Latest reviews from Edinburgh Newington
| 74 /100 The Abbey (Restaurant) 65 S CLERK ST, NEWINGTON “Nothing too fancy about the appearance, but they have a nice food menu and an emphasis on Scotch with over 400 whiskys available. Crowded with a diverse clientele in the late afternoon, mostly there for the food. They had a few cask ales available. You could probably find something you havent had, but go for the food and whisky.“ |
| 74 /100 26 WEST PRESTON STREET “Very, very quiet on a Monday afternoon. Most casks had blown over the weekend, but they still had a few on. Dark wood and green leather interior, walls covered with old beer signs. Standing U-shaped bar with benches and chairs around the perimeter. Cozy, comfy. No food, no coffee.“ |
| 78 /100 1 SUMMERHALL “Wonderful atmosphere on a friday night, a lot of happy young people. Staff is very friendly, and the beers are magnificent. Intriguing interior with skulls and bones and what not. A great experience, will visit again for sure, and rate all of the fresh and exciting beer.“ |
| 64 /100 1 SUMMERHALL “Sunday 9th July 2017. Got taken here by friends who live in Edinburgh, never have found it on our own. Hidden away in the old Vet offices and operation rooms, reminders on the walls. Two cask Barney’s, three kegs lines and a Williams bros lager on offer. Good, student/free world sort of vibe to the staff and whole set up. Courtyard looked fun if the weather is fine. Liked the laid back feel to the place. Beer not great though, sorry Barney.“ |
| 68 /100 Southern (Bar) 22-26 SOUTH CLERK STREET, NEWINGTON “One of those locations that seems to be gutted and reinvented every few years, far removed from the spit’n’sawdust music bar I remember where Nirvana played an impromptu gig a quarter century ago. Modernised, a few craft lines among the macro offerings, not really worth the long walk to get there.“ |
| 8 /100 Reverie (Bar) 1-5 NEWINGTON ROAD “Closed - undergoing renovation, been closed for a couple of months.“ |
| 68 /100 26 WEST PRESTON STREET “Serves well kept cask beer but the selection is not the most exciting.“ |
| 82 /100 Great Grog Bottle Shop (Beer Store) 2 DALKEITH ROAD “Unfortunately it’s been a while since I’ve made it in as it’s too far out the way for me these days. Good selection though and generally helpful staff.“ |
| 76 /100 26 WEST PRESTON STREET “Good selection of real ales. Occasionally pulled too quickly resulting in loss of overall taste & condition.“ |
| 68 /100 Southern (Bar) 22-26 SOUTH CLERK STREET, NEWINGTON “One of 3 fuller thomson pubs. Recently seems to have reduced the number of rotating lines which is quite disappointing. Reasonable bottle selection, well priced. Burgers and sweet potato fries always very tasty.“ |
| 72 /100 Southern (Bar) 22-26 SOUTH CLERK STREET, NEWINGTON “A refitted Fuller Thompson pub, a smaller version of Holyrood 9a with a similar layout whilst still boosting over 20 draught lines and a decent bottle list with some international gems amongst overpriced local favorites. Most lines are sadly consistent offerings of Innis and Gunn to Peroni, but recently FT have seen consistent Brewdog lines and almost always have more than one of Stewarts, Fyne and Tempest on cask and keg. Downside to the size and food being offered is a slight gamble to get a seat, even perched on a window or by the bar - with tables waiting to be seated for food most evenings. The food is solid, although the reworked menu seems lacking in the same value for similar prices since my last visit - whilst running out of three different things our party asked for. Too few chips in a tiny bucket on top of a wooden slate variety service, although the burger patties have always been consistently excellent in any FT establishment. They seem to be pressing the hot dog front for a cheaper option although these looked of a fairly un-gourmet quality. The top end draught lines are labelled as "defend the craft" on the chalkboard as you come in, but some are at eyewatering prices (£7.50 a pint of German IPA that I picked a 330ml growler fill up for nearly half that price) and some cask lines are of questionable quality. There’s always plenty of staff but as with most FT outfits most of them are the wrong side of the bar. Table service does include drinks orders, so you get good value from your tip. All in a decent place to pop in that works quite well at what it’s aiming for, but not worth ducking out of the beaten track unless they’ve a tap takeover or major launch on - and book a table in advance! Last visited, Saturday Jan 30th 2015“ |
| 74 /100 26 WEST PRESTON STREET “A solid cask-forward offering that is a staple of the Edinburgh scene, but perhaps to be avoided if there’s any football of note on - unless you want watch more than one game at a time without getting a seat...The pub opened in late 2010 as a "Southside" version to it’s Broughton Street big brother as part of Grange Inns. Situated on a side street a few minutes walk away from The Southern and (laughable) Clerks Bar there are two entrances, once to a smaller alcove behind the main bar area and one right into the main pub featuring a horseshoe island bar with 8 Angram casks and around 10 keg lines. There’s normally room to stand without holding your glass, barrell-cum-tables dotted around with tables along the perimeter beneath a hodge-podge or traditional Brewing mirrors and around 10 TVs - one of which is locked to the Horse Racing! Since opening amongst drinkers and brewers in Scotland said that there is no better cellar for cask beer in Edinburgh than CBSS - due to the length of time each cask is given to vent in optimal conditions (I’d dare say if the cellar is half the size of the upstairs they’ll have more than enough room to do that!) and each staff member trained to take particular care, even for a CAMRA recognised establishment, to ensure an impeccable pint. Examples of this are often "one off" casks and an infamous tap takeover of Brodie’s Beers casks from London only being on offer in CBSS. Most of the time of the 8 cask lines, 3 are taken by Deuchars, Orkney Best and Stewarts 80 with the remainder of the Guest lines a consistent rotation of Scottish stalwarts like Highland, Cromarty, Ayr, Loch Lomon, Trysy and Alechemy with the occassional English brewery such as Ilkley or Darkstar making a welcome appearance. Downsides are that most of the beers on cask are light in colour and ABV, rarely more than one porter or stout on at a time backed with a set keg selection - Tennents being order of the day. Staropramen and Erdinger as well as two ciders and Guinness. The bottle selection on my most recent visit was also lacking, although stocking De Molen only one was available as well as lacking in the advertised Saison Du Pont and an unknown Kriek and Framboise (I’d guess Lindemans or Bellevue). However, they did have Orval bottled from 18 months ago which was on fire. Price wise very few beers are over £4 by the pint and bottles little more than this, so mark up is very reasonable across the board. Most evenings you should be able to find a pew, I’d advise checking downstairs to the right/behind the bar if you’re stuck - especially if there’s any sport on. The horse racing TV and two bookies on the corner of the street are an indication of some of the clientele, but more of the amiable banter variety than anything else. It’s out of the way of the main town, but if you’re strolling up Arthur’s Seat a visit here and The Southern isn’t a bad shout with Dagda and The Reeverie also nearby. Certainly worth a visit for the condition of their cask offerings at the very least. Last visited, Saturday 30th Jan 2015“ |
| 90 /100 Great Grog Bottle Shop (Beer Store) 2 DALKEITH ROAD “Visited on Saturday 25th Oct 2014. Really impressed with the whole set up and selection. Two guys fronting it on the day, helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. They even opened up an unlabelled new/trial brew for me to try which a brewer had left them to comment on. Not cheap, but the beers are rare (very rare to me) and diverse in both breweries and styles covered. I only bought 7 different beers but I know each one will be fine and enjoyable. Glad my local guide took me here for a good look around.“ |
| 58 /100 Clerk’s Bar (Bar) 74-78 S CLERK STREET “Maclay’s attempt at a craft beer bar. Feels a bit of a poor attempt at scene jumping, beer range feels like an afterthought.“ |
| 72 /100 Southern (Bar) 22-26 SOUTH CLERK STREET, NEWINGTON “Crowded and noisy bar. Nice selection of cask and keg beers. Some very interesting ticks. Staff isn’t very professional. Food was ok but not outstanding. Ok place.“ |
| 82 /100 Great Grog Bottle Shop (Beer Store) 2 DALKEITH ROAD “Nice bottle shop just 20min walk from center. Wide selection of danish, us and british beers. Nice staff. Prices are not so bad. Definitely worth visit.“ |
| 8 /100 26 WEST PRESTON STREET “I went with two Americans ages 22 and 26. The barman would not accept their state-issued drivers licenses as IDs and said it was illegal to do so. The IDs were accepted in many other pubs without comment so either the barman was a liar or the other places decided to break the law. The Cask and Barrel was full of old men drinking and did not seem like a good place anyway. I recommend that you avoid it, especially if you are a young foreigner. Based on my experience, I think they may be anti-American.“ |
| 74 /100 26 WEST PRESTON STREET “My favourite place on my last trip to Edinburgh. No food, just beer and plenty of space, with lots of tables to sit at. 8 cask ales on, all well-chosen and in good condition, friendly service. Combined with a visit to the Southern, the Great Grog bottle shop and the Dagda Bar makes for a great afternoon.“ |
| 68 /100 Southern (Bar) 22-26 SOUTH CLERK STREET, NEWINGTON “Basically the same concept as the Holyrood 9a. Lots of cold kegged micros (almost the exact same line-up as it’s sister bar a day or two earlier), good burgers, modern decor. Slightly more spacious though. Lots of other good pubs in the area as well, so good for a few ticks in between the proper boozers.“ |
| 74 /100 Great Grog Bottle Shop (Beer Store) 2 DALKEITH ROAD “Great bottle shop in the vicinity of the Cask and Barrel Southside, Southern and Dagda Bar. Stocks lots of British micros plus some well-chosen imports from the Continent and the States. Found a few beers here that I’d been looking for for quite some time. Prices are fairly reasonable as well.“ |
| 86 /100 Southern (Bar) 22-26 SOUTH CLERK STREET, NEWINGTON “Me and Loz visited here on Saturday 15th March 2014. This was a wonderful bar, the beer selection was very good featuring mainly Craft Beer Kitchen a local brewery where people can go and brew (tutored by a brewer) a beer of their choice. I had a quite lovely Blackcurrant Berliner Weisse and Loz a South Seas IPA, both great though I preferred mine as it was more refreshing and moreover a beer style that is rapidly becoming one of my favourites. We had share plate of cheese, olives, pickle, bread etc it was a nice selection and well worth the £6.95 we paid. The bar was modern with a raised area to the right another area to the left and the actual bar towards the rear on the left hand side. The staff were exceptionally friendly, really helpful offering tasters etc. We both really, really liked this place it is well worth the slight walk from the centre, we did Bow Bar, Brewdog then here before walking along the park/meadows to Cloisters and The Hanging Bat a very nice walk.“ |
| 74 /100 26 WEST PRESTON STREET “I enjoyed going in this pub, however brief my visit was. I had a half pint of a beer from Ilkley and it was in good condition. I would like to visit this pub again.“ |
| 68 /100 26 WEST PRESTON STREET “A well appointed central bar. Scotland’s best breweries are all on cask and the beer is well kept. Good ambiance but didn’t try the food offering.“ |
| 78 /100 Great Grog Bottle Shop (Beer Store) 2 DALKEITH ROAD “great wee bottle shop handy for the university and southern/ cask & barrel visits staff happy to advise and you can call ahead to reserve things reasonable prices on beers, both uk and further afield now have beer for takeaway on draft“ |
| 68 /100 26 WEST PRESTON STREET “lovely half-island bar pub with breweriana (especially mirrors over the walls staff helpful and tasters offered 8 cask pumps and a small but interesting selection of bottles“ |
| 68 /100 Southern (Bar) 22-26 SOUTH CLERK STREET, NEWINGTON “handily nearby to some great other pubs and bottle shops another fuller thompson effort,with similar layout, food offering, etc sometimes gets some real gems on tap“ |
| 76 /100 26 WEST PRESTON STREET “You can hit up the Reverie and this place nearby. Food is better at the Reverie, but this place has a much better and larger cask ale selection. Friendly regulars.“ |
| 70 /100 Reverie (Bar) 1-5 NEWINGTON ROAD “Some great food here, definitely a huge step up from typical Scottish pub food. A couple nice casks, but not a huge selection and some mediocre macros, too. Near Cask and Barrel.“ |
| 70 /100 Southern (Bar) 22-26 SOUTH CLERK STREET, NEWINGTON “Smart looking bar with a large range of taps and some bottles. The beers stocked are definitely from some of the top British breweries. I didn’t try the food but the service is good and at around normal price level. The only thing I would change is the background music - I wouldn’t have any but maybe I’m just getting old.“ |
| 80 /100 Great Grog Bottle Shop (Beer Store) 2 DALKEITH ROAD “Fairly excellent specialist shop, good US selections.“ |
| 70 /100 26 WEST PRESTON STREET “Huge selection of cask ales. Unfortunately don’t taste as good as the same served in some other establishments.“ |
| 76 /100 Great Grog Bottle Shop (Beer Store) 2 DALKEITH ROAD “Not that i get out here regularly, but this place seems to have really improved in last few years. With a rotating selction of great ales.“ |
| 72 /100 26 WEST PRESTON STREET “A good boozer that mainly focusses mainly on cask ale but also has a small but decent bottle selection. Always quite livveley and is a good venue for watching football. I prefer this one to the original in Broughton Street.“ |
| 78 /100 Southern (Bar) 22-26 SOUTH CLERK STREET, NEWINGTON “New Fuller Thompson pub that couldn’t b e any more different to the pub the previous Southern. The Southern doesn’t stray very far from the successful Holyrood 9A and Red Squirrel template.“ |
| 70 /100 26 WEST PRESTON STREET “A great local boozer... one of the better priced places in edinburgh with a goood solid range of cask ales ... little far out so probably not a must visit destination ... but worth it in combined with the southerner“ |
| 86 /100 Southern (Bar) 22-26 SOUTH CLERK STREET, NEWINGTON “Fuller Thompson’s new place on the Southside. Slightly smaller than either of their other two Edinburgh bars, but a nice lively atmosphere. 4 excellent cask ales (opening night included two new beers from Fyne, a cask of Kernel Export Stout...) with 4-5 "craft kegs" and 10 or so mainstream beers. Burgers are fantastic - I had the pork & chorizo one last night, absolutely amazing! A really nice addition to the beer scene in Edinburgh, particularly now that FT are bringing in such excellent stuff.“ |
| 78 /100 Southern (Bar) 22-26 SOUTH CLERK STREET, NEWINGTON “A new Fuller Thomson bar, so if you know there sister bars in edinburgh (Red Squirell and 9A) a good mix selection of beers, with 4 Cask ales and about 4-5 interesting Keg beers, filled out with more mundane keg beers. Great Burgers, nice atmosphers, another great addition to the Edinburgh Bar scene, just a shame its the wrong end of town
“ |
| 90 /100 Great Grog Bottle Shop (Beer Store) 2 DALKEITH ROAD “Excellent selection of beers in well laid out shop. The staff are knowledgable and friendly. Edinburgh’s best bottle shop.“ |
| 60 /100 Great Grog Bottle Shop (Beer Store) 2 DALKEITH ROAD “good selection of beers, friendly staff“ |
| 98 /100 Great Grog Bottle Shop (Beer Store) 2 DALKEITH ROAD “Excellent beer shop . The staff really know there stuff . Good and friendly .“ |
| 94 /100 Great Grog Bottle Shop (Beer Store) 2 DALKEITH ROAD “Small corner off-licence that has a great selection of quality hard to find interesting beers from all over the world. Knowledgeble service and close to other good beer bars. Also do mail order.“ |
| 98 /100 26 WEST PRESTON STREET “Great bar with a excellent of real ale . The barman knew his real inside out the service was outstanding . Tasted
Highlander by fyne ales and nick Stafford
Nightmare , both beers are excellent .“ |
| 80 /100 26 WEST PRESTON STREET “Very lively traditional Scottish bar with live football on TV. Interesting selection of quality real ales on tap & some good bottles as well. Far out from the centre of Edinburgh but with other interesting nearby venues well worth a visit.“ |
| 74 /100 Reverie (Bar) 1-5 NEWINGTON ROAD “Slightly old fasioned European style corner bar between Cask & Barrel Southside & Great Grog. 4 real ales on tap - 2 Caledonian plus 2 new interesting beers.Calm relaxed atmosphere. Quite far out from the City Centre but as there are a few nearby good beer places it is worth the journey.“ |
| 66 /100 Vino Wines, Grange Loan (Beer Store) 1 GRANGE LOAN “Not as good as the better shops in Edinburgh, but fills a gap locally. Staff always friendly.“ |
| 90 /100 Great Grog Bottle Shop (Beer Store) 2 DALKEITH ROAD “In recent days this shop has made big steps to greatly improve their beer selection. Now stocking high quality low availability beers. You can now find some very high end European and American beers currently unavailable anywhere else in the city. Service is very good, staff are knowledgable and helpful. When I recently asked what something was, the response was to open the bottle and let me taste. Deffo one to watch
Updated: only seems right to update this rating. The beer selection here just keeps getting better and better. Service remains excellent, staff are accomodating and knowledgable. Stocking the very best in british, European and American beer (and Hitachino from japan). These guys don’t sell bad beer. My favorite bottle shop“ |
| 54 /100 Leslie’s Bar (Bar) 45-47 RATCLIFFE TERRACE “Not a bad local. Usually a beer I haven’t had, and it’s normally well kept.“ |
| 56 /100 Old Bell Inn (Bar) 233-235 CAUSEWAYSIDE “One of my locals. Usually a new cask beer when I go in.“ |
| 84 /100 Great Grog Bottle Shop (Beer Store) 2 DALKEITH ROAD “I’m re-rating this place on the basis of what they’ve done in the past few weeks with their extended beer section. Great selection now which I think takes it up alongside the other great Edinburgh beer stores.“ |
| 74 /100 26 WEST PRESTON STREET “This pub shows clear signs of having recently opened its doors. Everything inside, including the toilets, were tidy, nice and clean. Good looking with a relatively large U-shaped bar, mirror decorations on the walls together with a few TV screens, and, like its sister pub up north in Broughton Street, some barrels on the floor. Fine selection of eight cask ales from Scotland and England. Not many, but a few interesting bottled beers, form Thornbridge, among others. Both service and comfort were irreproachable. A splendid edition to the great pub scene in Edinburgh. (I could not find the phone number so I have submitted the one from the pub in Broughton St.) (Visited 30.11.2010).“ |
