BARS & PUBS
list.co.uk
EDINBURGH
did?) from around the world, including gyros, falafel, chilli and tapas. The main menu is served until 9pm, and ‘Street Snacks’ are on offer until midnight. The Street’s been open for over ten years now, providing a place to mingle, drink coffee, pose in the downstairs Photobooth, flex muscles in the big glass windows upstairs, listen to afternoon DJ sets, sip incredible espresso martinis, and now view art too, as the wall leading downstairs recently became a mini ‘street art’ gallery. (See Facebook for updates, as well as details of quiz nights, drag performances, cabaret nights, Edinburgh festival shows and DJs.) + Friendly staff and an unpretentious atmosphere - Retro decor and tunes won’t be for everyone
Sygn 15 Charlotte Lane, West End (Map 4: B1, 9) 0131 225 6060, sygn.co.uk | £16 (lunch) / £16 (dinner)
Sygn takes its cocktails seriously. Tucked in a lane behind Charlotte Square, the place has a modern, stripped-back industrial feel and a serious bar. Phone for reservations and you’re likely to have a cocktail shaker temporarily interrupt your conversation – but it is all to the good as someone is about to be served some magical concoction. The list of three dozen cocktails can be a bit daunting but with clever icon coding (fizzy, boozy, aromatic, sweet, citrus, fruity, twisted classic) you can keep track of what you like even after the first few. Lavender margaritas float small fragrant flowers aloft, while the smoke of Normandy, mixing mescal, Hendrick’s gin and calvados is for the serious imbiber. And at a starting price of £5 you can have a lot of bar fun without maxing out your credit card. A cheerful munching menu concentrates predominately on burgers, wraps, pizzas and with some good add-ons like chunky homemade guacamole, pulled pork and meaty chilli. Can’t decide? Order their big tray of homemade nachos with all the trimmings, while you sip and consider. + Serious drinks and serious portions of food - Can get rather boisterous of an evening so be prepared to join in
Teuchters 26 William Street, West End (Map 4: B1, 3) 0131 225 2973, aroomin.co.uk | £10 (lunch) / £10 (dinner)
With four venues in the same group, Teuchters is the low-key pub edition of the ‘Room in . . .’ family. The dogfriendly space makes it a great lazy weekend hangout, with a pint of beer in hand, naturally. The menu features novel ‘mugs’ that are filled with everything from olives, to Cullen skink, to an assortment of puddings. More substantial meals, baps and deli platters are also available. The sticky toffee pudding is definitely worth ordering and comes with a scoop of locally made vanilla icecream. The beer and whisky menus are extensive and varied while the wine list is surprisingly and pleasantly thorough. The best plan of action is to grab a comfy leather seat, order up some mugs and pints, and enjoy the evening however it comes in this relaxed space. + Dog-friendly, inviting space - Food has potential to improve
Teuchters Landing 1c Dock Place, Leith (Map 5A: C1, 6) 0131 554 7427, aroomin.co.uk | £14 (lunch) / £14 (dinner)
The bar manager here is originally from France, and is used to sceptical French rugby fans piling in on big match 38 The List Eating & Drinking Guide
Nobles Cafe, Bar & Restaurant (page 33): Leith’s grand Victorian pub now sports a Parisian bistro-style area
weekends, and upturning their nose at the prospect of ‘good’ Scottish cuisine. To them, he points out the Shetland mussels in a Dunsyre blue cream, or the deli sharing boards of Rannoch smoked venison, Perthshire beef or Morangie brie. Normally by the time they are working their way through the large single malt collection, or testing out the local real ale, they are converts, he says. Besides re-educating sceptics, Teuchters also helps refuel hungry Leithers with a ‘mug menu’ that includes stovies, macaroni cheese and kedgeree risotto in small or large mugs. Chips come with Hebridean sea salt, and optional chippy sauce, in case anyone doubts their commitment to local produce. Their winter hot drinks selection is worth bearing in mind come the colder temperatures, and they’ll gladly serve up warm, cinnamony rums, hot Whisky Macs, boozy hot chocolates and a tasty kummel, Moroccan mint and licorice tea combo. Board games and Scrabble only add to the reasons to loiter in this cosy waterfront pub. + Outdoor pints when the sun shines - Rugby days are often packed
Tigerlily 125 George Street, New Town See Bistros & Brasseries
The Tourmalet 25 Buchanan Street, Leith (Map 5B: A3, 14) 0131 555 4387 | No Kids
There’s no shortage of bars in Edinburgh serving up craft beers, but there is still only one cycling-themed, Germanbeer specialising, dog-friendly boozer, and it’s on Iona Street. Where prices elsewhere can skyrocket, riding the current wave of thirst for ‘posh’ beer, the Tourmalet keeps things as cheap as it can, with bottles of imported Schlenkerla smoked weizenbier or Tegernseer Dunkel at non-ridiculous prices. There’s no kitchen, so bags of crisps or Tourmalet’s pickled eggs are the extent of their bar food, but customers are welcome to order in takeaway food (anything except chippies). Nearby pizzeria Origano also offers a 10% discount for Tourmalet customers. Quiz nights draw a good crowd, as do football nights, when football-avoiders know this is one place that won’t be showing the match. They do show cycling though, and other ‘minority sports’ on a large projector in the main bar, and dogs are very welcome (occasionally almost outnumbering humans). An understated gem of a boozer. + Excellent German beer selection - The toy railway running around the ceiling is still out of action
Tonic 34a North Castle Street, New Town (Map 1A: B4, 42) 0131 225 6431, bartonic.co.uk | No Kids
Tonic is a destination bar for the cocktail drinker in Edinburgh. This low-lit, funkinfused basement has no food to distract from the main event: a drinks menu that provides for the seriously classic and the deliriously frivolous cocktail lover. A wide selection of spirits, with a strong Scottish contingent, provide the base for drinks like the mint choc chip-inspired Barney Rubble (ice-cream, Baileys and crème de menthe), or their take on a Porn Star Martini (a creamy caramel and passionfruit standout on the menu). Maybe kickstart your night with a North Berwick Breakfast (gin, fortified wine, orange juice and apricot jam) before moving on to the Cuban-inspired frothy rum and pineapple Hotel Nacional. The staff take their role in your experience seriously and are happy to talk shop or create something more personal if you want to go off menu. [Not recently visited.]
Traverse Bar Café 10 Cambridge Street, West End See Arts Venues
Treacle Bar and Kitchen 39–41 Broughton Street, New Town (Map 1B: C5, 30) 0131 557 0627, treacleedinburgh.co.uk | £16 (lunch) / £16 (dinner)
This buzzing Broughton Street bar is always a popular hangout with everyone from locals and students to the postwork crowd, and for good reason. An expansive cocktail menu features imaginative combinations of ingredients, such as smashed beetroot and grapefruit sherbet, or Noilly Prat infused with hibiscus pink peppercorn and Hendricks gin. The wine list isn’t bad either, with a concise selection to suit most tastes and budgets. This is a bar that prides itself on food, and the distinctive menu, much of which has a bit of an Asian slant, is a far cry from your usual pub grub. Crispy katsu chicken with pad
thai noodles arrives in a New York-style takeaway box, and has a subtly spicy kick, while the grilled chicken salad is given gorgeous depth of flavour with the addition of holy basil and coconut milk. Though the bar can get very busy, staff are always friendly and attentive without being overbearing. + Seriously tasty cocktails - Can be tricky to get a seat
Under the Stairs 3a Merchant Street, Old Town (Map 2A: C3, 45) 0131 466 8550, underthestairs. org | No Kids | £18 (lunch) / £18 (dinner)
Early in its existence, backstreet basement bar Under the Stairs was hit with a licensing issue which meant that all its customers had to be seated and served at their tables, restaurant-style, rather than stand. That the place has not just survived but continued to thrive is testament not only to how well-loved it remains among more fashionable drinkers, but how well the change accidentally helped define the busy but relaxed atmosphere of the place. In practice, then, it’s a drinker’s bar, with chunky wooden menus offering a strong selection of wines, spirits, liqueurs and cocktails (the beetroot and wasabi margarita is one creation which catches the eye straight away), and a decent choice of snacks such as meat or vegetable antipasti and a cheeseboard available until midnight. While the daytime food menu is well-stocked and ambitious, with pan-Asian influences in soy-marinated pollack or the spicy aloo burger, it’s not a destination feature as much as the great atmosphere. + A great late-night drinking spot - The food isn’t the main event
Usher’s of Edinburgh 32b West Nicolson Street, Old Town (Map 2A: C3, 45) 0131 662 1757, ushersofedinburgh.co.uk | £17 (dinner)
Get them in conversation about what they do, and those behind Usher’s of Edinburgh will contest that they’re the second-best beer bar in Edinburgh behind the Hanging Bat. It’s a bold claim, but there’s no question the place is doing things right, with an extensive basement bar below the Blind Poet which houses its own microbrewery and boasts a dizzying array of fifteen keg and five cask ales at once, taps lined up