167 Canongate

We still weren't quite on Scotland time, so sleeping in a bit, being tourists and taking awhile to get hungry caused us to not be up for lunch until almost 3pm.  We just barely made it in the door with the kitchen still open but after agreeing we could still eat we weren't made to feel unwelcome as the only diners at that time.

Although still in the tourist section, we weren't in the jam packed souvenir trinket shop section of the Royal Mile.  This is a really old building - the menu says 1664 and the clock out front has 1884 on it.  It's on a couple of levels, smallish bar at the front with a few tables and then the restaurant section in the back. Relatively new furniture and furnishings, but in a style keeping with the old pub.  No doubt you're in a building made of big stone blocks.

We thought we'd just sit in the front but they 'encouraged' us to sit in the back saying it's easier - we boggled but whatever.  Actually, it became clearer when our food arrived.  Apparently the kitchen is in the basement (or lower?) and the food comes up in a wee little elevator which is right at the back of the restaurant section.  I guess walking from the elevator, down a half dozen steps and into the bar is hard work...

Our Server may have had enough of tourists already for the day so she wasn't initially very talkative but she opened up a little as we asked questions.  I jokingly asked if the chips were the best in Scotland and she said yes, but later came back and said maybe not in Scotland, but probably in Edinburgh.  They were pretty good.

Individually packaged condiments on the table included something called 'Salad Cream'.  It's in the mayonnaise family I guess, but definitely not mayonnaise.  Although we had no salad we cracked it open to sample - no need to open another...

Our meal went a little something like this:

• McEwan's Lager
• Pie & Chips - beef with an awesome beer gravy.
• Fish & Chips - a generous piece of haddock and lots of peas.

A 'Pub Food' meal was just what we were after so the Tollbooth Tavern was the perfect place to stop for our late lunch.

Stay JOLLY!
D

197 High street

Our aim while in Scotland was to experience as much of the local food culture as we could and keep away from fast food (and especially those of American design) as much as possible.  Looking for our first meal on the Royal Mile - a very heavily tourist focused area - it would have been easy to stray.  The Albanach helped us achieve that goal, but it also wasn't really the Scottish Pub type place we were aiming for in that it was quiet modern inside while trying to grab the older type feel - our opinion only.

It wasn't all that busy and we easily found a small table in the main part of the bar.  It seemed there was more of a restaurant type area in the back but we didn't venture down that far.  Quite light and the music all came straight out of the 80s.  It was a fairly quiet lunch crowd, but maybe the place 'hops' a bit more for dinner?  The bar provided a range of local Lagers and Ales, some imported Lagers (that we would not touch while on this vacation!) and a good bunch of Single Malts.

Being not quite on Scotland time we weren't looking for a big meal and the menu had enough options to help us out on that front and to see us through to our dinner.  Order at the bar, struggle just a little bit with accents, take a minute to figure out which beers are local and the food appeared quite quickly.

Our meal went something along the lines of:

• Tennent's Lager - a gentle way to start trying the local brews
• Vegetable Soup - thick and rich and tasty
• Ham & Cheese Sandwich - off the bone, with a really yummy Ale Chutney and a Cheddar from Mull

We really didn't want to be tourists but we were hungry, the Albanach was open and serving lunch with options that suited our need and ultimately met our needs wonderfully.

Stay JOLLY!
D