Nor Loch Bar

Station bar at Edinburgh Waverley railway station, named after the loch which used to be located where the station now sits.
Pretty much a bog-​standard bar; modern with no atmosphere. Also rather overpriced, but that is to be expected. Screen available, and seating available outside in the main booking hall.
Not my sort of place I’m afraid.

Wildly overpriced so if you’re planning on drinking here, I’d kindly suggest that you spend your money at an off licence and drink on the train.
l stopped here with my better looking half for a quick drink and maybe a bit to eat before we began our little day out to North Berwick.
The signboard outside showed 2 offers. One being a sandwich & a drink for £5. The other offer was for a pie & a pint for £4.80. l opted for the pie/​pint combo as l felt like giving myself some extra man points. The plans were quickly scuppered as the cook, who was lacking in any sort of apron/​pinnie told me there was no pies so I opted for the sandwich & drink then to find out that it was for a hot drink or small soft drink. I also overheard the barmaid ask a gent for £8 for 2 bottles of beer which gave me a bit of a fright.
Overall quite misleading in my personal opinion. The sandwich was pretty good. Nice bread, nice ham and cheese. Nothing that can go wrong which is good and the coffee was fairly nice for a train station/​pub coffee.
I do wish that I had seen the toilets before sitting down to my sandwich though, which had a can of Stella that never made it back out again with a questionable puddle that didn’t quite make it to the toilet bowl.
Sorry Nor Loch, you tempted me in with your almost classic looking décor but unfortunately that was all you had.

Not much room and full of people pissed out of their heads at 12pm

It’s a pub in Edinburgh Waverley. It’s fine for what it’s meant to be. It has some TVs with Sky News on usually, and some departure boards so you know exactly how fast you have to down your «last pint» before the train home.
The toilets are clean, mainly because the staff have to unlock them for you from the bar — it’s either a great idea, or horrible if you’re in dire need of them like some folk I saw!
Fine selection of draft lagers and beers, and cheap-​ish by station standards.
Fine. Sums it up perfectly. It’s not great, but not awful either. It’s fine.

The Nor Loch Bar is situated in the Waverley station, it’s not a bad bar, a little on the expensive side but you expect that from the location. When l used to go here years ago you had to ask for the key for the toilet not sure if its still like that now.

In retrospect, I wish we’d just bought a few cans in the shop and drank them on the train.
It was full of wasted folk who I suspect weren’t waiting on trains, was reasonably dingy, and was just generally the kind of place where you drink up quickly because you just want to get away from the clientele.

Overpriced, shabby and a little bit depressed. Good if you are stuck and need a seat, whilst waiting for a hour for your next train, but wouldn’t rush to spend a night here, my wallet nor my dignity couldn’t handle it.
On the upside, the lady serving me last night was entirely pleasant.

Tucked away at the back of the train station, the Nor Loch is a good way to pass some time if you’re a bit too early for a train (or in my case, late!)
It doesn’t really have a personality, but that’s to be expected since its main pull of customers are commuters. As I’ve said of train station bars before, I quite like the anonymity of sitting in a place like this where you’re unlikely to bump into someone you know. You can usuaslly grab a paper and a pint and go undisturbed.
They serve up some pretty standard food and drinks prices are reasonable. It’s decked out like an old man bar so it’s got a cosy façade. There’s not that much behind it but then, there doesn’t need to be. If you’re wanting somewhere to meet a friend before you catch the last train home, this bar is a perfectly nice venue to do so. They also serve up tea and cake, if you’re that way inclined.

Named after a medieval Edinburgh loch that the plague-​ridden residents of yesteryear used as a dump for their buckets of shit, piss and vomit, The Nor’ Loch is surprisingly alright for a station pub.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing good about it, but knowing it was a station pub, I expected it to have all the charm and atmosphere of the stagnant body of filthy sewage water it’s named after. It doesn’t have much more, admittedly, but wasn’t as depressing as I expected it to be.
Usual story, middle of the road beers, a few cheap plonks, and food I wouldn’t give to the dog. Just as you expect.

Considering that the Nor’ Loch caters to commuters who have a long delay for thier train, or are tanking up before getting on a train to somewhere for a stag do — this place isnt bad.
Yes, being in the middle of a train station may seem like it would propose problems for a pub — but actually, this place does very well out of being here. It is always full, being the only pub in the station, it can cater for families (so dont expect it to be a hardcore drinking den), it serves food which isnt bad and its not to shabby looking either.
However, it is on the expensive side and generally always full of stag do’s. But really, this place should be worse, but somehow it isnt.

The Nor Loch Bar wouldn’t be my kind of place as a rule; the name itself pretty much reeks of older men and puggies which don’t really float my boat. However, I had a whole hour to wait on a train back to Motherwell, so I decided to grab a snack and a drink in here whilst waiting.
The pub itself was very busy with commuters, some taking advantage of the big comfy sofas and wide screen televisions which mainly show sport. I waited a while to be served, and ordered a side of nachos for £1.99 and a lager shandy (yes, I know. I am an old man deep down inside) My friends had drinks too and we took a seat outside at the tables in the square.
My lager shandy made with Tennant’s was a bit of a flop to be honest. Way too much lemonade. My friend had a glass of Pinot Grigio too which was horrible, she didn’t even drink it. The nachos came and it was much better than expected, a huge plate filled with chilli tortilla chips and covered in gooey cheese and salsa. They were lovely, and brilliant value at under £2! The whole round which was a soft drink, my shandy and a small wine with the nachos came to £11.80, not too bad at all considering it was in the train station where everything seems to be so expensive.
Overall, the Nor Loch is somewhere to go if you are waiting between commutes, but to be honest, that’s all it needs to be. Pleasant enough.