Hectors: 47-49 Deanhaugh Street, Edinburgh

The boys finished their New Town/Stockbridge pub crawl in Hectors. Now Hectors don’t give the beer away either, in fact they demand your right arm for it. However unlike the Baillie the staff do endeavour to help you, and there is some atmosphere. The bar is stylish and comfortable and there is plenty of talent.

Some may say this is a pretentious bar and so are its punters and I would have to agree. Would I go back here? Unlikely due to the prices! Watch out for a Belgian beer called Vedett, its £4 – furious! However I still enjoyed this bar more than the Baillie.

The Bailie: 2-4 St. Stephen Street ,Edinburgh

Personally I feel this well-known Stockbridge bar has nothing going for it.

The boys were now starving from their pub crawl and that we went in to the Bailie at 8.40 specifically because they advertised food until 9. However we were told by a rude barmaid that they were no longer serving food despite the fact we could see the kitchen was still open.  

Sure there is a good selection of beer and whisky and there are plenty real ales, however a standard round of drinks was ridiculously expensive and the bar offers absolutely no atmosphere. This bar lives on its name and image. From outside it looks nice, inside it is dingy and miserable – much like their staff.

Dingy!

The Antiquary: Saint Stephen Street, Edinburgh

A traditional pub divided into two areas; with booths and even a public phone on the wall should you have forgotten the mobile phone. There are a range of games in the corner to keep the punter entertained such as Cluedo and Connect 4 and there is lounge music playing in the background. All good so far. Mixing it up a bit I had a Becks which was fairly refreshing but there is a decent range of beers to choose from.

My main problem with this pub was that despite it being dinner time on a public holiday, and despite other pub reviews raving about the availability of food even on a Sunday, there was no food available. We were given some ridiculous chat by the barman that there was no food served on Mondays, on Wednesday yes, possibly Tuesday, but definitely not Monday. Eh?

So basically go along if you fancy a pint and board game, if you’re hungry go to Pizza Express!

St Vincent Bar: 11 St. Vincent Street, Edinburgh

The bar was comfortable, and the beer was fairly reasonable. The main memorable thing about this bar was the Golf game. Try it out!

Overall, a nice bar to go to for a quiet drink, just don’t expect any food.  

The Star Bar: 1 Northumberland Place, Edinburgh

Prior to visiting the Star Bar I needed cash, so I popped into Sainsbury’s to get cashback. This meant buying a bag of cookies, but I’m glad I did as the Star Bar has a small beer garden out the back where you can enjoy your pint and eat a picnic if you wish.

This is lucky as the Star Bar is not that easy to find so you’ll be hungry by the time you eventually sit down with your beer! However the Star Bar is worth the effort. It produces an enjoyable pint, the barmaid was 9 out of 10, and there is entertainment such as a foozball table, a jukebox, a dartboard, sport on the telly and even a punter who was dressed up a bit like a pirate.   

There is apparently supposed to be a skull on display in this bar but we couldn’t see it, perhaps like the bar it’s just difficult to find? Definitely worth a visit though!

The Standard: 24 Howe Street, New Town, Edinburgh

My guide book described this as “more like a New York Bar and Grill than a Scottish pub”. Having been to New York I would say that while the Standard is perhaps a bit more unique than many of the traditional chain pubs in Edinburgh, it is far more EDI than NYC - did you like what I did there! It’s a trendy looking bar of the sort you might find on George Street though more relaxed.

The place has a decent beer selection and provides a comfy seat with cushions to sit on while you watch the sport.  My only complaint was that the games machine advertising Deal or No Deal, was offering only no deal, as the machine was broken.    

Tune in next time for Star Bar. Bring cookies!

New Town Pub Crawl: Part 2

Possibly the street where we got lost?

Ok, so back to the New Town/Stockbridge pub crawl. These reviews will be fairly quick and short, as apart from the fact that it’s been so long since we did the pub crawl and I can’t read my own scribbled writing, there are a lot of venues to review in the coming weeks, including a recent visit to Shannermans.

So we left of at the Wally Dug, next stop 'The Standard'.