Cask & Barrel, Edinburgh

Very good locals pub thats only just outside the City Centre. Tie it in with a walk over Calton Hill. Corner, curved pub - with a central U shaped bar. Bench seating and tables all around. TVs with sport on but volume low. Lots of cask choice - I can remember my usual TT Landlord on but when abroad, best to experiment with a perfect Swannay Scapa Special. Lovely pub.

Opened-out but still has a bit of character. U shaped central bar with a wedge area off left and a rectangular area off right. Quarter length dark varnish wood panelling and cream walls decorated with prints and brewery mirrors, alongside a nice bar gantry. 10 pumps with a hopeful seven cask on, my Orkney Corncrake was perhaps inevitably a smidge warm despite one being pulled before mine (NBSS 3), so maybe I dodged a bullet there. The hyperactive Weegie barmaid kept a tight eye on proceedings and refused service to a group of lads upon whom she’d decided to check their ID; she must have taken a shine to me though as upon my spotting some filled rolls on the bar for sale, she gave me one gratis. I made sure to give her a winning smile upon receipt. Not a bad place overall but too many ales on (I only saw two more being pulled whilst I was there despite it being pretty busy).