please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
I'm using various guides to find all the best pubs in Edinburgh and this may well be the one. More work to do, but its up there.
Small main room, bar seating, some tables. Quiet back room where you need to strike lucky. Classic pub interior.
Very high quality Deuchars IPA sampled in a pleasant atmosphere.
Will come again.
Visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2Dga2p5
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First visited as a scruffy Edinburgh Uni student over 20 years back and the carpet looked old then, Hadn't been in again since until recently, and it looks like the same carpet!
The beer was amazing then and still is today. I think the bar has passed down the family with the current landlord sporting a fine moustache that befits this amazing little pub. Real fire at the back in the winter. Yup, hard to fault this one.
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Man alive, I hadn't been in here for 30 years and it's still the same! Had a great night. Can't remember what I ahd.
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This used to be an excellent pub when I used to visit years ago and, by the sound of it, it still is. I shall be back.
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This is a fabulous pub and one not to be missed. One word of warning though - it is not cheap!! and the �4 a pint had arrived. It's just off India Street in the new town.
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Went here on a horrible wet day after a rather dismal time at the St Vincent Bar. This place cheered us right up. Excellent beer, friendly staff, a warm fire and wisecracking locals. Probably the best pub I've visited in Edinburgh. Will definitely be back.
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Last comment mentions the Banker's Draft - should read the Standing Order of course!
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Excellent little pub which if anything gets better each time I visit. A good choice of ales, some local and most Scottish, a warm fire in the winter, friendly staff and a great variety of customers, most seemingly living or working locally and a lot of them professionals. The beer is a bit pricy - on one occasion I noticed the Deuchar's was exactly double the price charged in the Banker's Draft - but it says a lot about the place that I did not resent paying their price.
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Popped in to see whether the pub could be as nice on in the inside as it is on the outside. It was even better than expected. Cosy, warm. Fire crackling, some regulars purring at the bar. A range of well-kept ales served by kindly, bar man (wide of moustache, twinkly of eye), a large selection of malts along the shelf. A step back in time but without any of the faux-period relics and corporate-wide nostalgia you find in many other pubs. A gem.
Stein - 23 Feb 2011 22:59 |
A cosy little bakc street boozer oozing convivial atmosphere Our first pub of the crawl, so kicked off with an excellent pint of Schiehallion.
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Get there early, never leave. It is funny how these wee places are always full and barn type pubs are empty. Nothing to it really, get the decor right, leave it alone and sell good beer.
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Marvellous pub in a residential mews in the New Town. It had been many years since I visited, but I am pretty sure that one of the gents behind the bar was the same as then. They had Crown HPA (�3.40 a pint...appears to be almost standard in the city these days), Deuchars IPA, Abbot, Old Speckled Hen, Wadworth 6X and about four others. Also had a Herring Salad, good use of the most hard working of all fish. The burger and chips was apparently less enjoyable. The hand soap in the toilet smelt like Bakewell Tart. I look forward to my next visit. Hopefully by then they will have one of these Dyson Air Blade hand dryers like at the castle. It is the future of bog hygiene, I promise you, and will take over the world. This is an essential pub on any Edinburgh itinerary.
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This tiny pub in a back street of a residential area is a wonderful find. Great range of beer and friendly, welcoming staff. My visit was on the day of the Calcutta Cup at Murrayfield and the place was absolutely jammed with rugby fans so probably not an average Saturday lunchtime but it was a fantastic find and I'll certainly search it out if when in Edinburgh in the future.
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in a city packed to the gills with good pubs, this is my favourite, grat beer and very friendly attentive staff, in all my years of going here whilst on holday, i still struggle to find this pub, but its always worth it.
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I went to this twice last week during my trip to Edinburgh, fantastic small pub, the interior is red and the back room is filled with books, beer was great just the sort of pub you'd want as a local
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This was a lovely find on our crawl round the GBG pubs. We have never been here before, but would certainly come again. 7 pumps there, and 6 of them had ales on. Caledonian, Theakston, Stewart, Fyne, Orkney and Atlas. Superb.
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Can only agree with all that's been said so far but must add that the food, not gourmet but old fashioned pub grub, was well cooked & the quantity was enormous particularly for the price. A very pleasant pub experience in a capital city, long may it prosper
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Found this pub almost by accident - popped in late on a Friday afternoon - WOW! I can only echo what others have said, a wide selection of perfectly kept ales served by friendly staff in suroundings which reminded me of my local some 400 miles away (Gardeners Arms, Lewes). The couple next to us were about to sip their beer when the landlord came over, apologised to them as said their glassess were not full enough (They looked fine to me and them), he topped them up and brought them back - what a stellar bloke.
I will always make a point of visiting Kays when in Edinburgh - a true gem in a city full of fine pubs
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Hidden gemand one of my favourites in the new town, if not the city. Tucked away down a residential street, it doesn't share the same high profile as, say, the Cumberland or the Oxford bars and is all the better for it. A great selection of ales, many from Scottish microbreweries, is complemented by a great atmopshere and friendly welcome. The interior is cosy and traditional, with a small fire and a quiet 'library' room at the back, with a bookshelf full of interesting tomes to peruse. Absoultely great in the winter to relax with a fine pint and have a warm.
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What a great little boozer, with a good choice of real ales, an open fire and friendly customers and staff.
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Fantastic pub, great choice of real ale (7) served by friendly staff. Good banter with the owners staff and customers, Best pint of my visit to Edinburgh was had in here (Belhaven 80/-.) Certainly worth the effort to get to this pub if your in Edinburgh.
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Along with Clarks, the Canny Man and the Diggers, Kay's is your perfect Edinburgh howff. Great beer, managed with, eh, personality warm surroundings and a good crowd. Pile in on a dark dreich rainy/snowy night and you'll not want to leave.
canny m,ans and digger have you no pride wher eyou drink
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love this place. recently sat in the cool snug across from the front door in the main room w/a few friends. did not want to leave when our next stop called. great real ale and very pleasing atmosphere. cute and friendly 20 something bartender the night i visited. combine w/nearby oxford bar and cumberland bar for a nice little new town real ale crawl.
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Thought this was a great little pub, with quality beers, a great snug, suited and aproned barmen. Then the sectarian drivel started coming from some of the less intelligent punters' gobs. Unfortunately, the staff joined in. Suddenly the beer tasted a lot less good. Shame. The four out of ten is for the beer. It's lost the 6 becasue of the attitude.
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Good pint of "the Reverend James" on my last visit.
In common with all pubs in Scotland, it it now mercifully "SMOKE Free".
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A great find, when visiting Edinburgh, with a fine selection of real ales and whiskys. The little "library bar" in the back is a quiet place for those who do not relish the loud company in the mainbar.
anonymous - 5 Jun 2006 14:56 |
Along with Clarks, the Canny Man and the Diggers, Kay's is your perfect Edinburgh howff. Great beer, managed with, eh, personality warm surroundings and a good crowd. Pile in on a dark dreich rainy/snowy night and you'll not want to leave.
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Top little pub-looks like a 2nd hand shop from the outside,but don't be put off as its a real find.Its a laid back front bar with a smaller backroom. Some of the middle aged local male punters were drinking wine.Theres a great selection of real ales from north & south of the border-had an excellent pint of Riggwelter.The chap that served me,had the best waxed moustache since Salvador Dali....and if I'd had any more Riggwelter I'd have tried to bring it home with me!!......
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