (West Richmond St, 2). I’ve always had a soft spot for this pub; it’s lively (mobbed at the weekends) but usually there’s space if you want to just go for a few quiet jars. The beer is both good and reasonably priced – interestingly this is the only place of which I am aware that sells McLay’s 70 -/-. I am open to correction though, and I suppose as this Challenge goes on, I’ll find out. Nick challenged me to a game of pool – I accepted, subject to being allowed to have a game of fussball afterwards. I lost both (narrowly).
One of the problems with drinking around the university it that there are a lot of crappy, soulless, leather and chrome, pretentious, coffee serving type places. Both Native State (Potterrow, 41/42) and Assembly (Lothian St, 2/41/42) fall into this category. Now call me old for my time on this earth, but I prefer to go to a pub with a bit of character, where you can get a good pint of good beer, preferably costing under £3 than one of these plush joints with their chill-out music and extortionate bar tariffs. I’m sure they’re ok if you’re a cocktail swilling ponce though.
UNTIL THE NEXT TIME…
Cumulative pub count: 56
This opening junket of 2008 took place on a Sunday evening (a week ago tonight, no less), and so public transport wasn’t at its most efficient. We managed to finish our pints in the Grey Horse just in time to catch a 33 out of town, past the Infirmary, round the back of Moredun to Ferniehill and into Gilmerton. We thought that we could see a pub just around the corner and so we got off the bus at Hyvot’s Bank. Alas, it was just a corner shop and so rather sheepishly we got on the same bus as it caught up with us, probably much to the amusement of the peroxide heavy, high decibel, mobile phone “music” blaring ned types who were sat up the back. No big loss. We were only on the move for another two minutes or so, to Gracemount in fact, when we spotted The Marmion (Captain’s Road, 7/11/18), a John Barra’s pub. Being a chain effort it was mundane inside, and there is little to be said about it other than WOULD THEY PLEASE TURN THE MUSIC DOWN BECAUSE YOU CAN HARDLY HEAR YOURSELF SPEAK. High volume music isn’t necessary when there are 4 people in the bar at something past ten on a Sunday night. Oh, and there was a murder there not long back. Probably the most interesting thing about the place.
We’ve got friends from Liberton, so we missed out everything round that area on our way back in, and got off the bus at St Patrick Square in order to pay a visit to The Southsider (West Richmond St, 2). I’ve always had a soft spot for this pub; it’s lively (mobbed at the weekends) but usually there’s space if you want to just go for a few quiet jars. The beer is both good and reasonably priced – interestingly this is the only place of which I am aware that sells McLay’s 70 -/-. I am open to correction though, and I suppose as this Challenge goes on, I’ll find out. Nick challenged me to a game of pool – I accepted, subject to being allowed to have a game of fussball afterwards. I lost both (narrowly).
One of the problems with drinking around the university it that there are a lot of crappy, soulless, leather and chrome, pretentious, coffee serving type places. Both Native State (Potterrow, 41/42) and Assembly (Lothian St, 2/41/42) fall into this category. Now call me old for my time on this earth, but I prefer to go to a pub with a bit of character, where you can get a good pint of good beer, preferably costing under £3 than one of these plush joints with their chill-out music and extortionate bar tariffs. I’m sure they’re ok if you’re a cocktail swilling ponce though.
UNTIL THE NEXT TIME…
Cumulative pub count: 56
Monday, 7 January 2008
An Update from Our Resident Statistician - The First Fifty
1. The Rainbow, Drum Brae South
2. The Oak Inn, St John’s Road
3. Thomson’s Bar, Morrison Street
4. The Ossian, Morrison Street
5. Turnhouse Bar, J.D. Wetherspoons, Edinburgh Airport
6. Caledonian Ale House, Haymarket Terrace
7. Robbie’s, Leith Walk
8. Roseburn Bar, Roseburn Terrace
9. Caledonian Sample Rooms, Angle Park Terrace
10. Tiles, St Andrew’s Square
11. The Station Bar, Cadzow Place
12. Artisan Bar, London Road
13. Middleton’s, Easter Road
14. Boda, Leith Walk
15. Playfair, Lloyd’s Number 1, Omni Centre
16. Ardmillan Hotel, Ardmillan Terrace
17. Theatre Royal, Greenside Place
18. Horseshoe Bar, Leith Walk
19. City Limits, Leith Walk
20. Morning(side) Glory, Comiston Road
21. Good Companions, Oxgangs Bank
22. Jekyll and Hyde, Hanover Street
23. Rutland, Rutland Place
24. Athletic Arms (Diggers), Angle Park Terrace
25. McCowan’s Brewhouse, Fountainbridge
26. Ryrie’s, Haymarket Terrace
27. Haymarket, Haymarket Gyratory System
28. Mercat, West Maitland Street
29. Grosvenor, Shandwick Place
30. Scruffy Murphy’s, Queensferry Street
31. Ryan’s Bar, Queensferry Street
32. Mather’s Bar, Queensferry Street
33. Logie Baird’s Bar, The Bank Hotel, South Bridge
34. Stage Door, Home Street
35. Bennett’s Bar, Leven Street
36. King’s Bar, Home Street
37. Cloisters, Brougham Place
38. Volunteer Arms (Staggs), North High Street, Musselburgh
39. Hayweight, North High Street, Musselburgh
40. Ravelston House Hotel, North High Street, Musselburgh
41. The Ship Inn, North High Street, Musselburgh
42. Lord Bodo’s, York Place
43. The Black Bull, Grassmarket
44. The Bee Hive, Grassmarket
45. The White Hart, Grassmarket
46. The Last Drop, Grassmarket
47. The Windsor Buffet, Leith Walk
48. Beer Stall, German Market, Princes Street Gardens (Christmas Season Only)
49. The Wash Bar, The Mound
50. All Bar One, George Street
2. The Oak Inn, St John’s Road
3. Thomson’s Bar, Morrison Street
4. The Ossian, Morrison Street
5. Turnhouse Bar, J.D. Wetherspoons, Edinburgh Airport
6. Caledonian Ale House, Haymarket Terrace
7. Robbie’s, Leith Walk
8. Roseburn Bar, Roseburn Terrace
9. Caledonian Sample Rooms, Angle Park Terrace
10. Tiles, St Andrew’s Square
11. The Station Bar, Cadzow Place
12. Artisan Bar, London Road
13. Middleton’s, Easter Road
14. Boda, Leith Walk
15. Playfair, Lloyd’s Number 1, Omni Centre
16. Ardmillan Hotel, Ardmillan Terrace
17. Theatre Royal, Greenside Place
18. Horseshoe Bar, Leith Walk
19. City Limits, Leith Walk
20. Morning(side) Glory, Comiston Road
21. Good Companions, Oxgangs Bank
22. Jekyll and Hyde, Hanover Street
23. Rutland, Rutland Place
24. Athletic Arms (Diggers), Angle Park Terrace
25. McCowan’s Brewhouse, Fountainbridge
26. Ryrie’s, Haymarket Terrace
27. Haymarket, Haymarket Gyratory System
28. Mercat, West Maitland Street
29. Grosvenor, Shandwick Place
30. Scruffy Murphy’s, Queensferry Street
31. Ryan’s Bar, Queensferry Street
32. Mather’s Bar, Queensferry Street
33. Logie Baird’s Bar, The Bank Hotel, South Bridge
34. Stage Door, Home Street
35. Bennett’s Bar, Leven Street
36. King’s Bar, Home Street
37. Cloisters, Brougham Place
38. Volunteer Arms (Staggs), North High Street, Musselburgh
39. Hayweight, North High Street, Musselburgh
40. Ravelston House Hotel, North High Street, Musselburgh
41. The Ship Inn, North High Street, Musselburgh
42. Lord Bodo’s, York Place
43. The Black Bull, Grassmarket
44. The Bee Hive, Grassmarket
45. The White Hart, Grassmarket
46. The Last Drop, Grassmarket
47. The Windsor Buffet, Leith Walk
48. Beer Stall, German Market, Princes Street Gardens (Christmas Season Only)
49. The Wash Bar, The Mound
50. All Bar One, George Street
OUT WITH THE OLD
Sunday afternoons are generally times of boredom, making them ideal for visits to the pub, where we can both add to the total, and watch the football at the same time. Arsenal v Chelsea was the occasion this time, and the Windsor Buffet (Leith Walk, 7/10/11/12/14/16/22/25/49) was the venue. A cosy wee joint, the Windsor is usually fairly busy and does a good pint. Some quality armchairs around, too.
What’s the first thing you want to do on what is arguably the coldest day of the year? Have a beer outside, of course. Leaving the Windsor, we donned our beer jackets and headed to the Beer Stallin the German Market (Princes St Gardens, just behind the National Galleries, 1/3/4/10/11/12/13/15/16/17/19/22/23/24/25/26/27/30/31/33/34/37/41/42/44/45/47/100…phew) for a pint. OK, so it’s not really a pub as such but we’re trying to cover as many different things as possible here, so no arguments will be entered into. Notable not only for it being Nick’s first lager of the Pub Challenge, the Beer Stall may well prove to be the most expensive place we’ll visit – 12 pounds we handed over for two pints of Paulaner! (Don’t worry, a fiver of that was only as a deposit for the glasses and was duly returned.)
The one thing that the beer stall was lacking was a toilet, so we trekked up The Mound to The Wash (Bank Street, 23/27/41/42/45) for a swift Guinness. Notorious for attracting an, er, unique crowd, The Wash is one of those places which is dead during the day but can be mobbed at the weekend as suburbia descends into the City Centre. We were just about the only folk in, so we drank up and left.
Fast forward three days, and we found ourselves in All Bar One (George St, 13/23/24/27/29/42/45), our meeting point before heading to see local indie popsters Aberfeldy at the new-ish Voodoo Rooms on West Register St. I firmly believe that All Bar One is one of the best pub chains; my bases for this opinion are that 1) they actually offer a decent range of beers and serve them well; and 2) they have some very attractive barmaids. Our stay was short and sweet, many of the Pub Challenge regulars failing to show up; Adam Johns – working; Ian Davidson – MIA; Greig Bongham – actually I can’t remember what his excuse was but he wasn’t there anyway. Phil Brough managed to make an impact upon his arrival though, sadly also so did his pint glass when it smashed on the floor 30 seconds later. Oops.
Those of you who pay attention to these things may have worked out that All Bar One was the 50th pub on the Great Edinburgh Pub Challenge. Our intention had been to wrap up 2007 on a round number, but like all good plans this soon went tits up. Brough started complaining (“Ere, I want a pear cider, me”, he said) that he hadn’t had enough to drink pre-gig. Now wanting a pear cider is rarely a valid excuse for anything (except perhaps being a homosexual) but we thought it justified going to Standing Order (George St, 24/29/42) where Phil could have his aforementioned Kopparberg and myself and Nick could act like real men and have a pint. Now, seeing as their cavernous venues are found around the country, I won’t patronise our readers and go into vast detail about the décor, but let me tell you that the Standing Order was in a foul state on the night of our visit. Opening the front door you were overwhelmed with the stench of vomit. This didn’t shift when you moved into the main room. Nor did it shift when you moved to the bar. I know that accidents happen, but I hope that Environmental Health didn’t pay a visit that evening.
And so that rounds off 2007’s activity for the Great Edinburgh Pub Challenge, many thanks for reading and coming along on the way. The 2008 updates will commence shortly, watch this space…
Until the next time…
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "You've had enough, would you kindly leave the premises?" - Voodoo Rooms door staff (to Nick)
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 51
What’s the first thing you want to do on what is arguably the coldest day of the year? Have a beer outside, of course. Leaving the Windsor, we donned our beer jackets and headed to the Beer Stallin the German Market (Princes St Gardens, just behind the National Galleries, 1/3/4/10/11/12/13/15/16/17/19/22/23/24/25/26/27/30/31/33/34/37/41/42/44/45/47/100…phew) for a pint. OK, so it’s not really a pub as such but we’re trying to cover as many different things as possible here, so no arguments will be entered into. Notable not only for it being Nick’s first lager of the Pub Challenge, the Beer Stall may well prove to be the most expensive place we’ll visit – 12 pounds we handed over for two pints of Paulaner! (Don’t worry, a fiver of that was only as a deposit for the glasses and was duly returned.)
The one thing that the beer stall was lacking was a toilet, so we trekked up The Mound to The Wash (Bank Street, 23/27/41/42/45) for a swift Guinness. Notorious for attracting an, er, unique crowd, The Wash is one of those places which is dead during the day but can be mobbed at the weekend as suburbia descends into the City Centre. We were just about the only folk in, so we drank up and left.
Fast forward three days, and we found ourselves in All Bar One (George St, 13/23/24/27/29/42/45), our meeting point before heading to see local indie popsters Aberfeldy at the new-ish Voodoo Rooms on West Register St. I firmly believe that All Bar One is one of the best pub chains; my bases for this opinion are that 1) they actually offer a decent range of beers and serve them well; and 2) they have some very attractive barmaids. Our stay was short and sweet, many of the Pub Challenge regulars failing to show up; Adam Johns – working; Ian Davidson – MIA; Greig Bongham – actually I can’t remember what his excuse was but he wasn’t there anyway. Phil Brough managed to make an impact upon his arrival though, sadly also so did his pint glass when it smashed on the floor 30 seconds later. Oops.
Those of you who pay attention to these things may have worked out that All Bar One was the 50th pub on the Great Edinburgh Pub Challenge. Our intention had been to wrap up 2007 on a round number, but like all good plans this soon went tits up. Brough started complaining (“Ere, I want a pear cider, me”, he said) that he hadn’t had enough to drink pre-gig. Now wanting a pear cider is rarely a valid excuse for anything (except perhaps being a homosexual) but we thought it justified going to Standing Order (George St, 24/29/42) where Phil could have his aforementioned Kopparberg and myself and Nick could act like real men and have a pint. Now, seeing as their cavernous venues are found around the country, I won’t patronise our readers and go into vast detail about the décor, but let me tell you that the Standing Order was in a foul state on the night of our visit. Opening the front door you were overwhelmed with the stench of vomit. This didn’t shift when you moved into the main room. Nor did it shift when you moved to the bar. I know that accidents happen, but I hope that Environmental Health didn’t pay a visit that evening.
And so that rounds off 2007’s activity for the Great Edinburgh Pub Challenge, many thanks for reading and coming along on the way. The 2008 updates will commence shortly, watch this space…
Until the next time…
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "You've had enough, would you kindly leave the premises?" - Voodoo Rooms door staff (to Nick)
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 51
Thursday, 3 January 2008
GRASSMARKET PARTS I-IV
For those of you who are not familiar with Edinburgh, it is perhaps worth explaining the nature of the Grassmarket. For decades it was a run down area in the centre of the Old Town, but recently has enjoyed a revival and is extremely popular with rugby crowds, stag parties and the like. Consequently, and despite the fact that it sports numerous pubs, it is not one of the greatest areas in town in which to drink.
The Great Edinburgh Pub Challenge guide to the Grassmarket will be split in two; it is anticipated that the next instalment will follow at some point during 2008.
The Black Bull (Grassmarket, 2) (not to be confused with its namesake on Calton Road) was our meeting point for the night. This is probably the largest of the Grassmarket pubs, yet space was at a premium as Rangers were being humped by Lyon on the night of our visit. Perhaps the only notable feature of our visit was that celebrity absentee Adam Johns had showed up, accompanied by his lady-friend Hollie. We decided it was best to go easy on Adam, and promised that no mention would be made of the fact that Hollie could drink her pints considerably more quickly. Erm…
Next door(ish) is The Beehive (Grassmarket, 2). Smaller than the Black Bull, it features a number of rooms and apparently a very nice beer garden out the back – sadly, early December wasn’t ideal to visit this. Pints of Guinness arrived with over an inch of head, and – despite the temptation to make numerous double entendres – this really wasn’t good enough. Get it sorted please.
The White Hart (Grassmarket, 2) is a more intimate affair, and probably my pick of those in the locality. It is notable for having been one of the few pubs in Edinburgh to have been non-smoking throughout even before the introduction of the smoking ban in March 2005. Our collective huddled round a table and were serenaded by a fantastic folk duo running through a set of standards. The tranquillity was short lived, unfortunately, being duly shattered by Phil Brough shouting “Ere, I want to hear Scarborough Fair, me” at regular intervals.
The Last Drop (Grassmarket, 2) was our final port of call for the night. Again it was wholly unspectacular in nature, and our stay was uneventful save for the slightly strange (and seemingly inexplicable) sight of Adam Johns running in and our like a yoyo. Readers familiar with Mr Johns may have their own suspicions as to the reasoning behind this, but The Management would like to point out that (for once), Adam was NOT being sick.
Until the next time….
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 46
The Great Edinburgh Pub Challenge guide to the Grassmarket will be split in two; it is anticipated that the next instalment will follow at some point during 2008.
The Black Bull (Grassmarket, 2) (not to be confused with its namesake on Calton Road) was our meeting point for the night. This is probably the largest of the Grassmarket pubs, yet space was at a premium as Rangers were being humped by Lyon on the night of our visit. Perhaps the only notable feature of our visit was that celebrity absentee Adam Johns had showed up, accompanied by his lady-friend Hollie. We decided it was best to go easy on Adam, and promised that no mention would be made of the fact that Hollie could drink her pints considerably more quickly. Erm…
Next door(ish) is The Beehive (Grassmarket, 2). Smaller than the Black Bull, it features a number of rooms and apparently a very nice beer garden out the back – sadly, early December wasn’t ideal to visit this. Pints of Guinness arrived with over an inch of head, and – despite the temptation to make numerous double entendres – this really wasn’t good enough. Get it sorted please.
The White Hart (Grassmarket, 2) is a more intimate affair, and probably my pick of those in the locality. It is notable for having been one of the few pubs in Edinburgh to have been non-smoking throughout even before the introduction of the smoking ban in March 2005. Our collective huddled round a table and were serenaded by a fantastic folk duo running through a set of standards. The tranquillity was short lived, unfortunately, being duly shattered by Phil Brough shouting “Ere, I want to hear Scarborough Fair, me” at regular intervals.
The Last Drop (Grassmarket, 2) was our final port of call for the night. Again it was wholly unspectacular in nature, and our stay was uneventful save for the slightly strange (and seemingly inexplicable) sight of Adam Johns running in and our like a yoyo. Readers familiar with Mr Johns may have their own suspicions as to the reasoning behind this, but The Management would like to point out that (for once), Adam was NOT being sick.
Until the next time….
CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 46
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