Salt Horse Beer Shop, Bar & Burgers — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

[EDITED: response below, for any who care!]

I wasn't just walking by; I was excited to see there was a highly regarded bar serving local craft beers, and I sought out this place. I came and stood at the board for a moment deciding on a beer. When I decided, the barman told me to wait while he said served a full table first. I just wanted one beer, but OK, there's only the one of him.

So he served the table. Then he left. I don't know where.

I waited until I felt tired of feeling disrespected and sober, then I left. I'm sure he came back eventually. He probably didn't notice I'd gone.

It's great to see so many other people have had positive experiences here. I wanted to be one of them.

Maybe it was my accent.

[RESPONSE: Hi Robert, I'm not experienced like you in the bar trade, but I'm confident from seeing you serve two whole tables of other people first that you could have poured a single beer and charged me in thirty seconds flat, before leaving without explanation to perform a much more involved task like changing a keg.

I wrote a review because this made it clear to me that would be the only way you would care that I had a negative experience.

I never imagined "racism" would have come into it. I suggested the accent because I've noticed an attitude that many American tourists would be a bit more tolerable if someone would put them in their place from time to time (an attitude I hate to admit that on the whole, I find fairly defensible). I found it preferable to imagine it might be that than that I, individually, was for some reason a person who simply didn't deserve a beer.

On reading your response, I initially thought, "Well, fair enough. Certainly worse experiences are possible, and the message was sent. Just delete the review and move on."

But I keep coming back to the phrase "your inability to wait," which feels like the key to the whole thing, and lends your response a tenor something like "You had a better time than you think you did, and if you didn't, that's your own fault." (Certainly an innovative approach to requesting a better evaluation.)

The exchange actually illustrates the difference in our viewpoints better than I could...

This review is based on Salt Horse's New Year's celebration so isn't indicative of a general experience.

But it is a fierce test of staff, the kitchen and their skill.

And I'm impressed.

The Hogmanay deal gave us one food token and six drinks for £59. Everyone in the bar had that deal, it was busy and so you can imagine how rushed the staff would have to be to keep up.

Rushed? Perhaps, but as a customer I was unaware of any wait. Staff checked the table often, were friendly, gave drink advice, banter and then came back with the drinks just as swiftly.

I went for the burger and cheese. It vanished down my throat in a few mouthfuls. I could have (but perhaps should not have) had two.

Based on this stern test - one carried out during a socially distant COVID Hogmanay - the Salt Horse staff are bloomin' amazing.

I also want to talk about the drinks. Until my visit to Salt Horse I was scornful of schooners and would have been outraged at the idea of a "third". I had both, and enjoyed it, the experience all the better for them.

This Hogmanay was far from normal but thanks to the Salt Horse and their curation of drinks, it was a good one.

I'll definitely be back.

There's a shaded beer garden down the stairs and out the back. Great if you're in the centre of town, don't mind the stairs and must have a beer garden. The alternatives nearby aren't great, not even good.

However, if you want a beer garden, don't pick a venue in the centre of town. Head to Leith, Portobello or anywhere on the edge.

Tip: There are toilets here, as clean as tiles allow but they're down stairs. If you have mobility problems, they're not ideal. If you have a drunk friend, watch out for them.

Second Tip: They sell cola but not Chinese Winter Olympics sponsoring Coke-a-cola....

Really liked this place. It's quite small so it's your luck whether you get a seat or not! They have around 10 tables, plus an outdoor garden area which I didn't inspect in December. It's small and cosy with a lovely atmosphere. If you're a beer fan then this is definitely the place for you. Myself and my other half went here and it took him about 10 minutes to pick a beer. They hve pages and pages filled with beers from all over. I had cava, it was lovely; if you're like me and a non beer drinker. My bf prefer german beers so he had a couple of those. Prices are reasonable in my opinion for what they provide and definitely not over priced. We also ordered food. Again, if you love burgers, this is the place for you. Staff are friendly and helpful. Food was great. Didn't feel ripped off at all, like I do most places in Edinburgh so will be adding this one to our list for our next visit. Should also add, they have a shop next door to the bar, filled with their extensive range. We didn't go in but again, if you're a fan of craft beers and ales etc. Definitely pay this place a visit! And if you're not, like me, you'll...