This venue has shelves of vinyl records, neon lights, a 1970s pub carpet, soft toys, bunting on the ceiling and every nook stuffed with pot plants, standard lamps and more. It would be easy to write it off as just another wacky student bar – the University of Edinburgh’s Bristo Square buildings are directly opposite – but the vegetarian soul food menu, eclectic events calendar and fun cocktail list make it a far more attractive proposition.
That cocktail menu in particular makes for happy browsing, starting with shots at £3.50 then going via five-quid classics and more complicated cocktails at the £7.50 level until the pricing tops out with teapots to share for up to £15. A quick shot might be the Pickle Back (Evan Williams Extra Aged bourbon with a pickle juice rinse); for a fiver you can get a startling Buckfast Daiquiri if you dare (Havana Club 3 year old, Buckfast, lime juice and sugar syrup); a Lucha Libre will set you back £8 but it’s concocted with organic Montelobos mezcal, El Jimador Reposado tequila, habanero syrup, lime and coriander. And if there’s one cocktail to drink from a teapot it’s the High Tea: Portobello Road gin, peach liqueur, tea syrup, lemon, Angostura bitters and peach bitters.