Thomson's Bar, Edinburgh

This is a square single roomed bar with a tiled floor an ornate ceiling and some carved wooden features. It was quiet on my late Wednesday evening visit. There were four hand pumps which had three English beers and just one Scottish although the boring Deuchar's IPA was also advertised. The four beers were Fyne Jarl, Mordue US Pale, Oakham Citra and Swannay Island Hopping. I went for the Jarl (£3.60) and US Pale (£3.90) which were both in excellent condition. I thought the beer choice and the pub were dull and rather expensive so I doubt that I would return.

Thomsons Bar official site - www.thomsonsbaredinburgh.co.uk

Compact square bar with typical narrow tables, a chequer-board tiled floor and some light wood panelling. Very quiet on a Sunday evening. Four handpumps plus two of the four traditional Scottish pressure fonts working, with a good choice local ales e.g. Tryst Carronade (£3.45) plus a skightly incongruous appearance from Fullers London Pride.

Thomsons Bar official site - www.thomsonsbaredinburgh.co.uk

Traditional pub with original interior.6 real ales served. Brewery memorabilia on the walls.

Named after the architect Alexander "Greek" Thomson, hence the gantry is full of scenes from Greek mythology. The rest of the pub walls are covered in mirrors and pictures. It's just a single room with the bar on your right as you enter. They do homemade food of the pies and beans variety, and very good it looked too. Deuchars IPA and Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted are the standard beers plus several guests, some dispensed from air pressure fonts in proper Scottish style. We called in at about 1 p.m. on a Wednesday lunchtime and it was pretty busy, but it emptied quite quickly soon afterwards. The pie & a pint lunch is alive and well here. I had a pint of Oakham Citra and the other half had the Harviestoun, both were in good nick. We'll definitely call in here again and may well have a pie as well.

An excellent one-room pub near the City Centre, but far enough away that it's not overrun by tourists. Thomsons is primarily a drinkers' pub, but it also does excellent food at a reasonable price. The staff are friendly and good for some banter, and the clientele is a mix of ale fans and drinkers on a crawl/night out. Newspapers are provided, and there was a selection of 7 ales from near and far available. The pint of Kelburn's I had was properly kept and served at the right temperature. Well worth a visit for a quiet drink, session or as part of a crawl.