Hemingway's, Edinburgh

A good sized, street corner pub housed in a traditional old building alongside the waterway, it looks as though it may have perhaps been a shop in a former life going on the large, plate glass window. We were initially put off by a very large gaggle of very noisy eastern European smokers outside the premises, but it looked quiet enough inside so we carried on. That of course didn’t last once they had all piled back in, although to be fair the landlord was apologetic and discreetly asked everyone else in the pub if they’d like to move in to the restaurant to get some peace and quiet. The main part of the bar is one large, open plan room, with what is presumably the aforementioned restaurant beyond this. It’s very contemporary in appearance, and functions as much as a cocktail bar as your traditional pub. The flooring was some type of polished wooden boards whilst the walls were predominantly exposed brickwork. At least, that’s what they were supposed to be, but I’m pretty sure they weren’t real bricks, although they were more realistic than brick effect wallpaper. A couple of large bookcases were at the rear, although again I suspect these were just decorative. A couple of large black chandeliers hung from the ceiling, supplemented with slightly more industrial light fittings over the marble topped bar counter, and the odd hanging globe lamp. There must also have been some recessed lighting somewhere that lent a distinct red glow to the venue. Other fake decorative effects included a rather naff fire, whilst the seating was a mixture of tartan covered wooden pews and some upholstered arm chairs. There were no real ales on tap unfortunately, and a rather limited choice on keg with the three of the available beer choices being an IPA – Neck Oil, Gamma Ray and Brew Dog’s Punk. These seemed rather expensive, with the Gamma Ray for example coming in at £6.50. Ciders fared no better with the only option being Strongbow Dark Fruit. As mentioned, this is as much of a cocktail bar as a pub, so I went for the “Banoffee Pie” which sounded intriguing, although I hadn’t realised that I was ordering from the sharing section of the menu. This should have been fairly obvious to the waitress since Mrs B also ordered one from the sharing section, it would have been helpful if she had mentioned our error. It turned up in a cast iron teapot with a cast iron cup to pour it in to, and it went on forever, I must have had about a pint of the stuff. It was quite nice to start with, not so much by the time I had valiantly struggled through to the end. Not somewhere I’d bother with again.

Cocktail bar and restaurant type place, as well as a wide range of spirits there are eight solo keg taps the most interesting being Neck Oil, mostly Latin lagers otherwise. We were pretty much pushed towards sitting straight down and ordering at our table by the greeter/bar person/waitress. The service was effusive but not irritating. The front area has low tables with comfy armchairs and sofas. Further back beyond a dividing wall is a dining area with an exposed kitchen. Decor is based around the (Ernest) Hemingway theme, with typewriters and books both real and on wallpaper . It’s located in one corner of a nice old building with big clear glass windows giving views of the Water of Leith.

Official site of Hemingway's - www.hemingwaysedinburgh.co.uk