Fountainbridge. Meanwhile. across
town. Broughton Street remains an old faithful among lidinburgh
drinkers. Home to a handful of very good bars which are busy during
the day and at night. its highlights include the endearingly rough and ready Phoenix. the subterranean bar-cum-restaurant the Basement.
and the Street. at the junction of
Picardy Place. Located right in the
centre of Edinburgh‘s traditional
gay area. the bustling Street — while not billing itself as such — enjoys a
large following among the more :
mainstream gay crowd.
BAR SPECIAL
Tigerlily (left) has led the new style bar revolution in Edinburgh, but Dragonfly (below) and Le Monde (bottom) are among the other hits
Traditional pubs have been a long- established strength in a city that takes pride in its time-honoured institutions. The best of them mix character with an easy conviviality. Young Street‘s bare—essentials ()xford Bar is a friendly. welcoming pub made famous by its association with Ian Rankin's Rebus novels. but other equally timeless stops include St Mary‘s Street’s Waverley and James Court's Jolly Judge. both just off the Royal Mile.
For addresses see listings starting on page 97.
Bar world babies
New in 2006
It’s been a fairly fertile year for new bars Opening in both Glasgow and Edinburgh. In the West. successful launches for Chinaski (see Outdoors) and Rio Caté (see Hangouts) as well as the Left Bank and Big Slope (see Good Food) have been complemented with a change in direction the Princes SQUare shopping centre. Hemingway’s (48 Buchanan Street. 0141 221 7800) has replaced Salty Dog but stuck to the formula of upmarket cocktails and seafood.
And Stefan King's G1 Group is rarely not opening something new. Among the highlights in 2006 were Mine (158-166 Bath Street. 0141 331 6220). a stylish but still comfortable bar next to the restaurant Catch 22. and Capitol (468 Sauchiehall Street. 0141 331 1040). which offers a live music venue in the basement and two karaoke rooms upstairs in the restored Beresford in Charing Cross.
The G1 Group has also busted a move on Edinburgh with Morningside Glory on the Southside. and as this is being written the firm is moving quickly to open the Granary where the Lighthouse once traded at the corner of the Shore and Bernard streets in Leith.
Elsewhere in the capital. the emphasis has been on stylish ventures. focused in the New Town precincts. That includes not only Tigerlily and Amicus Apple (see entries in Style Bars) but also another pair of swish bars on George Street. Tempus is in the rather traditional George Hotel (19-21 George Street. 0131 240 7197) but it is kept fairly distinct with its own entrance and a more modern swagger given ornate mirrors and chandeliers. Nearby. Le Monde‘s (16 George Street, 0131 270 3900) version of the ‘world‘ samples from Milan, Paris and Venice: opulent and fun. if a tad OTT. At the other end of New Town. the Hudson Hotel (9-11 Hope Street, 0131 247 7000) is the Festival lnns' entry in the local beauty pageant of bling bars.
Away from the centre. but hoping to make its own impact, embark (2 Fountainbridge Square. 0131 222 4898) is a sharp split level bar and restaurant facing the Union Canal in the Edinburgh Quay development. If you like sports or some straightforward American pool, check out the recently launched 8 Ball Sports Bar (see Big Screen) in Leith. (Barry Shelby)
lit) Nov l~1 DOC 9006 THE LIST 99