Edinburgh is not only
the capital of Scotland; it is also home to a considerable number of good pubs.
Over the years I have often found myself in the city and on each occasion I
have taken the opportunity to pop into the odd pub.
The Café Royal Circle Bar, West Register Street, New Town
The Café Royal is undoubtedly
Edinburgh’s grandest pub, with spectacular plasterwork, a series of fabulous tiled
pictures showing famous inventors at work, a large island bar and the extensive
use of mahogany, marble, cut glass and brasswork. Oh yes, well-kept beer and
good food are also on offer.
A dinner scene from the film ‘Chariots of Fire’ was filmed
in the Café Royal Oyster Bar.
The Café Royal Circle Bar
Two of several tiled
pictures in The Café Royal.
Diamond-cut, acid
etched glass windows in the revolving door of The Cafe Royal.
The Guildford Arms. West Register Street, New Town.
A fabulous combination of illuminated blue, gold, brass and
mahogany. Could any pub be more inviting?
The main entrance to The
Guildford. Note the marble columns and revolving door.
Ornate ceiling in The Guildford
A range of hand pumps
in The Guildford. Note the beer clip advertising Stewart’s 80/- ale.
The shilling
categories were introduced during the 19th century with the higher
value indicating stronger or better quality beer, but the shilling names were never precisely correlated to the strength of
the beer. Today Scottish brewers produce beers under the shilling names in a
variety of strengths. However this list provides a rough guide:
Light - (60/-) is under 3.5% abv
Heavy - (70/-) is between 3.5% and 4.0% abv
Export - (80/-) is between 4.0% and 5.5% abv
Wee heavy - (90/-) is over 6.0% abv
/- is read as "shilling" or "bob" as in "a pint
of eighty-bob, please" (Ref. Wikipedia)
Sandy Bells, Forest Row in the Old Town.
Sandy Bells. This photograph was
taken shortly after opening time as the bar tends to fill up quickly,
especially on folk nights – in other words every night! This pub has a good
range of real ale. I can really recommend the Ossian. Brewed by the
Inveralmond brewery of Perthshire and named after a legendary warrior from the
3rd century,
this superb golden ale has won several awards including the Champion Beer of Scotland. It has a pale, golden colour with a full bodied fruity flavour and a hoppy, zesty, orange aroma, derived from
First Gold and Cascade hops. Sandy Bells also offers an excellent
selection of malt whisky.
The Half Way House, Fleshmarket Close, Old Town
It’s a long climb up
the steps of Fleshmarket Close to the Royal Mile, but The Half Way House
provides a welcome resting place. Specializing in Scottish real ale (there is
usually a choice of four on tap) with the occasional guest beer from the north
of England. For CAMRA members, there is the added bonus of a 20p discount on every pint when you present your membership card. This tiny pub is a favourite of my friend, Gianni Mazzucchelli.
Jinglin’ Geordie, Fleshmarket Close, Old Town
A few steps up from The Halfway House is a pub named
after George Heriot (1563-1624), known as the “Jinglin’ Geordie”, an extremely
wealthy jeweller and Goldsmith to James VI. Heriot died childless and
bequeathed a large sum of money to building a hospital in Edinburgh for
fatherless children. The hospital is now
the famous George Heriot School.
Robertson’s 37 Bar, Rose Street.
Robertson’s first opened its doors in 1901 and many of the
main fixtures and fittings date back to that time, including the gantry behind
the bar. Here the mirrored shelves are home to over a 100 single malt scotch
whiskies.
The Kenilworth, Rose Street, New Town
This fine pub is named after an historical
novel by Sir Walter Scott and boasts an almost-square island bar and elaborate
gantry. Most of the walls are tiled.
The Oxford Bar, Young Street.
The Oxford, in Edinburgh’s New Town, was
built in 1811 and is the least-altered pub in the city. It features in many of
the Inspector Rebus detective stories by the Scottish author, Ian Rankin.
The Royal Oak, Infirmary Street.
A tiny pub, which tends to get packed. A great venue for folk music.
The Rutherford, Drummond Street, Old Town
A sad picture of The Rutherford
taken in 2006. Still standing, but no longer a pub. Now it trades as some sort
of restaurant. This pub was once a favourite watering hole of the author,
Robert Louis Stevenson.
The Captains Bar, South College Street, in Edinburgh’s Old Town
The Bow Bar, Victoria Street, in
the Old Town.
The Bow Bar is a relatively new pub, opened in the 1980s, but you would never guess this as it is housed in an ancient building and is decorated with old advertising mirrors and enamel signs. Behind the bar is a superb gantry which houses a collection of 150 single malts.
The Bow Bar where beer
is dispensed using Aitken founts.
In Scotland there is
a unique method of dispensing cask-conditioned beer known as the tall fount
(pronounced ‘font’). The beer is raised from the cellar by air pressure, using
a water engine so that when the tap is opened, beer is ‘pushed’ using air
pressure compared with the traditional English method of drawing beer by
suction using a beer engine (hand pump). Tall founts can still be seen in many
pubs today, but in most cases the original water engine has been replaced by an
electric air compressor. (Ref Scotland’s True Heritage Pubs - a splendid CAMRA
publication)
The Bow Bar. Note the
illuminated sign advertising Will’s Capstan cigarettes.
The Abbotsford, Rose Street, New Town
The Abbotsford is another pub with a connection to Sir Walter Scott. It
is named after his former residence, near Melrose, on the Scottish borders. The
Abbotsford serves its cask beers through traditional Aitken founts.
