The Standing Order (JD Wetherspoon), Edinburgh

A large and impressive looking Wetherspoon’s with the main entrance on George Street but also a further back entrance in Rose Street, it’s very impressive architecturally and is certainly worth popping in for that alone. Internally it’s largely all one open plan room with a very high and ornately decorated ceiling which is certainly the main feature of the pub and wouldn’t look out of place in a National Trust property. In comparison, the rest of the pub is fairly unremarkable with a mixture of dark polished wood and blue patterned carpet on the floor and lots of tables that were quite tightly packed in. Some alabaster pillars at one end might have also made for an interesting feature if it weren’t for the large projection screen slung between them that was showing a football match. On one wall were a number of segregated seating booths with dark wood panelling on the adjacent wall. Beers on tap were Hobgoblin Gold, Belhaven St. Andrews, Bishop’s Finger, Cerveja Curitiba, Thornbridge Jaipur, Orkney Northern Light, Jenning’s Sneck Lifter, Deuchars IPA, Wildcat, Abbott Ale, Orkney Dark Island, Doom Bar, Titanic Plum Porter and Strathaven Fat Santa. Ciders meanwhile were Strongbow, Strongbow Dark Fruit, Thatcher’s Gold and Magners.

Grand Wetherspoons that should be visited for the architecture alone. High quality beer at bargain prices.

As noted below this is a rambling and ornate bank conversion and is probably the best of the four Central Edinburgh JDWs. On my Thursday afternoon visit there were no Stag or Hen dos. The clock was ticking towards the time my train back to London was due to depart so I didn't have time to take in all that much. I did note that the standard guest price was £2.89 so went for a festival cider (£3.35). There are three banks of six hand pumps that had a good range of Scottish beers but with some doubling up. I thought this was a good but expensive JDW and I have to say that overall I preferred many of the smaller town outlets in Scotland. What Pub informs us that they serve pints from 09:00 so there is hope for Scotland yet!

As described by others a very impressive neoclassical interior sympathetically converted by Wetherspoons. The old banking hall is in a Robert Adam style with pink granite Corinthian columns, coffered and gilded ceiling and etched glass in the skylights and side windows. In addition there are two side rooms, The Thomas Telford Suite and the Robert Louis Stevenson Suite, which is actually at the front. The counter zig zags along one side wall and carries three sets of six pulls, I saw only two from the "coming soon" brewery and the less exciting beers were on the last set of pulls furthest from the door. I had no trouble getting served but then it was 9am but sadly for that time of day the choice of lower ABV beers was restricted. The staff were great but then they often are when they're not overstretched, the beer quality was good too, well worth a visit there is also apparently a back entrance in pub and bar filled Rose St.

On the busy, bustling George Street, this vast Wetherspoons pub is a really impressive example of a bank conversion. The main bar area is located in the left hand side of the building, with the servery running most of the way down the left hand wall. This room boasts an amazing high ceiling, with intricate colourful decorations and some beautiful curved glass skylights. The decorative touches manifest themselves throughout the room, with something eye-catching in just about every direction you care to look. Stout marble pillars add to the grandeur and it’s only when your eyes eventually lower to seating level that you start to realise that you’re in a Wetherspoons. There are plenty of seating options, as you would expect, including in several partitioned rooms off the main bar area, which sadly I didn’t have the time to properly explore. Visiting on a scorching summer’s morning, I was somewhat surprised to find the place already packed, including several large stag/hen party groups. The skylights had the unfortunate effect of creating greenhouse-like conditions which forced us to take our drinks out to the front steps, where a few pavement tables can be found. There is rear access to the pub as well, although I’m not sure if additional outdoor seating can be found on that side. I counted between 15-18 hand pumps, most of which were taken up with ciders from the ongoing festival, but there were a few interesting ales available alongside the usual ‘Spoons suspects. I tried an excellent pint of Roosters IPA, which slipped down very easily for a 5% ale. Our enjoyment of this pub was spoilt slightly by the unbearable heat, but I appreciate that Edinburgh doesn’t always hit such baking hot temperatures, and all things considered, this is a worthwhile place to visit. I’d certainly like to try it again to soak up the interior a bit more and as with most ‘Spoons, it seems like a fairly good bet for an interesting and well kept pint.