Bar Prince @ The Balmoral, Edinburgh

Official site of Brasserie Prince (The Balmoral) - www.roccofortehotels.com

Official site of Brasserie Prince (The Balmoral) - www.roccofortehotels.com

The Balmoral Bar is an expensive, upmarket hotel bar owned by the Rocco Forte Group and part of the Bal,oral Hotel complex on North Bridge. It is certainly luxurious, but that comes at a price. Velvet and leather seating, and not much of it. Trendy decor rather than traditional takes the edge off it a bit, and the theme is very much more cocktail bar than pub. Food is excellent, but at more than a tenner for a sandwich, I wouldn’t want to eat there too often. There is an interesting collection of cocktails, which you can taste before ordering, a comprehensive wine list and I counted 56 different whiskies on offer. Three Scottish real ales were on draft and there were a few interesting bottled beers available too. I had the Harviestoun Schiehallion which was in reasonable condition, though not as good as many pubs locally which is a pity given the price (five pounds a pint). It’s fine for a special occasion or when trying to impress, but the lack of pub atmosphere and the prices make it unsuitable for inclusion in a pub crawl.