The Bailie Bar — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

Of all the pubs in Edinburgh I consistently come away from the Bailey having had a strange time. I think it's something to do with the crowd that go there.

The interior of the pub is impressive, warm and with a nice central bar. The staff are, on the whole, friendly and attentive too.

The older guys that sit at the bar seem sound enough and don't get raging when it's packed out and you have to order over them. Though the further you get from the centre of the pub the stranger it gets. To name a couple of odd interactions:

I'm sitting having quiet pint with a group of friends, early in the evening, when somebody who doesn't even work there begins to stress out about our age. She looks in her early thirties and is sitting with her boyfriend nearby, audibly calling us children and saying theres no way we are over 18. We're all in our early twenties and rarely get ID'd in pubs or supermarkets. I ask if theres a problem and she just kind of scowls at us?

Another time I'm in to watch the football. The crowd seems predominantly Jambo, which I wasn't expecting, but I've never had any hassle elsewhere so I stay to watch the game. Behind me theres a couple of English guys who have adopted hearts as there Scottish team. The entire game is unbearable. It's like they've never watched a game of football in the company of others in there lifes. They talk as if they are on a hipster football podcast, going on about inverted full backs and the like. An opposition player gets stretchered off and there cheering. Eventually they score the winner and one of the guys screams right in my ear, knowing full well i'm supporting the opposition team, 'Get It Up You!' I turn around and it's some guy with a receding ponytail and glasses grinning ear to ear. Unbelievable behaviour. After the final whistle I get the bus up to the diggers, infamously a hearts pub, to meet some friends. None of that nonsense going on. People there have obviously socialised in the real world and not reddit forums before and therefor know how to be around other human beings who don't support the same football team.

Just a strange,...

This is exactly the kind of place I want when I'm looking for a pub. Old, dark wood (and lots of red paint), gorgeous bar, fireplace, ales on tap. Definitely not in Germany anymore!

As we were unfamiliar with the ales, the waitress kindly brought over some small samples to help us choose. Of course I no longer remember the names of the ones we tried, but they were tasty.

I ordered the eggplant (I mean aubergine) dish. It was a strange hodgepodge of ingredients in a dish with mozzarella melted over it - more like something I would make at home when I'm trying to clean out the fridge rather than a combination of foods chosen to compliment each other. But it got the job done (the job being getting rid of my ravenous hunger). My dining companion was equally satisfied-but-not-impressed with his burger and chips. Either food is not this place's strength, or we ordered the wrong things. No matter, really, as we'll be back anyway for the...

First time in the baillie since I sneaked in with a couple of mates couldn't remember the layout but was meeting a friend who I hadn't seen in 50yrs. There were 4 of us who booked a table in advance and we had a good menu to select from. Table service for both meal and drinks were delivered by staff who were chatty with us knowing one of our group. We ordered and in no time at all we had fish, so fresh it was nice to get in the centre of town. Steak was perfectly cooked, good healthy portion of lasagne. All with "the trimmings ". There were a good flow of customers all afternoon and into the evening, which became the time to head home. A very enjoyable day. And great to catch up over the last half century. Will...