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The Booking Office (JD Wetherspoon), Edinburgh
Edinburgh
EH1 1BQ
Pub Type
J D WetherspoonReviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Old Boots left this review about The Booking Office (JD Wetherspoon)
A mid-sized spoons at the top of the ramp leading down from Waverley Bridge into the station. It’s well described before so I won’t bother. On a Saturday lunchtime visit it was rammed and the bloody idiots were queuing in a line, FFS it’s a pub not a post office.
On 28th January 2024
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3269 recommendations about 2978 pubs]
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Booking Office (JD Wetherspoon)
The entrance area through to the back bar was stuffed with high tables and chairs, which didn't make any sense. All the seats were occupied with customers having a bite to eat, and more customers trying to get past either entering or exiting the place. Some great B&W photos along the right hand side wall of the Forth Railway Bridge under construction. Ten ales and two ciders on our visit, six of which were guest ales. Great Newsome Rothingham Best, Belhaven 80 Shilling, Orkney Dark Island, Corncrake and Wave Breaker, as well as Evan Evans Pale Ale.
On 13th July 2023
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Danny O'Revey left this review about The Booking Office (JD Wetherspoon)
Nice use of the building but suffers a little from being a station waiting room - lots of people coming and going and lots of luggage. Nice stop off though
On 2nd May 2023
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Booking Office (JD Wetherspoon)
I assume this victorian building was originally related to Waverley station which is just down a gentle slope to platform level ,so it's always going to be popular with arrivals and departures.Quite a modest sized interior with the bar running down the far wall,a high table seating area opposite then wings with more dining type tables.There are two exterior area for any good weather. A total of 12 handpumps but the offer on my visit was Doom Bar,GK Abbot,Belhaven 80/-,Stewart Radical Road Reverse,Jack Back,Citra Blonde and Pentland IPA together with Theakstons Old Peculier.
It serves a purpose but is hardly inspiring.
On 19th November 2022
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Booking Office (JD Wetherspoon)
The Booking Office is a Wetherspoons with bar along the rear wall that faces the entrance and high tables in in the centre of the pub. Standard seating is found to the right and to the left where there’s a conservatory. It was packed during a recent afternoon visit during the Fringe, to be expected I suppose. It was annoying to see the queue at the bar snaking around the tables towards the entrance, IT’S A BAR NOT A FECKIN CHECK OUT!!! The service was crap, no pleasantries and my drinks were left at the other end of the bar, took my money and then couldn’t be bothered to bring my drinks. I didn’t see anyone cleaning, tables sticky and piled with empty glasses. We were going to eat, but decided against it.
I counted twelve handpumps in two banks of six. The only non-mainstream ale was Lymestone Brewery’s Ein Stein. Standard keg was also available alongside Blue Moon and a couple I’d not heard of, so we’ll call them craft! My Tennents had over an inch of head, I was told that it was coming out too lively to pour a full pint. Still got charged for one though. Maybe this place is better at quieter times of the year, but I thought it was crap.
On 9th September 2022
- rating: 4
[User has posted 5243 recommendations about 5211 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Booking Office (JD Wetherspoon)
Adjacent to Waverley rail station (which can be easily accessed by a less-than-obvious taxi ramp as you turn left out of the pub), I wasn’t expecting much from this Wetherspoons but was pleasantly surprised. It’s actually not too large inside, a couple of buildings smooshed into one. Décor as described below, though I personally felt it was fairly comfy and upmarket given the inevitably high footfall (being converted in 2016 from a Chinese restaurant). I enjoyed the large mosaic of the North British Railway Company on the floor. Took my seat in the conservatory area and apped-in my order, observing what looked like a rather awkward first date on the table opposite and keeping an eye on the live departure board within the pub. I must have been more squiffy than I appreciated as I forgot to note the beer I ordered (via Untappd I deduced it was Fire Island Buffalo with no comment about condition, so around an NBSS 3) and as a pièce de résistance also managed to get my return ticket out and leave it on the table upon exiting; by the time I realised 10 minutes later I zoomed back in hope rather than expectation with a few minutes before my train. However the staff had found it, passed the word around and put it aside. Now that’s good service. 7.5
On 15th November 2021
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5081 recommendations about 5064 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about The Booking Office (JD Wetherspoon)
One of several Wetherspoon pubs in town, this one is adjacent to the main railway station, and was, as it’s name suggests, the station booking office in a former life. It’s not quite as large as many of the company’s outlets, and was pretty much full to capacity on our recent Tuesday evening visit.
Internally it’s arranged in a T shape, with the bar counter at the back. The central part of the “T” has grey parquet style wood flooring, with patterned carpet off to the sides. Décor wise there is really little of any note, with most of the paintwork being a fawn shade, along with dark wood panelling in places giving a slightly elegant feel perhaps, as well as some small sections of exposed brickwork. Some mirrored shelving off to the right contained a random assortment of objects such as old mining lamps, an old telephone handset and a few old photographs. To the left was an open kitchen whilst there was a snug type room off to one side at the rear with lots of large black and white industrial photographs on the wall, and there was a conservatory extension at the other side.
The menu offered the usual extensive cheap and cheerful selection and I opted for the Teriyaki noodles with the added option of chicken. This arrived alarmingly quickly, and was just about ok I suppose, but that’s all I can really say about it. They hadn’t even taken the trouble to stir the chicken through, it was all just piled up on one side.
Beers on tap were Jack Back, Edinburgh Festival and 80/- from Stewarts, along with Orkney Dark Island, Abbot Ale and Doom Bar. Deuchar’s IPA looked as though it may have been off as the pump clip was turned to the side, whilst two further pumps were definitely off. Ciders meanwhile were Thatcher’s Gold, Strongbow, Strongbow Dark Fruit and Magners.
On 17th September 2019
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1948 recommendations about 1861 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Colin Walker left this review about The Booking Office (JD Wetherspoon)
This former North British Railway Company office and latterly Jimmy Cheung's Chinese Buffet and now opened as a Cask Marque Accredited Wetherspoons in June 2016. Just inside the entrance the floor features a large mosaic of the North British Railway Company. This Wetherspoons features This pub serves 3 regular beers from Caledonian Deuchars IPA, Greene King Abbot & Stewart Edinburgh Gold. I visited during the Edinburgh Fringe festival; the place was so busy I was unable to search out further ales. There is outside seating at both sides of the building. In defence of Wetherspoons, the 2019 CAMRA Good Beer Guide, the UK’s best-selling beer and pub guide and ultimate list of pubs serving tip-top real ale, includes no fewer than 243 Wetherspoon pubs, consistently more than any other pub company. Of those, 83 pubs have been listed in the guide for the last five consecutive years.
On 27th August 2019
- rating: 10
[User has posted 709 recommendations about 704 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Booking Office (JD Wetherspoon)
Guest ales here are £3.10 a pint, which is not particularly cheap by 'spoons standards. But I suppose it's all location, location being on top (literally) of Edinburgh Waverley railway station.
The interior is fairly light as there is a glass roof roughly above the bar counter, and there's also a small outside drinking area at the front, which was highly popular on a warm and sunny day. It was very busy in the general area on the Friday afternoon I visited, perhaps exacerbated by the fact that the Edinburgh Festival was due to kick off the following day.
It's another day, another 'spoons. This one was at least as good as most I've been in.
On 7th August 2019
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Booking Office (JD Wetherspoon)
Decent 'spoons housed in the small former eponymous building at the top of taxi road ramp which is larger inside than you might expect from its previous incarnation as a Chinese restaurant. Busy but not overcrowded on this afternoon revisit when the real ale selection from nine of 12 handpumps included a reasonable selection from the Scottish Real Ale festival list, including the Birds & Bees from William Bros (£3.19).
On 18th February 2018
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]