Cask & Barrel

Average. But decent prices.
I stopped in to escape the rain because I was looking for a place to chill and have a drink. I had heard good things about this pub for a while and happened to come across it when I was randomly strolling through the area. Upon entry, there were mainly older men there –local guys, watching TV and hanging out.
I made eye contact with the bartender and we spoke about the ridiculous selection of ales on tap, and I eventually picked one. She poured it –filling it over the brim –and gave it to me as it was settling. It went from a white foam to a ginger-​ale color in about three minutes. I sat down and took in some TV and enjoyed my citrusy, but warm pint.
The place was pretty traditional looking, with wood everywhere and a no-​frills local vibe going on. The price for the ale wasn’t too bad either –compared with other places nearby. The thing is, what separates this pub from the 10 others nearby? In my view, not much. For that reason, I have to say that I wouldn’t go out of my way to come back –despite the good ale.
There just ins’t enough here for me to come back unless I was already in the area. Even then, I may try elsewhere first before coming back. The staff was nice enough, but the atmosphere and ambiance was very lacking in my view. I’ve been to better pubs in Edinburgh. This place definitely was a local spot, so if you want to try that out, give it a go and see if you like it.

Variable quality of beers on tap, bizarre anti-​ecigarette policy ruined our evening. Could be a great wee pub if they got a better beer range and didn’t tell people harmlessly vaping to go out in the rain for no reason.

Massively over rated bar in my opinion. I had heard great things about this place. I was looking forward to spending some time in a cool old bar with years of history and nostalgia. The beers on tap were going to be varied and awesome. Sadly all of this was far from the truth.
The bar is old, which is fine. But it’s also dated and dull. Vintage has become boring and the overwhelming brown tones were not my thing. The staff were pretty unfriendly and did not seem that interested in recommending any of the beers on tap.
Not sure what the attraction is. It completely lacked atmosphere. Maybe I’m just used to going far better places doing the same type of thing, but with far more edge.

The perfect balance between sticky floors and proper. A real ale house with phenomenal pricing. My Airbnb was right next to this spot, and I found it hard to leave. Orkneys best was a fantastic pint they had on cask while I was there. Fancy traditions pubs that market themselves of tourists fell far short of what cask and barrel effortlessly tried to do. Do yourself a favor and show up here on a weekday around 8 for a few pints of something special.

Cask and Barrel has never let me down. Whether I’ve shown up a few sheets to the wind or stone sober on the fizzy water, I always have a lovely time.
C&B is a decent locals pub, most of whom do NOT want to talk to you, so mind your P’s and Q’s and get out of the way of the telly. Occasionally you’ll find some banter here and when you do it’s definitely decent.
The bar staff are interactive, you get more than a nod from them, I’ve seen them chat to patrons for hours (while still making sure to serve anyone who’s looking). I don’t go for ale but those in the know tell me this place is tops. Also, one of the only places around where I’ve actually seen people order a nip and a half pint.
On a Friday or Saturday don’t expect to get a seat past 8/​9pm, most people have settled for the night.

Rude ill mannered staff, dirty glass. Warm beer. Husband and I disgusted to hear female bar staff swearing behind bar.

Terrific local pub with nice service and great décor. If there were more pubs like this in California I’d certainly be an alcoholic!

Still one of the best pubs in Edinburgh for the range of ales, sensible prices and number of screens, if watching the sport is what you’re after. Busy on matchdays/​nights but outwith those times you’re generally guaranteed a seat. A haven in August as the Festival throng passes it by.

Great ale house. Try the Broughton St Ale, very tasty and cheap!
Spacious and decent for watching rugby on telly.

I’ve been several times, and while I’ve had a few good nights here I’ve often found the bar staff to be less than welcoming.

The beer selection is very good here (and has been good for a while judging by the previous beer clips they use as decoration!)
Friendly place too.

I have to be in the mood for the Cask and Barrel, and when I am, the beer just keeps flowing.
What I think is great about this place is the variety of beers and ales. They have loads of rotating microbrews and it would be great to come and get a bunch of half pints and sample them all. My problem is that I order pints and after about three can no longer enjoy the subtle underlying aromas of different real ales and after about five am no longer aware of what I’m drinking … but that’s just me.
This is a great place to be with about three or four other people. I wouldn’t really bring a big group here and feel a bit odd when it’s just the man and me.
One oddity — this is a total guy boozer. I guess it makes sense, beer and sport, but I find it so strange that whenever I go there I’m usually one of a handful of women. C’mon ladies, embrace the beer!

I think in principle the Cask & Barrel looks ace, with its ultra cool Broughton Street premises, its traditional, old school look, and its extensive and respected selection of lagers and ales. If only I drank lager, or ale.
I’ve always wished I could, and I don’t know how many times I’ve watched a beer or lager or ale being poured, and thought how amazing it looks. Guinness especially, it just looks so creamy and awesome. Then I always end up asking for a taste of someone’s pint, forgetting that my taste buds find it highly dubious.
Off on a tangent, as usual. What I will say is that the Cask & Barrel is a nice, big hostelry for hours of sport watching, with several big screens for your viewing pleasure. Probably a paradise of some kind for people who love nothing more than a night packed cold pints and football matches. As much as I can appreciate this pub’s positive attributes, I can’t deal with more than an hour of sport blaring out of multiple screens, before I get itchy dancing feet that need to move on and find some sharp beats.

A step above your usual «traditional» boozer in Edinburgh, which are almost always rough, smelly or aimed solely at the exploitation of Johnny Foreigner, Cask and Ale is unsurprisingly, all about the ale. It’s also very good at what it does, even if it’s not really all that memorable.
I’m surprised it’s so popular with the female Unilocalers as on the couple of weekday visits I’ve had everyone had a beard and almost everyone was drawing their pension, but glad to see they can bring a mix of punters in.

The one good thing I can say about this place is that they know their ale. The bad thing I can saw about this place is that they don’t really have many customers. I first stumbled upon it with a friend of mine, when we’d decided we should have a wander in New Town and just walk into a bunch of random pubs. I guess that was just a long-​winded way to say we went on an unintentional pub crawl. And we had a pint at each place.
This was our first stop. I mean, it looked quite welcoming from the outside. And it was cold on the outside. So by welcoming I mean it looked warm and cozy and it just had the air of a place that sells good ale. And it did. Yes, I’ve got to the point where I can judge from the exterior whether or not a place serves good ale. That’s how good I am.
But yes, the second time I went there, I was there from about 5 to 9 and apart from me and a friend, no-​one else came in for a drink. I mean, the pub was peppered by its regular old men, but in Edinburgh old men in pubs pretty much equals décor.

The Cask and Barrel is one of the great Edinburgh pubs. It is a traditional pub without the ‘old man pub’ feel about it that so many in Edinburgh seem to possess. It is within easy walking distance of the city centre and it is a great place to go in for a drink on your way to a night out.
The pub prides themselves on their wide range of ales and so they should as they have one of the finest selections in Edinburgh. But the Cask and Barrel it is not just a pub for the guys as they have a good selection of wines behind the bar and they serve a lovely house wine for the ladies. They also sell the standard pub food which is tasty and reasonably priced along with the drinks.
The Cask and Barrel are showing every World Cup match on their big screens which creates an exciting atmosphere. The only downside I find with this pub is that it can become overly crowded when a football match is on and it can be difficult to find a table.

In my view, the great thing about the Cask and Barrel is that it serves unique and high quality drinks at reasonable prices and without the ostentatious atmosphere. Inside it feels like a traditional pub with a fancy, well-​polished wooden bar, comfortable seating and really polite, friendly staff. However, it also succeeds in attaining a contemporary feel with at least five plasma screens showing the latest sporting events.
I was in when they were showing a World Cup qualifying match and the place had a great fun and friendly atmosphere. Further, the pints tasted abnormally fresh and they had a great selection of spirits and speciality cider and beers on offer.
I really enjoyed my experience of Cask and Barrel and I encourage anyone to visit just for the homely atmosphere.

Another great Edinburgh Pub. It’s hard tow alk past this place with its big inviting front window so you can check out the happy pub goers as they down their ales.
It’s much quieter during the day as you’d expect but in the evenings there’s a great atmosphere. Unpretentious and fun.

Great pub in a reasonably traditional sense. They always have guest ales, and offer whisky of the month deals. Good range of quality drinks alaways available… It’s neither glitzy nor glamourous but does everything a good pub should do (apart from food, possibly)… the only downside is that it can be too busy when there is a big football match on…

Great local pub. Ideal for catching up with friends during the week or watching football at the weekend and always seems pretty busy.
Wide selection of ales available & prices are average.