We flew from the US to Scotland for our 10th anniversary and decided to stay in an area to be close to all the things we wanted to see. I loved The Worlds End movie and crack up every time I watch it. I always told my husband "We are going there" I was excited to go and eat and drink in the Pub and have a good time...BUT my family (all over 21) and I were greated very rudely by someone who acted like he was the owner. We stopped at Starbucks to get a drink because we'd walked about 12 miles and we came in with them (there wasnt any signage indicating that we couldn't) the first thing the man said to us is "Oh great you brought your Starbucks, I don't pay the rubbish bill to clean up your trash!" Thinking that was super rude, I decided to ignore him and my husband said "Maybe he was kidding." We sat there for a good 15 minutes with servers walking by us in a pretty much empty bar. Not one acknowledged us. I finally asked them if we had to go to the bar or if there was table service. The waitress flippantly said "Yes, you have to order at the bar" and walked away. I asked if we could order food and she said no. I spoke to her on the way out and let her know that the staff was super rude to us for veing such a well known bar. She said she had only been back from break for 15 minutes. She was, however, super friendly and chatty and taking care of a large group beside us. We also got to hear her talk to the people in the kitchen about her life happenings. I am a business owner in the states and I'd never allow my staff to treat a guest in this manner. As the owner I'd NEVER say something so rude to a paying customer. I'm appalled. We had an amazing day of sightseeing just to come back to our place and feel nothing but let down and sad (and hungry and thirsty) because one of the main things we were excited about let us down. I have a few Scottish clients back in the states who have helped me plan our trip to make our 10th anniversary special, this trip was my gift to my husband. You put a huge damper on our trip and ruined our whole first evening here. Thanks for that. You can check you cctv footage and verify that what I say is 100% true. We got there a bit before 9 and left a...
Read moreI'm not a pub person, usually, but in another life this establishment was my watering hole whilst waiting for a special someone to emerge from work or something nicer. We are told that evolution is almost mandatory, but I don't agree. 25 years later, and it's just like coming home. Same welcome, same atmosphere, didn't use the toilet so no evidence of inflatable sheep next to a machine selling tartan condoms as there was in 2009! Usual selection of alcoholic offerings, plenty of regional ales to keep me happy. Didn't eat this time, but there's no reason to suspect anything different other than excellence. No "Muzak", plenty of soft furnishing and corners to lurk in. Being at the far end of the 'Royal Mile' has it's advantages. It can get busy around food times, but on a cold winter night out of the tourist season (whenever that is) a welcome place to sit, consume a leisurely pint and read without pressure. Gets my vote too as hasn't adopted the 'treat the customer as a leper' "card only" philosophy, which I find lazy and insulting, and instantly avoidable.
A huge bonus was they are (well behaved) dog friendly, even to the extent of keeping dog treats, though you might like to choose somewhere larger if your canine companion is much bigger than a Border Collie, say.... Having experienced hostility elsewhere on the day of our visit, following a recent decision by Wetherspoons to ban dogs other than service dogs, this place was a very welcome refuge from the terrible weather outside.
I'm sure the proprietors won't mind me mentioning their sad, involuntary claim to infamy. Long ago in another time, though recent developments in forensic technology brought closure. I'll leave it to you, dear reader, to do your own...
Read moreMy sister and I went to The World's End pub for dinner three of our four nights in Edinburgh. The food and atmosphere was that good. We had the same waiter two of the nights. I wish I could remember his name. He has a mustache and a tattoo of Cincinnati on his arm. He was a character! He was personable and made you feel like you were the only table he had. He made great recommendations and took care of us. Two of the nights I had a diet coke and the soup of the day which was fish chowder. So warm and yummy. The soup came with two pieces of bread. My sister got the bangers and mash two of the nights. What can I say? We liked what we ordered! I stole many bites of her meal. The third night, we had a different waiter but he was just as friendly and personable; an Irish chap. We changed it up and both had the haggis, neeps, and tattie pie with a whisky sauce and steamed veg. The portions were huge and it was delicious! My sister tried the local cider and a local gin & tonic which she said were both very good. There are restrooms. There is also a separate dining room for people eating in. You can still order drinks from the bar and if you want to go over to the bar area after finishing dinner, you can. And this place is historic! Part of the wall used to be the outer city wall, at the very edge of Edinburgh at that time. Hence the name, World's End. Make sure and stop in for...
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