please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
One roomed tenement pub that is very popular. A (nice) battle to get to the bar for friendly service.
Good Beer guide 2019 entry. Oakham Citra spot on.
Would return if in the area.
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Small one bar pub, with friendly and knowledgeable service. Small but nice selection of real ale from Scottish micro breweries (Highland Brewing's excellent Orkney IPA and Raj from Tryst).
Friendly and chatty landlord, some lively locals and students.
Darkish and cosy interior, very nice experience.
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totally shocked by this pub - having been in a couple of times in the past and always had good reviews, I and two friends went in for a beer. I asked for a pivo estivo (cracking pint from kelburn) and upon noticing no sparklers on the angram hand pulls asked for mine to be poured with a sparkler (i believe it gives more life to a golden ale) only to be told by the large bald barman "would you like cake with that" which I took as friendly banter, He then poured my pint without the sparkler. I said "I take it im not getting a sparkler used on my pint then?" to which he made a big show in front of the other customers of looking left to right and went "no we appear to be all out". I then said "well no thanks then i dont want a pint" to be told "is this some sort of joke?". by this point we had a all decided to leave. as we left we were subjected to shouts from the barman along the lines of "well no loss to me" and other things not to be printed. We then crossed to the meadow bar and had a cracking round of flying scotsman from caley (all poured with sparklers on!)
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We called in for a pint (or two) before going to Mother India for a meal. A simple one-bar pub with bright exterior and a boistrous clientele when we visited (why do people shout at each other when they are sitting next to them?) Anyway, beer was good - again mostly Scottish micro-brewers. Worth a visit - it's on a street that runs parallel with Nicholson Street.
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Good beer and good jukebox. Need any more? 8/10
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Small bar, but comfortable and welcoming although not busy when I called. Beer was fine, and Scottish, and the barman went to some trouble to pull me a pint, having to visit the cellar before completing the job. Well worth the walk.
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Nothing special, and the name of the pub is not good (people say where is that again?). Small, and feels cold, but excellent beers.
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Small one room pub with basic furnishings and three ales on offer. Pleasant and welcoming.
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Comfortable, fun one room pub with original features. Nice selection of real ales, 3 pumps.
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This was a well run friendly bar, and it was our first visit during our quest to get round as many GBG pubs as we could. Enjoyed chatting over the bar with the knowledgable landlord, and also enjoyed the 2 ales we had - Stewarts Edinburgh Gold and Kelburn Goldihops.
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I didn't spend much time here but it's definitely a bar that I want to return to. There were three Scottish ales plus a big range of bottles including Duvel, Le Chouffe, De Konnick and Krusovice. It's a small one room bar with stools at the bar, seating around the outside and a stone floor with a large barrel acting as a table in the centre. The reason I didn't stay longer was a group of loud drunken students debating everything from, philosophy to creationism to sexual fetishes to absolute b*llocks. Normally this would entertain me but one of the girls had one of those loud whiney yank accents that can disturb dogs three streets away. It spoiled the experience a bit but I saw enough of the pub to appreciate how good it is and to make me want to return next time I'm in Edinburgh.
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Finally got down to the Dagda after four of my six months in Edinburgh, and after the Oxford it has quickly gone close to the top of my favourites list. Nice pubby atmosphere, so far the beer (Kelburn Misty Law) very good, remains to be seen if the quality is consistent.
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The Dagda Bar fulfils the two main pre-requisites for a good Edinburgh pub - it has a cellarman who know how to keep real ales, and a proper selection of whiskies. The bar staff are all friendly and know about what they sell. There is always a malt of the moment, which is usually relatively unknown, and a selection of three real ales. Usually there is one light ale (e.g. Beyond the Bale, Pentland IPA...), and two stronger darker ales (e.g. Red Cullin, Dark Island...). There is also an array of Belgian beers, Erdinger on tap and a reasonably varied wine list (I'm not qualified to comment on its quality).
The clientelle is a good mix and the atmosphere is always convivial - made possible especially by the friendly bar staff. This is an excellent place to spend your evening if you like traditional Edinburgh pubs with well kept beer and interesting whiskies.
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Proctors has had new owner for a few months now and the name has been changed to "The Dagda Bar". Anyway, the atmosphere used to be a bit strained and locally, but recently it's been rather different and there has been a number of very positive changes. In particular, there's Erdinger on tap and a couple of ales (including Arran Blonde when I was in there), all at surprisingly reasonable prices. If I recall correctly they also have five or six continental bottled beers as well. There's an interesting wine list with about 20 wines on it (again from hazy memory... :)
Anyway, given that it's small place without brushed-aluminium pretentions and with good value drinks, I think it's worth trying, although I suppose only time will tell how the atmosphere and clientele changes.
(Oh, I meant to add that there's music from a jukebox, which isn't too intrusive.)
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