Disclaimer

These reviews are provided for entertainment purposes only. They reflect the opinion solely of the named reviewers. In no way do they represent the views of the Institute of Geography, School of GeoSciences, or the University of Edinburgh.

South Side

• The Auld Hoose
• The Blind Poet
• Brass Monkey
• Maltings International Alehouse
• Rutherford’s

The Auld Hoose 

15 August 2005. 23–25 St Leonards Street, EDINBURGH, EH8 9QN. [Map]
South Side
0131 668 2934
http://www.theauldhoose.co.uk/
http://www.livejournal.com/users/theauldhoose/

This is a classic Scottish pub (in the same way that Moe’s in The Simpsons is a classic American bar). It has decent beer—Caledonian’s Deuchars IPA (3·8%) and 80/- (4·2%) as standard, plus one guest beer, currently Orkney’s Dark Island (4·6%)—standard pub pie-and-chips, and an old woman who apparently comes in everyday for a half-pint and her dinner at 7 P.M. sharp. The horseshoe bar gives it a cosy, intimate feel. Since the pub is no wider than 6 feet at any point, this creates a fire hazard (although most drinkers seem to live there, and would rather die than leave their pint unattended).

Of particular note is the excellent pub quiz on Tuesday nights (8 P.M.) which attracts fifteen regular teams, including that from Geography: “Axis of Ignorance”. Prizes include a gallon of beer for the winners, and a halftime poke of chips for all teams. — George

The Blind Poet 

6 August 2005. 32 West Nicolson Street, EDINBURGH, EH8 9DD. [Map]
South Side
0131 667 0876
http://www.blindpoet.co.uk/

Charlie and Peter nursing pints in the Blind Poet. The Poet suffers from a slight identity crisis: it has the bone structure of a traditional pub, but the façade and character of a theme pub. Unfortunately, the latter is the dominant personality trait. The Poet is not, however, unpleasant. It’s a useful refuge when neighbouring pubs are busy, and provides fairly inexpensive pub food (of the chicken-nuggets-in-a-basket variety). Not worth seeking out, but a fine place to pass an hour or two. — Innes

Brass Monkey 

19 August 2005. 14 Drummond Street, EDINBURGH, EH8 9TU. [Map]
South Side
0131 556 1961

Colin and Peter enjoying a post-work drink in Brass Monkey. Formerly Stewart’s Bar (see article below), Brass Monkey is the nearest pub to the Institute, and is, as a consequence, a particularly handy place for an afternoon coffee, or evening pint. In addition to the main bar, Brass Monkey has a small back room with leather couches, and a large lounge-style cinema, complete with scatter cushions and Persian rugs. Despite being a little over-priced, lacking any decent real ale, sporting a hopelessly-unsatisfactory unisex toilet, and having replaced the unique Stewart’s Bar, Brass Monkey is fine for a quick pint or for a lazy afternoon film. — Innes

From Edinburgh Evening News 12 May 2001:

IT was one of Edinburgh’s few remaining traditional bars and could once name Donald Dewar and Chancellor Gordon Brown among its clientele. However regulars have been left horrified by Stewart’s transformation into a modern “style bar”. Out have gone the stark tables and chairs, replaced by leather sofas, a DVD player and computer games. And, where once the only noise was the sound of people talking, now the Victorian pub has a hi-tech sound system. Even the name has been changed to Brass Monkey in a bid to bring in a more “cosmopolitan clientele” to the Drummond Street watering hole.

The pub’s tenant claims the changes were desperately needed but former regulars—including Green MSP Robin Harper—are appalled by the change. Mr Harper said: “I knew it was going to be renovated but I didn’t know this was going to happen. The makeover has totally ruined a pub that was part of the fabric of the city. It’s so insensitive.”

The 1717 Society, one of the longest-running debating groups in Edinburgh, has been meeting up in Stewart’s for more than 20 years. But members have been forced to seek another venue after finding a football table and a pinball machine have been moved into their usual room. Society secretary David Bathgate said: “It was one of the last spit and sawdust pubs in Edinburgh. It’s a terrible shame it’s had to change. I suppose the people that were going weren’t spending enough money.”

The pub was named after Robert Stewart who opened it just over a century ago. It changed little as it passed to his son George and then his manager Peter Cunningham. It has attracted figures including the High Court Judge Lord McCluskey, Chancellor Gordon Brown and Donald Dewar. Labour councillor Brian Fallon, who has been drinking in the pub for more than 30 years, said: “It was one of those great old Edinburgh pubs, which the old traditional beer drinkers like me like because you could be guaranteed a good pint. I’ve had a look at this new place and it doesn’t suit me at all.”

Grace Hoy, 85, has been a Stewart’s regular since her first visit as a teenager and celebrated her 60th, 70th and 80th birthdays there. She said today: “I had a look inside the other day and I think it’s terrible what they’ve done.” But current tenant Martin Proudler says the £50,000 revamp was long overdue. He said: “The floor underneath the bar was completely rotten, the toilets needed to be totally refurbished and the whole place was just badly in need of renovation. We’ve tried to create a mix of some of the old elements, like the gantry behind the bar and the lamp-post outside, while creating some elements that will bring in a younger crowd. It’s a mix of the old and the new, but I wouldn’t say it’s changed that much.”

Caledonian Heritable, which owns the bar as well as The Dome on George Street and the Pear Tree in West Nicolson Street defended the changes. Director Sean Doyle said: “Historically, this has been a very well-used pub, but it’s time had gone and it couldn’t have been left as it was.” The newly refurbished bar is just yards away from new plush eateries Eaten and Bam Bou. Bam Bou publicist Justin Hynd said time was being called on the traditional ale house. He added: “A lot of people don’t want to sit in these old-fashioned bars where you have one man and his dog sitting in the corner. They prefer to go somewhere to be seen.” But the Campaign for Real Ale’s Edinburgh Secretary, Jim Darroch, said the revamp had shown “complete disrespect” for the pub’s history. He added: “The changes to traditional pubs like Stewart’s are a very worrying trend, especially when six months down the line they’ll probably be being regretted.”

Maltings International Alehouse 

19 October 2005. 81–85 St Leonard’s Street, EDINBURGH, EH8 9QY. [Map]
South Side

In The Falls (2001, 159), Ian Rankin describes a typical night for Inspector Rebus:

“He hit the Maltings first, and followed it up with the Royal Oak, before making for Swany’s. Just the one drink in each pub, starting with a pint of Guinness. It had been a while since he’d tried the stuff; it was good but filling. He knew he couldn’t do too many, so switched to IPA and finally a Laphroaig with the merest drizzle of water. Then it was a taxi to the Oxford Bar where he demolished the last corned beef and beetroot roll on the shelf and followed it with a main course of Scotch egg. He was back on the IPA, needed something to wash down the food.”

Rebus would certainly have been conspicuous the night we visited; the pub is, most definitely, a student venue. Recently re-glazed and tidied up, the Maltings has rebranded itself an International Alehouse (the MIA). We were, unfortunately, unable to test this claim, since they didn’t have any ales on tap (they were MIA). I am assured this was a temporary glitch. St Leanord’s is rather poorly served in terms of pubs, and this makes an entirely suitable venue for a quick drink, to watch undergraduates, and remember what it was like. — Innes

Rutherford’s 

15 September 2005. 3 Drummond Street, EDINBURGH, EH8 9TT. [Map]
South Side

Established in 1834 by the licensed victuallers Rutherford and Company, the bar was remodelled by the Edinburgh architect James M. Henry in 1899. Henry’s impressive façade survives, but the interior of the pub was unsympathetically modernised in the 1960, and the original interior replaced. Rutherford’s once counted Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) among its regulars. His recollection of the pub serves as a fairly reliable description of its current state: “I was the companion of seamen, chimney-sweeps and thieves; my circle was being changed continually by the action of the police magistrate”. Despite its rather earthy quality, Rutherford’s keeps a good pint of McEwan’s 70/- (3·7%). Rutherford’s features in the film 16 Years of Alcohol. — Innes