St Vincent

No pool table here nowadays (that could well have been the case for quite some time) but essentially unchanged from when I was a more frequent visitor other than that.
Only stopped in for a coffee yesterday (had green tea for a £ as the coffee had run out) but the current menu looks good so will need to go back and try the food.

I wondered if I’d feel guilty whilst drinking cask ales at a traditional Scottish pub, right outside of a church.
Nope. It was brilliant.
This place is grand… and by grand, I mean chill and comfy.
Great for crews to relax and have philosophical debates and enjoy some beer.
Love it.

The Vinny, as the locals call it, is a small, traditional drinking pub. If you want cool décor and funky music, don’t come here! But if you want a quiet pint served by friendly bar staff (once you get to know them!) then this is your place. They have a couple of TV screens and show all the main sporting events. As for food, they offer a range of burgers which are alright without being great. And the bar is stocked with the usual range of beers, wines, whiskies and other spirits. But to really enjoy The Vinny, get yourself a seat at the bar and share a drink with the locals!

Vincents is the sort of place that makes me go weak at the knees. It’s tucked away, it’s small, it’s cosy, it serves alcohol. After a particularly depressing day at work, I was treated to an impromptu gathering of lovely people at St. Vincent, and immediately felt better. So that’s another to add to the list — healing properties for the soul. I’d dread to think what it was like on a busy night, but on this particular Friday evening, it was just perfect.

I love the cosy, hidden away feel of St Vincent bar. I really do feel like it’s been hidden away from me for some reason, and the only reason I learned of its merits was because my brother was participating in a Poker tournament here one evening, and so I came along to basically peek over his shoulder and embarrass him and put him off the game by asking stupid questions.
While I was there though, I thought, what the heck, I’ll have myself a cheeky half pint (it was a Sunday, so I was winding down from the weekend) and take in the atmosphere. It was one of the pretty few and far between bars in Edinburgh where I felt completely comfortable and part of the banter within five minutes of being in the place.
St Vincent is frequented by a lot of regulars, but not the kind of regulars that put their pint glasses down and fix you with a steely stare in silence as you creak the pub door open, and then through which you inevitably awkwardly feel like you should creep back out of again. All in all, this is relaxed and welcoming bar to attend of an evening, and if poker is your forte, you can play your heart out on a Sunday evening.

It’s a good place to have a friendly drink, much more interested in being a pub than a bar. So expect beer, ales and bar snacks rather than somewhere trendy. It’s a good local and has a lot of regulars but not too intimidating. Good for watching sport too.