The Playfair (JD Wetherspoon), Edinburgh

Official site of The Playfair (JD Wetherspoon) - www.jdwetherspoon.com

Official site of The Playfair (JD Wetherspoon) - www.jdwetherspoon.com

This JDW had more outdoor space than inside, the bar was situated along the back wall and was very up to date in design with a mix of chrome, glass and timber. The beer line up was Stewart Admiral, Skye Brewery Blonde, Belhaven 80 Shilling, Windswept Wolf and Abbot. Shoppers paradise.

Part of the modern Omni Centre,this former Lloyds No. 1 is now branded 'Spoons and sits at one end of the entertasinment complex.It's not huge with a glass walled interior and some exterior tables in the complex walkway.It's all very corporate with a curved bar offering GK Abbott,Belhaven 80/-,Windswept 1806,Stewart Citra Blonde and Frome Gulp on my trip. Why bother when there are 10 rated pubs nearby ? My excuse was breakfast after a heavy session.

Being a modern Lloyds on the edge of an "entertainment complex" I expected this one to be a total disaster. Well, it wasn't a disaster but reasonably OK. It's a smallish glass curved room with the bar on the left as you enter from the main road. It was doing a brisk trade with mainly shoppers on my early Thursday afternoon visit. The bar has just two sets of three hand pumps that had Stewart's Edinburgh Gold and Cross Fire, one available soon, Deuchar's IPA , Kelburn Cart Noir and Peerless Shabam IPA. I went for one of the festival ciders (£3.35). I'd be unlikely to return here but at least it was better than I had expected it to be.

As described a unit in the Playfair centre near the iron giraffes, a single room with rear counter. As it's a Lloyds there are only two three pull sets, one at each end of the counter. The service was excellent when I dropped in for breakfast and the beer OK, same sort of range as the Standing Order but obviously a bit reduced.