The lads laughed at me when I suggested an Edinburgh ‘architectural pub tour’. I probably deserved it. What I really hoped we could do was to check out some of the city’s heritage pubs with cool interiors.
We took the short, half-hour train into the city, disembarking at Waverly Station in Edinburgh’s New Town. Waverly is huge, the largest depot in the city. A short walk from the station is Princes Street with its collection of cool pubs.
We started off at the Guildford Arms. Guildford calls themselves a ‘real ale emporium’ with offerings from smaller independent Scottish breweries. Both exterior and interior are magnificent. Highlights are the ‘Jacobean plaster ceiling’ and blue porcelain handles on the real ale fonts. It’s Friday night and the place is packed. We were lucky to get a table upstairs for a meal.
Next up is the famous Café Royal. The pub started life as a café, hence the name. The Royal has what is considered one of the finest interiors in Scotland with marbled floors, tiled murals depicting famous inventors, a beautiful island bar, and stained-glass sportsman windows.
A short walk away is the ‘Dome’ – a former bank built in 1844 in the form of a Greco-Roman temple. The central dome is incredible.
Another few blocks found us at the Kenilworth, a Victorian island bar (mahogany) with Milton tiled walls on the interior. We ended up having a lively conversation with a local lad who is a huge fan of American football and has played in a couple of amateur leagues – in Scotland! Whoda thunk?
We wrapped up our tour at the Abbotsford, a classic Scottish corner pub with a mahogany island bar. Very cool are the rare Aiken brass fonts. Abbotsford has the best set of remaining fonts in the UK, and they are no longer being produced. The pub manager says they will likely fade from use as the one gent who did repairs passed away during Covid and parts are no longer available. We shared a wee dram at the bar but I’m not sure the distillery as my notes are illegible. No surprise after an exciting day.
