please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Finished off our last night in the city with a pint and a dram here. Very friendly staff and a great selection of beers. The Inveralmond Ossian was on fine form. The interior is lovely too and well worth a look in just for that.
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Bennet's Bar is excellent inside and out. It's one of those pubs where you can look at a picture (as above) and really want to take a look inside. It ended up being my favourite pub in Edinburgh. How on earth has it not been in the Good Beer Guide since 2007?! Ales were Caledonian Deuchars IPA, Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted & Schiehallion, Inveralmond Lia Fail & Seven Peaks Mosaic IPA. They also had a real cider - Shepton Mallet Cider Mill Somerset Snuffler, which was also good. The interior is very traditional and features a long, narrow bar. I believe there may have been another room at the rear. When a family arrived to eat, they were seated in a tiny room that had its own entrance outside the pub's entrance. I hadn't even noticed this room when I entered. But it looked intriguing. Tables in the main room have maps of Edinburgh on them, which create a talking point. Both staff and customers were friendly. The choice of ales and cider, the atmosphere and the traditional interior all combine to make this a really good place to visit. With the Cloisters Bar also nearby, this is an area of Edinburgh worth making the effort to get to.
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The interior beauty of this fabulous old bar has been adequately described by others. It is matched by the enthusiasm of the barman who served us on Saturday; on hearing what we like, he recommended a beer (Pale Duke) for me and an Irish Whiskey (The Irishman) for my son, both of which perfectly suited our palates. Extra point for this credit to his profession.
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Popped in last month for the first time in years. LCD screens on the walls and that awful smell of cooking oil and tomato sauce made me spin on my heels and head back out.
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Another fantastic Edinburgh pub with a "must see" interior, well described elsewhere. The mirrors on the back wall, surrounded by "tiled murals" were of note compared to the other pubs I visited on my short tour of Edinburgh. Moorish pint of Caledonian 80. My visit was mid week and this was by far the busiest of the pubs I went to.
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A superb example of Victorian pub architecture, the interior, to my mind, is more impressive than the more celebrated Cafe Royal. The intricately carved bar back holds four spirit casks while the seating opposite is housed in an ornate structure complete with mirrors and hand-painted tiles. The tables are inlaid with maps of Edinburgh and Scotland.
There are two handpumps dispensing Deuchars and 80/- and five air pressure fonts serving, among others, Schiehallion and Bitter'n'Twisted. My pints of Schiehallion were good. I also had a meal here which was just okay.
The pub was packed on my visit, with a good smattering of tourists - surprising since the pub is slightly off the beaten track.
Well worthy of a visit.
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Absolutely lovely bar. I go here every time I'm up in Edinburgh.
Great Caley 80 and stovies.
[to the staff: thanks so much, you were great to me through last weekend, cheers.
(Black CBGBs sweatshirt, Caley 80, large Grouses, lots of papers. ;) See ya in spring.]
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A beauty of a pub - beer quality was good and atmosphere cosy on a wild and wet Edinburgh day. Good selection of whiskys too.
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A great bar, reasonable prices and good beer - friendly and not overcrowded. Will be back here in February.
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A legendary edinburgh pub that has lost a bit of its magic over the years .
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One-roomed traditional boozer in the Tolcross area of the city. It features on CAMRAs National Inventory due to it's ornate bar, etched windows and fine mirrors that line the wall opposite the bar. All of these features are complemented by attractive dark woodwork to give the feel of a proper unspoilt pub. A gas fire resides at the top end of the bar. The tables all have maps of varying scales of Edinburgh and Scotland- a nice touch. Real ale wise, it's not brilliant in terms of choice and can't compete with the nearby Blue Blazer or Cloisters in this respect- just 80/- and Deuchars, which can be bought in most pubs in the city. However, these are kept well and you usually can't go wrong with Deuchars anyway so it's not a major setback as far as I'm concerned. The traditional pub lover should make an effort to get here ,and it makes for a good crawl if combined with the aforementioned pubs.
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Popped in for a swift half and ended up staying for two hours! A wonderful pub found by accident! Also, a lovely friendly welcome from the girl behind the bar who remembered what we were drinking whe we went up for the second round!
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Great wee pub, ended up in there during my stag weekend for a few - made a nice change from the over-priced rabble at the Grassmarket. Good service and traditional layout. Next time I am down in Edinburgh I will certainly go back.
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I spent most of my first year at college in this fantastic pub, so much so that I had to repeat the year! Great to see that it's virtually unchanged! A superb pint of Deuchars!
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This is my idea of what a pub should be like. Lovely Victorian interior. Friendly service and just an overall relaxing feeling about the place. To enter is like walking back in time. Pubs were meant to be like this. Only two ales available (Deuchars and Caledonian 80%) but somehow that doesn't matter. Just sitting in here sipping your pint is just heavenly. It's a little out of the city centre and not the easiest place to find but any lover of traditional pubs should most definitely not miss this one.
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Wonderful interior ruined by an oversize tv screen. Beer was fine though, and plenty of lively conversation about the footie. Well worth dropping in on your way past. OK pint of Deuchres.
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Used to be good. Now expensive small portions Dishes cold not the Chef's fault the owners "whoever they are". �6 for a mini portion of Pasta and a few veggies not on!
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A cathedral of wood, etched and leaded glass and a wonderful carved counter. The sheer splendour of the complete wall of mirrors framed by carved columns surmounted the seats is breathtaking. This is a striking example of Victorian pub architecture. You don�t need a huge beer range (there are just two cask ales) in order to enjoy this. If you aren�t sure where to find the next pub, don�t worry, thoughtfully, the tables are inlaid with street maps of the city � another rarity. Magnificent. A national treasure.
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A cathedral of wood, etched and leaded glass and a wonderful carved counter. The sheer splendour of the complete wall of mirrors framed by carved columns surmounted the seats is breathtaking. This is a striking example of Victorian pub architecture. You don�t need a huge beer range (there are just two cask ales) in order to enjoy this. If you aren�t sure where to find the next pub, don�t worry, thoughtfully, the tables are inlaid with street maps of the city � another rarity. Magnificent. A national treasure.
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It's lost a little of it's charm, but Bennet's is still one of the very best in the town. Just what an Edinburgh boozer should be.
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A nice bar, but I was not impressed by the selection of ales on my visit in Sept. 05.
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This is one of Edinburgh's "must-visit" pubs. Highly recommended
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Good traditional Edinburgh pub,original fittings etc.
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One of the best Whiskey gantrys in the city. Friendly attentaive saff restraunt with ok deacent food. Excellent 80 sheckles heavy and an establishment that should be part of the National Trust. Good old fashioned pub try it
Betty Ford - 21 Oct 2004 12:02 |
It's got a munificent selection of malt whiskies and good pub food!
Daniela Daniele - 28 Apr 2004 16:53 |
