Mather's, Edinburgh

We were the only punters in this small, twin levelled pub. 80s music on the video screens. One friendly member of staff. Fyne Jarl that had a slightly unusual aftertaste. Probably not the place to go looking for cask.

A traditional looking pub located at the end of York Place behind the new St James’s Quarter development, there’s large windows at the front and high ceilings within to create a light and airy ambience, and there was a decent crowd in on our recent Tuesday evening visit. It’s split across two levels internally, with the rear half being up a few steps from the front. Décor wise it’s quite traditional, with sanded wooden boards on the floor, some padded bench seating around the permitter, a black papered ceiling with dark brown coving and some exposed stone walling to the right, although elsewhere the walls were a mixture of red patterned wallpaper, khaki green wood panelling and cream plasterwork. An old tiled fireplace was off to one side, as well as a piano and a beer barrel that had been converted in to a table. A couple of old black and white photos were dotted around the walls, as well as some old adverts. The rear section was broadly similar in style, although perhaps slightly cosier with more wallpaper on the walls and blue paintwork on wood panelling and the ceiling, as well as blue upholstery on the padded bench seats. Some stained glass in the rear window was an attractive feature depicting some of Edinburgh’s landmarks. Beers on tap were Stewart’s Pentland IPA and Spey Valley’s Nice Try, whilst a third pump appeared unused. The solitary cider was Thistly Cross.