Holyrood Tavern, Edinburghback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Looking at my previous review, I think I was half cut when I wrote it. So, I now pop in here on my way home form work now and again. Consistently good range of beers from real ales to interesting keg beers and bottles. Deservedly busy and great to see this classic Edinburgh boozer doing well.
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Impressive selection of ales and kegs from the fonts behind the bar. Beers from Moor, Hawkshead, Camden Town, Magic Rock, Tempest,...
Quite large and modern looking bar, with a few cosy corners. Staff are efficient and friendly, beer is well kept.
We didn't try the food, which is mainly burgers-style, but the selection seemed very impressive.
Good place to hang out, a treasure!
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Well it isn't like me to write rave reviews but this time is different.
We've been going to the Holyrood 9A about twice a year for the last three years and it is honestly one of the two best pubs I know of. (The other is The Old Forge on Knoydart) Mostly we are around London but visit the fringe festival and stay in edinburgh at other times.
The food my be limited to gastro-burger fare but it is very well prepared and thoughtfully done too. The seating is limited but the main crowd here is standing anyway.
The staff are really hard working and seriously patient under pressure. I accidentally tested this recently by walking in at the end of an extremely busy festival lunchtime and asking for a particular table. I then asked for my wife's drink to be changed. Our waitresses were so patient and helpful I was amazed.
There is a huge range of beers on tap and yes there are often one or two off but with so many on offer that is not surpising and easily solved by choosing another (Deuchars IPA was being changed last time so I had Black Isle - Blonde or Porter both great).
Caesar salads, Guacamole Burger and Chilli burger with fresh chilli and death sauce all totally recommended.
Really highly recommended (by someone who usually complains). Thanks.
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I can remember drinking here when Mark was the landlord in the mid nineties and during the gays n goths era in the years before I left Edinburgh. I was sad to hear that it had closed and, at first, a little unsure on a recent visit when it seemed to have been trendied up and had no handpumps. But then I spotted the real ales behind the bar on fonts and saw that the layout was mainly unchanged apart from a lick of paint. The grub is tasty and good value from the bar snacks though to the burgers and the beer regularly features Brew Dog amongst other interesting breweries, including ales and lagers. I was in last Sunday and got into a conversation with a couple of rum characters from the hostel as well as a girl who had just arrived to start a course and her dad. So maybe nothing much has changed after all. Things move on, so if you used to like this pub then you may still do so yet.
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The food here at "9A" is mostly gormet burgers, but they do have a very good range of that type of fare.
What i found really impressive was the extensive range of delicious beer, including my current favourite, Brew Dogs "The Physics"
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Now reopened as a smart bar "Holyrood 9A", much emphasis on food. A bit corporate-makeover but they did, unexpectedly have four cask ales when I popped by, three interesting ones aside from the ubiquitous Deuchars. My Inveralmond Lia Fail was excellent on a quiet, wet Monday afternoon. Perhaps classy joints are realising that Real Ale is the Real McCoy, not ersatz lagers.
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A sad, sad loss. Not the cleanest of pubs (by any stretch of the imagination) but the atmosphere was fantastic - like a busy students' union. Mark the landlord was an inspiration - whatever happened to him? A great loss!
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Hmmm. You name it and they've just ran out of it. In particular the last drips of Laphroaig had evaded me by nanoseconds. In the midst of the Fringe fest last year this pub only seemed to come alive when there were plays on in the back. Otherwise the only other highlight was being sidled up to by a man wishing to lie down with his fellow man. Hey! you have to be good looking. Comparing this occasion to my previous visits the atmosphere of the Holyrood would be much improved by a repeal of the non-smoking ban.
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Now, I believe, closed; all the gays, goths etc went to the Auld Hoose. Sorely missed.
I clicked on this from the "what pub is this" section in the sidebar ("great pub... 10 out of 10") and was very tickled to discover that this was the pub that I used to haunt...
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great pub, good mix of students,gays, goths, academics, tourists and the odd scumbag from across the road. good jukebox and no pretense whatsoever that with the underlying threat of violence give the pub a great character.(there is rarely any trouble but the homeless shelter and notorious dumbiedykes housing across the road give the atmoshpere a little zest.)10 out of 10
phillip - 26 Dec 2003 16:10 |
When I went, half the beers had run out.
Vindaloo - 13 Aug 2003 15:47 |
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