The Ship on the Shore, Leith, Edinburgh

An attractive and traditional looking pub on Leith’s pleasant waterfront, food seems to be very much the focus here with all tables reserved for diners on our visit with the only seating for drinkers being a few stools at the bar. Internally it’s quite elegant and does perhaps have the feel of something more akin to a smart French bistro than your traditional pub with the staff all smartly attired in waistcoats and flowers in old bottles of champagne on all the tables. The flooring was some sort of wood strip, whilst the walls had dark wood panelling on the lower part and nautical charts and maps serving as wallpaper up above. There were also plenty of ornate gilded mirrors, including one that had the champagne choices written on it, such as a glass of Dom Pérignon for £60. The ceiling was quite a dark shade of blue as well as dark wood architrave, and I noticed a small section of stained-glass panelling at the rear. Food wise, the menu majored on fish and was certainly a step or two up from your normal pub grub prices, with the Fish & Chips coming in at £23 for example, or a risotto for £26. What we had was decent enough, but whether it was worth those prices or not is debatable, and my rice was certainly a little undercooked for my taste. There were no real ales on tap unfortunately, with just Belhaven Best on keg. Even worse, there were no ciders available. Overall this might be fine as a restaurant, but as a pub it really falls woefully short.

Restaurant and bar specialising in expensive seafood, you can just have a drink, however the beer choice is limited to Guinness, Peroni, Schihallion, Hoegaarden, and one other keg beer I forget. They do sell various varieties of wine but it’s not really a beer drinker’s destination. Tastefully decorated with marine charts as wallpaper, art works and the odd nautical nic-nac.

Now basically a seafood restaurant. Upon perusing their drinks list online, seeing no mention of beer in any way shape or form and also noting table service in the place itself, I decided against it.