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Back to: West End . Haymarket, Roseburn, Corstorphine . Gorgie,

Tollcross is only now recovering from the blight of the 60's when short sighted planning knocked so much down without replacing it. Up until the early 70's this was a lively hub of shopping and entertainment centred on a wide crossroads with a famous clock.

The Kings Theatre is still here but the Gamp, one of Edinburgh's first 60's dance halls is gone (and so has the whole of Reigo Street). The Cavendish (still going) dates much further back to big band times.

Earl Grey Street's wide boulevard was packed with shops and is only now beginning to recover. Goldbergs built their innovative new store in this area but that has now gone too, along with Jenny's Wardrobe (second hand clothes) and the huge St Cuthberts Co-op complex. The latter has been replaced by the superb Point Hotel with its wide corridors and imaginative interior design.

East Fountainbridge and Fountainbridge, the home of Scottish & Newcastle Brewers (I know they're not called that now), cross Lothian Road. It was from the Co-op dairy and stables that Sean Connery worked as a milkman and later as a doorman in the Palais de Dance (now Bingo). Renowned trade union leader Alex Kitson was his union rep in the Scottish Horse and Motormen's Union. It was in the stables that this site's webmanager helped shoe a famous Shetland pony which used to pull a barrel organ around the city - well, farrier Henry Kinloch shoed it while I watched.

Lothian Road boasts the Filmhouse, the newly refurbished and magnificent Usher Hall, the Traverse Theatre and the Sheraton Hotel with several clubs and pubs. Unfortunately the evocative statue "Soweto" where everyone gathered on the night Nelson Mandela was released has been moved from its prominent position to the south side of Festival Square. The first Mini in Edinburgh (the car not the skirt) went on show here. Has gained a bad reputation over the years for violence outside some venues but CCTV seems to be helping.

The Auld Toll Bar
37-39, Leven St
EH3 9LH
0131 229 1010

Bennets Bar
8, Leven St
EH3 9LG 0131 229 5143
A real gem where three generations of the writer's family have supped. Beer suppliers and owners have changed over the years but still has real ales and plenty whiskies. Most fittings original in this traditional Scottish pub with a formidable gantry, brass taps on the bar for water and a snug. In past days the newspaper seller would operate a self service system beside the coal fire and artists from the Kings Theatre next door would dash in for refuelling at the interval. Still some of that goes on reflected in the 'Green Room' through the back.

Bottoms Up Showbar - Website
93 Lothian Road
EH3 9AM, 0131 229 1599
bottomsupshowbar@hotmail.com
One of the newer (perhaps only) showbars with lap dancing.

The Burke and Hare
Oh dear. One of the pubs in the 'naked triangle' where Bread Street joins West Port. Adults only please. Lap dancing etc.

Burlington Bertie's
11-13, Tarvit St
EH3 9LB

Cloisters
26 Brougham St
EH3 9JH
0131 221 9997

The Ferret & Trouser Leg
21 Lothian Rd
EH1 2DJ
0131 228 3404




Fin MacCools
161, Lothian Rd
EH3 9AA 0131 622 7109
Noisy and lively Irish theme bar. Open feel to it unlike the usual dingy Irish theme.

Flares
9, Hope St
EH2 4EL 0131 226 0901
Unkindly called bell-bottoms by an anonymous friend. Retro disco bar.

Grape
The Capital Building Edinburgh
EH2 2BH 0131 557 4522

hOme st (was Bentleys)
69, Home St
EH3 9JP 0131 229 9516
Recently refurbished, visit pending

The Illicit Still
2, Brougham St
EH3 9JH
0131 229 4604

Kings Arms
45, Home St
EH3 9JP
0131 229 6085

Lauries Bar
105, Lauriston Place
EH3 9JG 0131 622 7125
A local bar with custom from 18 to 80. Revamped in a modern and tasteful style. Live music, friendly and chatty place.

Polwarth Tavern
35 Polwarth Crescent
EH11 1HR
0131 229 6746

Shakespeares
65, Lothian Rd
EH1 2DJ 0131 228 8400
Next to the Traverse, Usher Hall and the Royal Lyceum, it doesn't take a genius to guess where the name came from. Was plainly The Shakespeare before and went through a troubled time seeking an identity. Now a large open pub with two bars round its corner location. Keg beers.

Tipplers
17, Bread St
EH3 9AL 0131 229 5807
A tiny bar with a Mediterranean air. Seems a friendly place with a nice pint of Calders. Offers respite from the brasher pubs in the area.

The Traverse Theatre Bar (downstairs)
Off Lothian Road
A minimalist foyer for the theatre with trendy designed taps and a fair selection of designer bevvy. Can be arty but friendly for all that with a mix of festivalites, luvvies and punters. You can argue for ages as to whether the photograph exhibitions are crap or not. Avoid the cocktail bar upstairs unless you are serious about posing.

Uluru
133, Lothian Rd
EH3 9AD 0131 228 5407
Trendy, imaginatively designed and stylish new bar/café on a site that has seen a succession of re-invented pubs. This time it is boldly different enough to succeed.

Western Bar
157-159 West Port
Tiny bar famous for years for go-go dancers and strippers. Now has lap dancing. On what the locals call the 'pubic triangle' a road junction boasting similar pubs.