The Alexander Graham Bell (JD Wetherspoon), Edinburgh

Visited 06/11/25 Cask was Haggis Hunter amber ale from Harviestoun, Titanic Plum Porter, Joker IPA from Williams Bros, Abbot, Belhaven 80/-, Doom Bar, Thistly Cross cider. Keg was Tennent’s, Innis & Gunn lager & Mangoes On the Run IPA, Guinness, Stowford Press, Budweiser, Stella, original & dark fruits SB, Bud Light, Worthington CF, Stewart Brewing Hazy IPA, BrewDog Punk IPA, K1664, Carlsberg, Corona, Angelo Poretti, Leffe Blonde, Carling & Coors. Long JDW, carpeted with a modern boarded skirt along the bar counter which runs along the right hand wall. Typical mix of seating areas, all on the ground floor, albeit there are a couple of steps just inside the entrance. Thought it was OK but lacked the charm of the cinema conversion JDW I was in earlier, but lots of interesting, framed posters on the walls about famous Scots in addition to the man himself after whom the venue is named. Lighting was good and usual TV screens absent sound; no music so chatter only noise. Furiously busy on my early evening visit. Third in the league of Edinburgh Central JDW venues. Visit made by a glorious pint of the Titanic Plum Porter though.

A good-sized Wetherspoon’s pub in a prime George Street location, it has little in the way of any distinguishing features or historic character and struck me as being a rather poor relation to some of the company’s other nearby outlets. It consists of one large, open plan room with blue and cream patterned carpet on the floor and a plain whitewashed ceiling. Dark wood trim was used to clad some of the pillars and also formed balustrade to segregate the space in to different areas. A small raised area was up a couple of steps to the left. Walls were mostly plain with some flock wallpaper in places, and a number of local pictures were dotted a round, some of them with historical interest. There were also more extensive facts about various aspects of Edinburgh such as the Royal Mile and Holyrood House, as well as a couple of very old telephone handsets mounted on the wall presumably in a nod to the pub’s name, although there was no explanatory notice here that I could see for anyone who is unaware of who Alexander Graham bell was. The only feature of any note was some Art Deco styling behind the bar, but overall I found this quite bland and depressing. Many of the pumps were doubled up leaving Radical Road Reverse, 80/- and Jack Back from Stewarts, Orkney’s Dark Island and Doom Bar as the beer options, with Abbott Ale having apparently run out. Ciders meanwhile were Strongbow, Strongbow Dark Fruit, Thatcher’s Gold and Gwynt Y Ddraig’s Black Dragon.