I popped into this pub last week and enjoyed a few quality pints, the beer was in good condition and i liked the pub. Found the lady behind the bar friendly and the other customers friendly enough.As a frequent visitor to Halfway House, not a lot seems to have changed (apart from the staff and the menu). It's obvious Keith from Leith does not visit that often - he would have known that the "flash new coffee machine" was purchased by the previous owners! Panninis / Toasties - not a lot of difference in my humble opinion. Food, on the whole, isn't bad at all, it would have been difficult to continue the "local food from the Borders theme" when not living in the area! Hanging baskets......who cares as long as there's warm welcome inside, good conversation from the locals and last but not least, for the most part, a decent pint! Any downturn in ambience of the pub could be due to the negativity shown by those patrons who aren't willing to move on the from previous ownership! Yes, for anyone they would have been a hard act to follow, having been in the pub for many years, but maybe it's time to move on, stop comparing to the previous ownership, and give the guy a chance.Been in here a few times since the change of ownership. Am told the food is not as good as it used to be but how was it going to be once John & Christine left ?. Anyway don't primarily go there for the food although used to have the occassional toastie.. Ultimately still seems to do a decent pint although am not convinced panninis, a flash new coffee machine and hanging baskets will do much to boost trade.

Was up in Edinburgh last week and popped in to this pub, good selection of ales and i found them all in reasonable condition. Would have to problems coming here again when next in this great city.Always has been one of the best pubs in edinburgh , still is an amazing spot for a pint - and something for ever palatte especially real ales .

But it does get hugely busy at the weekends and can be hard to get served from the small bar , but boy is it worth it .Arrived on a short pre Christmas weekend to find a beer festival on. Around 10 pumps in use. £3 pint. Worth a look for the architecture. Close to Waverly Station so well worth a visit.

Famous for being the haunt of Ian Rankin's detective Rebus (and Rankin himself apparently), this is a backstreet New Town no-frills boozer that is in CAMRA's National Inventory. Nothing spectacular here, just the feel that it hasn't altered in 60 years- a good thing! Two basic, small rooms, a bar room and a higher room with a gas fire, both with very traditional fixtures. The higher room has fitted bench seating and also chairs that look very rustic indeed but are also ver comfortable- all in understated brown! Bleak Rankin book covers are the only pictures in here, and fit in quite well. The bar room is usually busier wih locals and an after-work crowd. It has a library of beer-related books and a large window sill to sit on. Beer range was Deuchars, Trade Winds and Stewart Copper Cascade on my visit- the latter was excellent, possibly my pint of the day. Served with a smile as you'd expect. Very much a proper boozer and one to head for. Went in there last saturday during my weekend in Edinburgh, it's a no frills pub and very popular, it was packed as you would expect for a saturday and the beer i had was nice but not exceptional it was just called number 3. went back on Sunday night and it was completely different, including the bar man there was only 4 people in the entire pub and 2 of them were english and one was a canadian, the only Scot was the barman, the tradewind ale was like nectar went in for one ended up having 3. The pub was packed when we called in during our crawl of GBG pubs, but we managed to find a corner while enjoying the Cairngorm Trade Winds, one of the 3 on offer. Friendly place, but it was difficult to get near the bar to see the beers available.

A legendary edinburgh pub that has lost a bit of its magic over the years .

Beautiful pub with good beer and great whisky selection. And great sticky toffee pudding, too. Dr. Whisky rated it as one of Edinburgh's best. http://drwhisky.blogspot.com/2008/08/best-pubs-in-edinburgh-part-10.htmlOne-roomed traditional boozer in the Tolcross area of the city. It features on CAMRAs National Inventory due to it's ornate bar, etched windows and fine mirrors that line the wall opposite the bar. All of these features are complemented by attractive dark woodwork to give the feel of a proper unspoilt pub. A gas fire resides at the top end of the bar. The tables all have maps of varying scales of Edinburgh and Scotland- a nice touch. Real ale wise, it's not brilliant in terms of choice and can't compete with the nearby Blue Blazer or Cloisters in this respect- just 80/- and Deuchars, which can be bought in most pubs in the city. However, these are kept well and you usually can't go wrong with Deuchars anyway so it's not a major setback as far as I'm concerned. The traditional pub lover should make an effort to get here ,and it makes for a good crawl if combined with the aforementioned pubs.

One of the best bars in edinburgh , tucked away off tollcross .

Fantastic real ales that change regularly , little in the way of bottled beers though but they do have wheat and fruit beers .

Staff are absolutely fine , the only thing that lets the place down is the lack of seating .Modern pub in the Tolcross area of the city, with whitewashed walls and a mixture of traditional and sofa-style seating. It's basically one room that has various alcoves, so not too dull. A large gas fire burns in one corner by the sofas and creates a cosy feel. Interesting spiral staircase down to the toilets! Beer range is very good, with 6 handpumps dispensing microbrewed beers on my visit, from both nearby and further afield. Had a Acorn Lubelski from Barnsley , a hoppy IPA that goes down easier than its 5% strength would suggest- be warned! A variety of traditional board games such as Scrabble and Chess are avaialbe from the bar. I like it here, it's not much architecturally but a great beer range and atmosphere make it one to head to if you're in this area. Excellent pub with wide selection of real ales and friendly staff. 8/10

Fantastic real ale spot , friendly knowledgable staff, punters friendly if leaning to the old man side - good selection of whiskys.

No music , no frills , but does what it says on the till .Excellent, unspoilt bar. Welcomes a wide-ranging clientele with a wide range of real beer. Recommended.This is a great place if you want to escape the hustle and bustle of Edinburgh. There's nothing flashy about the Bow bar, it's just a fine drinking establishment. Up to 8 real ales available. I had an excellent pint of Stewart's 80 shillings on my last visit at £3 a pint. A great place to unwind after a hard day.

Comfortable, fun one room pub with original features. Nice selection of real ales, 3 pumps.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.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.

As others say another one to visit for the interior as well as the beer. Busy pub , food looked good, and the ale in good condition.This is another GBG pub that I had not visited before, and what a suprise when I got inside. In fact I spent as much time wandering round to see the interior as drinking my ale. It is beautiful inside. We enjoyed the Inveralmond Lia Fail here. Other beers were Caledonian Deuchers and 2 from Kelburn brewery. One to visit again.Clearly one of the best interiors around and the beer is normally good. Due to it's fame and popularity it can seem a bit like a tourist attraction at times.

One of Edinburgh's classics which now seems out of place around the chain stores and bars that surround it. Classic sandstoen building with rustic sign and half-frosted windows (see picture). Inside, an excellent gantried mahogany island bar serves 1 large room which is full of brewery mirrors in typical Edinburgh style. Leather seating and traditional chairs, and a large gas fire at the back of the pub create an unspoilt, timeless feel. Real ale is served through traditional Scottish fonts and is predominantly from Scottish microbreweries, had one from the Ayrshire brewery which was spot on. Wit h the exception of the Kenilworth, this is the only place to head to amongst the ordinary bars of Rose Street. Two minutes from Cafe Royal and Guildford makes it easy to get to. Good Pub, good beers but vicious and vindictive Bouncers.
Do not use your mobile within earshot of them. If they do not like your conversation they bar you without any right of appeal. The 5 others in our party all left because I was not allowed back in. I voiced my opinion of them to another person on the phone. The first time I have ever been barred from a pub. I am sorry to say I will not be visiting the pub again.Paid a couple of visits on a recent trip to Edinburgh. This is the best pub on Rose Street that I found (and I tried most although not all in one day !). Really nice interior and Island bar. Welcoming staff and good quality ales. I especially liked the Stewart ESB. Made use of the seats outside on Edinburgh's one hot day of the year. This is a nice pub don't miss it.

in a city packed to the gills with good pubs, this is my favourite, grat beer and very friendly attentive staff, in all my years of going here whilst on holday, i still struggle to find this pub, but its always worth it.I went to this twice last week during my trip to Edinburgh, fantastic small pub, the interior is red and the back room is filled with books, beer was great just the sort of pub you'd want as a localThis was a lovely find on our crawl round the GBG pubs. We have never been here before, but would certainly come again. 7 pumps there, and 6 of them had ales on. Caledonian, Theakston, Stewart, Fyne, Orkney and Atlas. Superb.

Started our visit to Edinburgh to do the GBG pubs here. Three ales available, and we chose the Hobgoblin and Orkney Northern Light both of which were excellent. The other beer available was Caley Deuchers. Deserves it's GBG listing for the beers alone, four handpumps with one cider, one guest and Deuchars (of course) and Hobgoblin as regulars. The darkness of the latter possibly reflects the pubs target market. It's very much a down to earth music pub aimed at students. I could have done without the loud rock music playing on a quiet afternoon but service was good and friendly. I'd go back again if I was in the area but probably wouldn't make a special trip.
The Hoose is a great pub, with proper pub food in decent sized portions. They've normally got a good guest ale and they've always got Hobgoblin on tap. Juke box is fantastic and the staff are pretty good too.

Would agree with previous posters that too much room is given over to eating in this deceptively small pub, leaving very little room for drinkers. It's cosy, flagstoned with a real fire and has a pubby feel due to its decor, but it's hard to see it as a proper boozer a the minute with so much emphasis on attracting tourists (like me) to eat there. Deuchars, 80 Shilling and Theakstons Old Peculiar on pump, but not cheap. Very much a mixed bag. All in all I do like the place and with a little more proportion with both priorities and pricing I'd be happy to call in again.Smaller than you might think (it was postively claustrophobic on my visit, and it wasn't that busy in there!) Pretty dark too, which makes sense given half of th room is given over to being the 'relaxing eating area'. Perfectly situated too - Royal Mile either way, bridge to Waverley opposite. As such, no real reason not to nip in here for at least a quick St.Andrews AleOK pub, very silly beer prices ie £3.30 a pint of Deuchars IPA -which mean`t i was a long time supping one pint.

This was a really nice edinburgh boozer until like so many it got the customary makeover , the emphasis shifting to food for tourists .

The place has gone downhill without a doubt , and the staff look like they couldnt care less.good ale, good music - folk, jazz and blues - worht a visit - not sure on the whisky front but certainly a cracking vibe at weekends.I had been told that this was a great place for a single malt (not my usual tipple) so was sorely disappointed to see the shelves on the back bar filled with the usual dodgy looking house wine, it seems Punch has struck again. Still the atmosphere on a late afternoon was relaxing and the staff wre well able to chat with a stranger in town and serve other customers at the same time! Deuchar's IPA and Caledonian 80/- were great and I had no trouble with the bar stools. Will be going back next time I am in town.

caffreys,green king,london pride,grolsch,coors,stella & the usual tennents selection on draftNow called The Nor Loch & had a complete refurb.Nothing special but does the job when waiting for a train.