Accessible Edinburgh 1 - Full PDF eBook

114 Accessible Edinburgh: A Festival Guide Drinking & Nightlife 115

Old Chain Pier

0131-552 4960; http://oldchainpier.com; 32 Trinity Cres;
11.30am-11pm Sun-Thu, to 1am Fri & Sat; bus 16

The delightful Old Chain Pier enjoys a brilliant location overlook-
ing the sea. The building was once the 19th-century booking of-
fice for steamers crossing the Firth of Forth (the pier from which
it takes its name was washed away in a storm in 1898). The bar
serves real ales, bottled craft beers, cocktails and wines, and the
kitchen serves excellent pub grub. It’s listed as wheelchair-
accessible, but a reviewer has noted the doorways are narrow,
circulation space is limited and the toilet is accessible only via
steps.

Roseleaf

0131-476 5268; http://www.roseleaf.co.uk; 23-24 Sandport Pl; 10am-
1am; buses 16, 22, 35, 36

Cute, quaint and verging on chintzy, the Roseleaf could hardly
be further from the average Leith bar. Decked out in flowered
wallpaper, old furniture and rose-patterned china (cocktails are
served in teapots), the real ales and bottled beers are comple-
mented by a range of speciality teas, coffees and fruit drinks
(including rose lemonade), and well-above-average pub grub
(served from 10am to 10pm). It’s wheelchair-accessible, with an
accessible toilet. It’s a bit of a squeeze, so you’ll need to hone
your wheelchair skills! There’s a single accessible parking spot
outside, with plenty of on-street parking nearby if you have a
Blue Badge.

Scotch Malt Whisky Society
0131-554 3451; http://www.smws.com; buses 22, 35, 36

If you’re serious about spirits, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society
has branches all round the world. Membership of the society
costs from £122 for the first year (£61.50 a year thereafter) and
includes use of members’ rooms in Edinburgh and London.
There are a couple of parking spots outside on a single yel-
low line, but there are lots of buses. Access is pretty good for an
old building, with a lift serving all three floors. Be careful with
the ramp into the main entrance: it’s two separate metal planks,
which might be tricky to negotiate. There is an adequate disabled
toilet on the 2nd floor. All menus are in large-print format.

Sofi’s

0131-555 7019; http://www.bodabar.com/sofis; 65 Henderson St; 2pm-

1am Mon-Fri, noon-1am Sat, 1pm-1am Sun; buses 22, 35, 36

Sofi’s brings a little bit of Swedish sophistication to this former

Leith pub, which feels more like a bohemian cafe with its mis-

matched furniture, candlelit tables, fresh flowers and colourful

art. It’s a real community place too, hosting film screenings,

book clubs, open-mic music nights, and even a knitting club! It’s

wheelchair-accessible, but there is no accessible bathroom.

Teuchters Landing

0131-554 7427; http://www.aroomin.co.uk; 1 Dock Pl; 10.30am-1am;

buses 16, 22, 35, 36

A cosy warren of timber-lined nooks and crannies housed in a

single-storey red-brick building (once a waiting room for ferries

across the Firth of Forth), this real-ale and malt-whisky bar also

has outdoor tables on a floating terrace in the dock. It’s wheel-

chair-accessible, but there are a lot of cobbles to get to the door.

New Town

George St was once the city’s most prestigious business dis-

trict, but most of the offices are now designer boutiques and all

the grand old bank buildings have been turned into stylish bars,

allowing city wags to make lots of lame jokes about liquid assets

and standing orders.

Neighbouring Rose St was once a famous pub crawl, where

generations of students, sailors and rugby fans would try to visit

every pub on the street (around 17 of them) and down a pint in

each one. These days shopping, not boozing, is Rose St’s raison

d’etre, but there are still a few pubs there worth visiting.

Bohemian Broughton, at the eastern end of the New Town, is

the centre of Edinburgh’s gay scene, and has an eclectic mixture

of traditional real-ale pubs, modern pre-club bars and all-out gay

bars.

Café Royal Circle Bar

0131-556 1884; http://www.caferoyaledinburgh.co.uk; 17 West Register

St; 11am-11pm Mon-Wed, to midnight Thu, to 1am Fri-Sat, 12.30-

11pm Sun; Princes St

Perhaps the classic Edinburgh pub, the Cafe Royal’s main claims

to fame are its magnificent oval bar and its Doulton tile portraits