UTOPIA

Our next stop on the Pub Challenge – a stop which coincided with Nick’s birthday – was Utopia (Easter Road, 1/35) , a boozer with designs on being smart – they do good enough food and have a pretty wide range of beers - but don’t open on Hibs match days.

Utopia is probably most famous for being the origin of the Alistair Darling You’re Barred campaign, which was launched in 2008 as a response to the Chancellor’s increases on alcohol duty. The campaign saw a number of landlords nationwide indicate that Mr Darling MP would not be welcome to have a pint should he enter their premises. This campaign has the full backing of The Management, and can be found on facebook and other such sites.

We had originally intended to visit Utopia around the time at which this campaign was launched, but, as with most things in the Great Edinburgh Pub Challenge (particularly your updates – Nick) the schedule was somehow not adhered to.

Instead, our visit coincided with a performance by local group Aberfeldy, who were playing acoustically. Even the fact that the drummer turned up two songs late didn’t make too much of a difference. Set highlights included a cover of the Bee Gees’ Night Fever, and this little number:



Until the next time...

CUMULATIVE PUB COUNT: 131