Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Black Bull, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
EH1 2JU
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Old Boots left this review about Black Bull
A long thin place at the bottom of Grassmarket, counter on the right halfway along with chair and table seating throughout. A mix of older and modern in style with a great many screens and the usual music. Probably fewer tourists as it’s not olde worlde or suffering from tartanism, it does look like there was a decent old pub underneath. Beer wise there’s three pulls with Stewart beers plus three T-Bars with a mix of local and UK favourites. It was advertising a whisky flight with various distilling areas represented, no price shown but the beer here was a wee bit cheaper than the Nicholsons and Greene King pubs up the road. I found the staff rather functional.
WARNING USES HANDLE GLASSES AS DEFAULT!
On 28th January 2025
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3599 recommendations about 3279 pubs]
Blackthorn _ left this review about Black Bull
One of a number of pubs along the popular Grassmarket strip, this looks quite traditional from the outside but was something of disappointment internally. It’s considerably bigger than might be expected, extending back some considerable way, and was very busy on our recent Wednesday evening visit, to the extent that initially we couldn’t find anywhere to sit until a table subsequently became available.
Décor wise it’s clearly been renovated at some point, and consisted of some very plain and nondescript flooring, although there was also some wood strip in the rear half, pale green paintwork on much of the walls and dark wooden architrave elsewhere. All manner of bits and bobs were hanging from the ceiling including baskets, leather suitcases, model aeroplanes, miner’s lamps, wooden crates, boxing gloves, tennis rackets, model cars, an old cart wheel and countless other things. Normally I’d find all that quite interesting, but here it felt rather contrived as though somebody who had read a manual on how to design a pub had just put it all together. At the rear they’d had a stab at making it more elegant perhaps with much dark wood panelling on the wall, but the effect was rather spoilt by the number of screens showing sports that were dotted around as well as a several fruit machines and a sign advertising beer that was apparently “Cold as f**k”. It seemed that this referred to a device that could be delivered to your table and looked rather reminiscent of a liquidiser with a “beer can” at the base and glass jug at the top from which you could refill your glass. Since it was nearing Halloween, everything had been liberally draped with fake cobwebs, including all the pumps on the bar.
They did at least have a couple of local beers on with Stewart’s Jack Back and Barney’s Red Rye, whilst a third pump had it’s clip reversed. Ciders meanwhile were a disappointing Inch’s Medium Apple and Strongbow Dark Fruit. It’s a shame they couldn’t have kept up the local theme there, with some Thistly Cross perhaps, which have been a far better option.
On 25th October 2024
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2060 recommendations about 1962 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Colin Walker left this review about Black Bull
The Black Bull has a good selection of beers on draught such as Tennents £3.90, Stewarts Lager £4.50, Shipyard APA £4.80, Estrella Damm £4.70, Caledonian Best £3.80, Heineken £4.60, Kronenbourg 1664 £4.30, Guinness £4.70, Magners cider £3.90 & Strongbow Dark Fruits Cider £4.20. There are bottled beers such as Innis & Gunn Original £4.70, Innis & Gunn Blood Sky £4.80, Brewdog Punk IPA £4.80, Joker IPA (500ml) £4.85, Caesar’s Augustus (500ml) £4.85, Budweiser £3.70, Peroni £4.20, Sol £3.90, Desperados £4.30, Heineken 0% Alcohol Free £3.00, Hollows Alcoholic Ginger Beer £4.85, WKD Blue £4.00, Bulmers & Old Moat with different flavours. A choice of 16 whiskies. There are 6 hand pumps for real ale addicts. A very good choice of burgers, sandwiches & meals are available.
On 6th September 2018
- rating: 10
[User has posted 717 recommendations about 712 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about Black Bull
Three real ales on - barman offered samples of all three before we left the handpulls and settled on a ShipYard IPA. Fine pub, but with plenty of choice in the area, nothing really makes it stand out.
On 10th February 2018
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1563 recommendations about 1543 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Black Bull
One of the bigger pubs at the end of the Grass market, it mainly attracts the younger crowd and even on a Sunday lunchtime had bouncers patrolling the front entrance. Internally it is one long L-shaped bar with lots of separate seating areas and two small mezzanine floors. And several TV screens dotted about so that it was actually difficult to find a spot where you missed them.
A definite student chain pub feel to this one, and one that I well imagine is a target for the stag and hen crowds on a Friday and Saturday evening. But it did have 6 hand pumps on the bar with Deuchars IPA and brews from smaller regional Scottish brewers , including Scottish Borders Brewery Foxy Blonde
On 2nd August 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2236 recommendations about 2098 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about Black Bull
A large pub serving up to 6 real ales and food.
On 23rd August 2013
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2933 recommendations about 2866 pubs]