Chez Mal, Leith, Edinburgh

Not a pub in the traditional sense, but rather the Mal Maison hotel bar, it is nonetheless open to non-residents and you can just pop in and have a pint, although whether anyone would actually want to is rather a moot point. Décor wise it’s very contemporary with sanded wooden boards on the floor, a plain whitewashed ceiling with trendy exposed filament light fittings and pale green paintwork on the walls, although they have left one small area of exposed stonework in the corner as well as a stone pillar or two. Further support was provided by cast iron columns, and large windows let in plenty of natural light. Seating was a mixture of padded red banquettes and high chairs, whilst a TV in the corner was running a news channel, although fortunately the volume was off so this was not too intrusive. Predictably there were no real ales on tap, or indeed little in the way of keg options either. Despite six pumps on the bar, three appeared unused and two had mainstream lagers on, leaving just Brew Dog’s Punk IPA as the sole beer option. As a hotel bar it’s perfectly fine, and the cocktail selection sounded appealing, but there really is no reason at all to use it as a pub when there are far better options just a short stroll away.