Pubs Galore - the UK pub guide

According to the new face book page, the Old Stable was open and under new management before the lock down.

The Royal Mile Tavern is found on the High Street of the Royal Mile. Those new to Edinburgh will not find the Royal Mile as a street name on any maps as it is a make-up of the following streets, Castlehill, the Lawnmarket, the High Street, the Canongate and Abbey Strand. Back to the pub. The exterior is very ornate and is coloured racing Green with gold highlights and lettering. The interior is lots of wood, plenty of pictures and mirrors of pub memorabilia, and pawn broker style overhead lighting. The pub serves a large selection of drinks including over 100 different whiskies and a selection of ever-changing craft ales. There is food available from a large selection menu that would a Wetherspoons menu look small in comparison.

A stone built pub with a gorgeous wood panelled interior. It's on CAMRA's list of regionally important pub interiors and I'm not surprised. It still has multiple rooms with a taproom and two small lounges off the main bar area. Really friendly locals, got chatting for ages. I had a half of Cumbria Way. It was in such good nick and the company was so good I ended up having another, even though it was towards the end of a long day. Glad I'd had some excellent fish & chips from just around the corner (Mr Chips) to soak it all up beforehand. 4 handpumps with 3 on serving Unicorn, Dizzy and the Cumbria Way. This is a very good pub and if it hadn't been a Robbies house it could have had a chance at the top award.

I was staying at the nearby youth hostel, which is called The Sill, and it's a short walk although a dark one to the pub. I can remember coming here about 15 years ago, staying at an older version of the hostel, and the pub too has gone through some changes. There is now a brewery and visitor centre (with tap room – check opening times) next to the car park, and the bar in the pub has five of their own beers on hand pump (see photo). The only feature of the revamped interior that rang a bell for me was the old stone fireplace. Other than that, this is now a typical country pub relying on people driving here for a meal from nearby holiday places or from their homes in nearby small towns. A family group a few tables away were looking a little the worse for wear, and some of the grown-ups looked like they should be thinking of hitting the sack too. I spent a few minutes on the old game of Spot the Designated Driver before deciding to mind my own business and concentrate on the beer. The five beers (on six hand pumps) soon became four when the first, Sycamore Gap pale ale 4.1%, proved to be at the end of the barrel, so I went for Ale Caesar 4.3%, an Amercian-style amber. (There was also a cherry milk stout which I swerved.) Later I tried the Gallia golden ale 3.7% and when the new barrel of Sycamore had been pulled through, a pint of that as well. All the beers were well made and in top condition, but having consulted their beer list I was disappointed that their English bitter hadn't made it onto the bar.

Date of visit: 23rd November 2019

I first came in here about twelve years ago to watch and England game on the TV shortly after seeing a match at nearby Brisbane Road. I seem to recall the pub was a pretty rough place with no decent beer, so I was pleased to hear that it had been given a makeover in recent years and had cask ale beck on the bar. The pub is much bigger than I remember, with a large knocked through front bar area and separate rear restaurant space. The bar is dominated by the extremely large servery to the left, which has a smart dark wood counter front with a pewter top and a grand, high shelved bar back. There are bare boards around the majority of the room, but the bar area has a very pleasant tile floored band running around it with a nice geometric pattern design. Standard tables and chairs can be found to the front of the room under large windows, with some nice banquettes over to the left and a mix of chairs and banquettes along the full length of the right-hand wall. The room has been decorated with old whisky mirrors, black and white photos of the local area and plenty of promotional material including a large beer board listing the full draught range. A nice tiled fireplace can be found in the rear corner of the room next to an upright piano and across from a bookcase full of old paperbacks and some board games. Several large screens around the bar area were showing live boxing with the sound just about audible between lulls in the general hubbub. A large arch to the rear of the room leads through to a big dining area with a small servery to the left, tables and chairs in rows through the centre and another such row along a raised platform to the right, supplemented by a couple of banquettes. There are more old photos on display, as well as plenty of potted plants and some quite effective looking fairly lights around the ceiling. Another screen here was also showing the boxing although people here seemed more interested in their food. A trip to the gents uncovered a treasure trove of Leyton Orient themed newspaper clippings and upon returning to the bar, I realised that the pub has some sort of Escape Room game on the first floor, with punters checking in at a desk at the far end of the servery.
There are now five handpulls on the bar and these offered an interesting line-up of Three Sods Session IPA, New River Isle of Rye and Mighty Oak The Old Man and Captain Bob plus a real cider. My pint of IPA was in top condition and went down very easily as I watched the build up to the boxing and snooped around the place. The staff seemed pretty friendly and there was a good mix of customers including a big group of CAMRA types who were clearly on a crawl of the local area.
This place has definitely transformed for the better, offering a far more attractive, comfortable and welcoming place to stop for a drink than when I first visited. The introduction of some well-kept cask ales should add some extra incentive to check this place out again the next time I’m in the area.