The Abbotsford, Edinburgh

Named after Abbotsford House, the home of Sir Walter Scott, the Abbotsford was originally a thatched cottage that was virtually rebuilt in the 1880’s. The building was subsequently demolished and rebuilt again in 1902 and is currently owned by the same company as the Guildford Arms. The pub remained virtually untouched for over a hundred years but underwent some restoration and refurbishment in 2007 but appears to have been more of a cosmetic nature and has not affected its listing in the CAMRA inventory of historic pub interiors. The pub part consists of a single ground floor room with a classic mahogany island bar taking centre stage. Simple furnishings hug the sides and whilst it was busy on my visit, it wasn’t as cramped as you would expect given that the pub isn’t that big. The ornate ceiling is also one of the more impressive features. In one corner is a separate snack bar although I believe this is only used at lunchtimes. More substantial meals are available on the first floor is a restaurant called “Above” where a main course will cost around £8-£16. I didn’t venture this far but understand that the restaurant has similar décor to main bar. There were 6 ales available on my visit, Inveralmond Inkie Pikie, Orkney Island Hopping, Strathaven Avondale, Kelburn Cart Blanche, Orkney Red MacGregor and Fyne Vital Spark. Whilst they were all Scottish, there were a few that I didn’t find in the numerous pubs I visited during my week of travelling to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling. The beers are all poured from some rare survivng Scottish tall fonts as opposed to hand pumps. A large selection of whiskies was also available. As hertitage pubs go, the Abbotsford is worthy of a visit for that reason alone but the decent ale selection, good mix of customers and bubbly ambience made this one of my favourite of Edinburgh pubs. Next time I visit I’ll hopefully be able to make it a longer visit.