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Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
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Detail Pages
The Advocate, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
EH1 1QW
Pub Type
Belhaven (Greene King)Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Old Boots left this review about The Advocate
A large single room pub behind the Tron Kirk on the High Street. Well appointed with a bit of dark wood, tartan upholstered banquettes and carpet. Decorated with mirrors of various shapes and sizes plus some neat old drawings. The counter is to the right and home to two sets of four solo keg taps, a double keg tap and three hand pumps. One had a clip saying this is not a beer and offered a text on Belhaven’s heritage, one coming soon and a lacklustre Deuchars IPA. Constant music and big screens on sport and silent news detracted the place a bit more for me but it’s ok for a Royal Mile pub. WARNING USES HANDLE GLASSES AS DEFAULT!
On 28th January 2025
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3599 recommendations about 3279 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about The Advocate
Located just off the Royal Mile, this is a good sized pub that inevitably caters somewhat to the tourist market given it’s location, but I found it to be a decent enough pub with friendly and efficient bar staff.
Décor wise it’s quite traditional, with a mixture of dark wood strip and tartan carpet on the floor, a mustard colour ceiling with several flags affixed to it and various paint shades on the walls including maroon and duck egg blue. A number of gilded mirrors were on the walls and there were also several large TV screens scattered around which perhaps spoilt the ambience somewhat. These were showing a terrestrial news channel, but at least the volume was off so this was not too intrusive. Seating was a mixture of padded bch seating around the perimeter and regular tables and chairs.
The laminated menu looked to be a rather mass produced affair, but included a good choice of “pub grub” dishes such as CTM, fish & chips, lasagne, sausage & mash and so on, as well as a number of burgers. Most main courses were priced somewhere around the £9 - £10 mark. I went for the chicken, bacon and leek pie and this was on the whole pretty decent, certainly very tasty, although it could perhaps have been a bit bigger and the accompanying mash was perhaps a little stodgy.
Beers on tap were Rockin’ Rudolph, Greene King IPA, Kelburn Ginger Bells and their own Advocate Ale. The solitary cider was a rather disappointing Aspall’s. Overall, a bit too much of a chain pub perhaps, but a decent enough pit stop nonetheless.
On 9th January 2020
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2060 recommendations about 1962 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about The Advocate
A Belhaven/Greene King pub located close to the royal mile. 4 real ales and food served. Live music advertised.
On 21st November 2012
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2933 recommendations about 2866 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
David Ross left this review about The Advocate
A large, square shaped bar with a modern looking interior despite being housed in an old building. As it's just off the Royal Mile, right in the middle of the city's main tourist area, it can be very busy and loud. There is an impressive selection of beers, though, including four real ales, all at reasonable prices. There's nothing really to complain about here, but I found it a bit bland and there are more interesting alternatives in this historic part of the city.
On 30th January 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 769 recommendations about 683 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
William Purnell left this review about The Advocate
This pub used to be called 'The Fiscal and Firkin' and was taken over by Mitchells and Butlers and renamed 'The Advocate' on break up of the Firkin group. In early December 2009 ownership was passed on to Greene King/Belhaven.
On 31st December 2009
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 218 recommendations about 205 pubs]