Old Chain Pier

Delicious food, rustic charm and beautiful views! Couldn’t ask for more :) I had the pork burger with caramelised apples, onion rings and smoked cheese, on a decadent brioche bun (it was just as mouth watering as it sounds — oh man). My friend had a steak with peppercorn sauce and chips, but sadly the steak was thin and dry so rather disappointing. The other burgers I saw delivered looked great though, so would recommend just sticking to that side of the menu! Very cosy atmosphere and great as a stop if out for a jaunt along the shoreline. Definitely will be making my way back here in the summer to take in a sunset from the beer garden!

With beautiful sea views from its unique position on the Newhaven waterfront, the Old Chain Pier has a splendid menu and an excellent range of beers. This is actually a score of 3.5 — and it would be 4 if a) the wines by the glass weren’t from slightly odd winemaking places (Romanian Sauvignon Blanc, anyone?) and b) the piped music wasn’t a dreadful muzak cover of pop hits. No-​one wants to hear a slow ballad version of Supergrass’s ‘Alright’.

Great venue, fantastic views, fresh fish, relaxing and friendly atmosphere — I’d go there much more often if I lived closer.

Old Chain Pier, Leith Edinburgh! Started with the Cullin Skink Soup, which is a cream, potatoe and fish ‘chowder’ of sorts and absolutely divine on this cold day in January. Coupled with an amber ale, and bread, I couldn’t be happier. Also, Vicky was helping me and she was soooooo nice and hospitable. Excellent atmosphere and food. Worth the travel or a swing by! I had the Shepard’s Pie as my main– delicious! If I live here it come back, this will be my main spot!

A splendid wee place with lovely views (it hangs out over the beach at Newhaven), and consistent gastro-​pub fare. Very family friendly and they pull a decent pint. The soups, the nachos, the fish and chips and the fish pie are always winners. Perfect after a stroll through Leith or along the Granton breakwater.

I really like this place. It has a great view of the water, and I would totally describe this as a gastro pub. They had a delicious crab appetizer on parmesan crisps, and their soup of the day was a butternut squash with parmesan. I think I died and went to heaven. It was delicious. Much of the rest of my trip was spent dreaming about their butternut squash soup. The staff is also really nice. Recommended.

For many years, The Old Chain Pier has been a favourite of my parents and they always want to pay a visit when they come to stay.
It has to be said that it has massively improved since it reopened in Spring 2012. The paned windows in the main bar area have been removed and replaced with picture windows to give you a less interrupted view of the magnificent view over the Firth of Forth, the water lapping at the base of the building.
The food is better too. I have to say that my falafel and haloumi burger wasn’t very substantial or inspiring, but my parents loved their steak pie (despite saying they could have done with some extra gravy). The desserts were more successful though. My mum loved her banana and hazelnut pancakes, the apple crumble got my day’s seal of approval and my white chocolate and baillies cheesecake mousse was sublime.
The young guy waiting on us was really attentive and very friendly, and coped tremendously considering the place was so packed. The food, in fact, was delivered superhumanly quickly, all the more impressive considering this was a Friday night and every table was in use.
Although we weren’t lucky to see any on the night in question, on previous occasions we’ve been there when there has been live music. The husband and wife folk duo we saw last time were great.
The conservatory and mezz area can be hired out for free. I’d definitely consider using it as a venue for a get-​together.

I was introduced to this place for the first time last month and I have been back three times already. Yes, I love it.
The bar staff, Callum and Lisa (I think) have always been friendly and welcoming.
The location is fab with a breathtaking view over the Firth of Forth. I have sat at the same table each time and it almost feels like you are floating on water. (Or maybe it was just the copious amounts of drink we consumed).
We have always gone on a week day and the place is reasonably busy without being too crowded. You are best to book beforehand if you are wanting to dine on a Friday or the weekends as I am told it is hard to get a table in the evenings.
The fish and chips was recommended to me on my first visit and I have had it thrice now. It is probably the best fish and chips I have had in a while. Thin and crispy batter, delicious, fresh fish. Yum! I also tried the spicy chicken nachos on my last visit which one of my pals ordered and it was very tasty. I didn’t taste the Vegetarian risotto with goats cheese that my other pal ordered but she said was delicious. The portion size however, was tiny.
For dessert, we ordered the Banana and Hazelnut pancakes to share which was plate lickingly scrumptious.
They have a great selection of ales that I am keen to try. The wine list is not exhaustive but satisfactory and reasonably priced.
I am not too eager to try other things on the menu after reading the not so favourable reviews of the fare on here.
Then again, with Fish and Chips that good, I doubt if anything else on the menu will tempt me enough to cheat on my new found love.

The Old Chain Pier is, in almost every respect, a really nice pub. Nice atmosphere, nicely kept beer, great location right on the Forth. It also hosts regular live music (and what I’ve heard has been good) and comedy (untested, as yet) all of which is manna from heaven in Newhaven.
The inside’s really tasteful, avoiding the predictable nauticalia in favour of a clean, warm modern feel. Sitting at the large Forth-​facing windows, looking out toward Fife is really relaxing, particularly in the bright, airy conservatory. The friendly staff seem quite happy for you to sit nursing a coffee for as long as you like too, which is good.
So far, so four-​star. The Old Chain Pier only loses out because it makes such a feature of its food, which is less than stellar. The bone dry, under-​seasoned venison burger, and ‘roast vegetable and haloumi cassoulet’ (consisting of under-​cooked red pepper and flageolet beans swimming in a garlicky tomato sauce) were both serious disappointments. Most other diners were eating the fish and chips, which looked a lot better and led me to suspect that’s really what the place is about. Next time, maybe.

Tried it for the first time this afternoon. Really impressed!
Think it’s been open about a year now since a refurbishment and I really liked it. I didn’t catch the name of the bartender/​waitress but she was brilliant at her job. Made our party of three very welcome indeed. Very friendly and naturally upbeat without overdoing things. Luckily we grabbed a window seat and the view was incredible even on a misty overcast day.
Menu choices where not massively extensive however I like that to be honest, Usually means the food is better quality with regular turnaround.
I went straight for the main course which I know aint too good for a thorough review but hey. I ordered the Haddock & Chips. Absolutely delicious! Nicely served on a wooden platter with the Fish & Chips served in a wire frying basket. Also had a salad on the side with a nice dressing and also minted peas. Batter was perfectly cooked and inside nice meaty flaky fish fresh as it comes.
The rest of my party had Fish Pie and also a Clam Chowder both of which where very well received.
p.s Thanks for keeping hold of my mobile phone for me that I accidentally left on the table! Doh, Your’re a star ;o)

Recently completely refurbished, and under new management. The food is pretty good, and the view is amazing.

It’s odd, but since this place reopened it’s become a mirror image of its former self. Before its refrubishment, the pub was old fashioned, with old multi paned windows that always let a draft in, and the kind of carpet you only seem to find in pubs. Since it’s been refurbished, the interiors are much more clean and modern.
The old windows have been replaced with massive double glazed ones, that give you complete access to their stunning view over the Firth of Forth.
However, the improvements in the décor have not carried over to the food. Which is why I say it is a mirror image, because although the old place used to look a bit shabby, the food was brilliant.
I went there today, for Sunday lunch well I thought it would be Sunday lunch. Intead we were greeted by a menu which only had about five choices of main course, none of which particularly stood out to me. Gone is the Cajun chicken I had enjoyed at the pub so many times before, gone also are the Newhaven burgers and seafood chowder. Instead I chose the sirloin steak, with peppercorn sauce, chips and onion rings for £10.95.
To be honest, it tasted like it was worth half that. The steak was well cooked, but the meat was of poor quality Sainsbury’s could do better. The sauce was nice, but the onion rings were tasteless and oily. The chips were soggy, which was strange because we ordered before 13:00 when they start serving food, and ours was one of the first orders. Surely our food should have been cooked fresh?
And it may seem like a minor point, but the person I was at the pub with asked for no veg, and nothing green on their plate. The waitress wrote this down, and then brought my friend’s fish and chips with a salad garnish.
So all in all, I wouldn’t recommend this pub to a friend. They’ve had enough time to iron out teething problems since they reopened, so it can’t be put down to that.

Odd to find this place unlisted on here but then as it had been closed for a good while (despite it apparently being somewhere you can’t go wrong with by Bite magazine) a previous listing may have been culled. Either way it has reopened under new management and with a bit of a facelift so it starts with a clean slate. The redecoration has been well done & manages to maximise the views across The Forth to Fife. The same positive note, however, cannot be struck for the service in the bar. In mitigation I think I wandered in on possibly the first night of opening but none of the staff seemed to know whether they were serving at the bar, waiting on tables, stocking the bar, taking dinner bill payments from customers or what. Consequently the bar area became a bottle-​neck, diners were heard to be complaining about a number of issues and getting a single pint took about ten minutes. The menu though looks inviting so I’ll happily revisit in the Summer and see if things have calmed down. Having now revisited for the purpose of having dinner I can safely say that things in terms of service have improved & our waitress last night was very efficient. My companion & I both ordered steak from the (probably necessarily) limited evening menu and we both felt that the serving was slightly overpriced for the size but had no complaints about the cooking itself. The brioche bread & butter pudding was of ample size & moreish, if not exactly a summer dessert. Some work still to be done then but for the time being things seem to be adequate.

Not the best place in Edinburgh and not the worst either.
Situated right on the waterfront, this place is already winning when you take a look at the view. There’s nothing more relaxing than watching the water bump along whilst you’re sat comfy and warm.
If you can get through the view and onto the food then you might be a little bit disappointed. I had the salmon and it was just ok, I suppose the thought of having fish whilst looking at the sea was a bit of a draw.
It was busy when we were in so I don’t know if that could have maybe been against the kitchen.
I’d definitely go back again for the view, but the food would definitely need improving.

It makes me so happy to sit and look out over the water because it’s built that you can see nothing else apart from sea. The whole thing’s very quaint and the view is something I’d go for alone. However, if there was no window seats available I’d probably walk straight back out again.
I didn’t mind the food at all but my boyfriend, who granted likes a whinge, was rather upset with the whole thing — he reckoned it was soulless and dry. But I’m a believer that the same average pub-​food fish and chips can be greatly altered by where you eat it, your mind plays tricks on you like that. So perhaps with a lick of paint and some more nautical decoration instead of acres of chipped, dark wood it would have got it’s 5 stars.