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Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat on the Pub Forum

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Submitted on Tuesday, 28^th January 2025
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The White Hart Inn, Edinburgh

Grassmarket
Edinburgh
EH1 2HS

Phone: 01312262806

Correct details

Served areas

Old Town, Edinburgh Central

Reviews of The White Hart Inn (Average Rating: 7½ of 10) Add Review see review guidelines

Old Boots left this review about The White Hart Inn

Billed as Edinburgh’s oldest pub dating from 1516, who knows? it has been renovated many times I guess as apart from some Victorian woodwork and a fireplace there’s nothing old in here. Obviously aimed at the tourist trade it has an emphasis on food resulting in poor bar service. Eleven keg taps of Belhaven and UK national kegs plus four hand pumps, one with the Belhaven “Our Heritage” pump clip (not a beer!) an Old Golden Hen, reversed Abbot and a Greene King/Belhaven bitter (3.9%) badged as a house beer, probably Deuchars IPA. The fake beams have lines from Burns painted on and there’s some claimed link on a sign in a Burns shrine by the front door.

On 28^th January 2025 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 3599 recommendations about 3279 pubs]

Blackthorn _ left this review about The White Hart Inn

One of a number of pubs along the popular Grassmarket strip, this appears to be one of the more traditional options in the vicinity and I could happily have settled in here for a good couple of hours if only we hadn’t had a restaurant booked.

Décor wise it’s quite traditional as mentioned, with plenty of old wooden beams on the ceiling, wood strip flooring and dark green wood panelling on much of the walls. An old black and white picture of the pub with the castle in the background featured prominently, along with a sign saying that it was established in 1516. A fireplace was off to one side with a stag’s antlers above, as well as a few other bits and pieces such as pots, teapots and a few pictures. Plenty of pewter tankards hung from the ceiling.

Beer choice was perhaps a little disappointing with just Old Golden Hen and their own Best Bitter being available, whilst a third pump for Abbott Ale appeared to have run out and a fourth just had a sign on it detailing Belhaven’s brewing heritage but was apparently not dispensing anything. The solitary cider meanwhile was also a rather disappointing Aspall’s, and the prices seemed a little steep with three pints coming in at £18.75. Overall, whilst I thought it was a very nice pub, they really need to work on their beer selection and pricing a bit.

On 25^th October 2024 - rating: 6
[User has posted 2060 recommendations about 1962 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Steve of N21 left this review about The White Hart Inn

One of the six pubs that line the north side of Edinburgh's Grassmarket, its worth taking a look at White Hart Inn for the front door alone, an impressive structure topped off by a collection of extravagant features including the impressive carving of a white hart. Apparently the pub name refers to an incident in 1128 when King David I encountered a white stag while hunting in what is now Holyrood Park.
Claimed to be Edinburgh's oldest pub, with bits of the cellar dating from 1516, much of the rest of it dates back to 1740 as mentioned by Roger below.
Sadly the interior of the pub doesn’t quite match up the opulence of its entrance and the L-Shaped interior around the corner bar is smaller than you expect from outside. But with a wooden floor and wooden beams with its pewter tankard collection and lots of wooden furniture, its pleasant enough..
Sadly also not the ale choice of other nearby places and only two of the three handpumps were in operation for my visit with Belhaven IPA and Caledonian 80/- on.
Managed to get one of the out front tables and I can think of a lot worse places to sup a pint of 80/-

On 3^rd August 2014 - rating: 6
[User has posted 2236 recommendations about 2098 pubs]

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