Mathers Bar, Edinburgh

Nice survivor from the golden age of pubs, not untouched but still enough dark wood, stained glass and plasterwork to make it work in spite of all the sports screens. Incidentally not many were watching them. Six pulls with mostly Doombar / GK stuff but a couple of guests as well, in very reasonable condition. Mostly older gents in on a Saturday lunchtime visit.

A good sized and popular pub not far from the west end of Princes Street, it’s quite traditional in appearance with large, arched brick windows and a few troughs of foliage on the sills. Internally it’s all one large, open plan room with a very high ceiling. This was painted in a deep maroon shade with white cornice work which made something of a feature. Narrow wood strip was on the floor, whilst carved woodwork was around the windows and the back drop to the bar was also ornately carved wood that hosed an extensive spirits selection. A number of large brewery mirrors were on the walls, as well a mirror that had a map of the highlands etched on to it. Seating was rather limited perhaps, as this together with three TV screens showing a sports match made me wonder if it was more designed for vertical drinking, although I wouldn’t really have described it as a sports bar. A curious feature was a large double door towards the top of the wall – perhaps at tone time there was another floor that has since been removed. Beers on tap were Deuchars IPA and Doom Bar along with Dark Dunter, Hopopotamus and Wee Jock from Broughton. The solitary cider was a rather disappointing Magners. Overall, a solid enough boozer, but the poor cider choice and slight sports emphasis mean that it’s not necessarily somewhere I would rush back to.