Kays Bar, Edinburgh

Tucked away down some residential side streets, this is not somewhere you’re likely to stumble across by accident but is well worth taking the effort to track down. It’s rather unusual in appearance being a freestanding structure surrounded by terraced houses, and looks as though it may perhaps have been a garage or something similar in a former life. Internally it’s one fairly compact room, although there did also look to be a much smaller room at the rear which was described as a library. The predominant colour in the pub was red, with deep red paint on the ceiling, padded red banquet seating around the perimeter and red padded bar stools elsewhere. Rough, black wood panelling was on the wall at the rear and there was also a small fireplace here. The left hand wall was entirely taken up with racks of old barrels in various sizes, although these looked to be decorative rather than functional. Food choice looked to be limited to the odd cling filmed roll that was lurking around. Beers on tap were Fyne Ales Jarl, Timothy Taylor Landlord, London Pride, Deuchars IPA, Theakston’s Best, The Norseman and Jarsa Session Ale. After that lot, the solitary cider was Strongbow, unfortunately. Overall, despite the poor cider choice, I thought this was a cracking little pub with friendly service and a cosy atmosphere.

I'm using various guides to find all the best pubs in Edinburgh and this may well be the one. More work to do, but its up there. Small main room, bar seating, some tables. Quiet back room where you need to strike lucky. Classic pub interior. Very high quality Deuchars IPA sampled in a pleasant atmosphere. Will come again. Visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2Dga2p5