The Regent, Calton, Edinburgh

Facebook page of The Regent - www.facebook.com

Official site of The Regent - theregentbar.co.uk

Official site of The Regent - theregentbar.co.uk

Facebook page of The Regent - www.facebook.com

Quite a diversion in my Guide to the best of the Royal Mile. I found myself in a previously unexplored part of Edinburgh. A couple of handpulls on with an excellent Deuchars IPA. Took me a while to twig it was a gay bar - with some rather striking art work. Good beer and worthy of its entry in the 2018 Guide. Visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2DFiNcF

The Regent feels more like a private club than a pub, a feeling which comes from both the esoteric nature of most clientele -mostly couples in quiet conversation - and the decor. The presence of a strange vaulting horse adds to that, while the various literature scattered around the tables provides details of other local establishments of interest to the main customer base. The staff were a little unwelcoming, which contributed to the feeling of being an outsider. What makes this place good is the beer - four ales and a cider on draft. I had the Caledonian Deuchers which was in excellent condition, while I know from previous visits that the GBG entry is well justified. While it might be difficult to tie this in with a crawl, it is worth a visit for its beer quality alone.