innis & Gunn beer kitchen, 81 lothian road, edinburgh

1 Location

Slap bang in the centre of the city, handy for Princes Street shopping, the Castle and just yards from the Usher Hall.

2 First impressions

It’s one of four bar/diners from brewers Innis & Gunn, the others being Glasgow, Dundee and St Andrews. It’s early Saturday evening, so it’s pretty busy, but the sleek, modern look helps make it look busy, not overcrowded.

3 service

Really impressive. The waiting staff were smiley and helpful, obviously well trained. One of the main features is that beers are recommended to match the dishes, and when we asked for a particular suggestion the waitress volunteered samples of two that she thought would marry up best. First rate.

4 menu

There’s a lunch menu until 5pm and an all day menu until 10pm. Starters include salmon, scallops, and devilled mushrooms. Among the mains are pearl barley malt risotto, lamb rump and beef, chicken and sweet potato and aubergine burgers.

5 taste

The beef burger was massive and really nicely done as was the hotdog. The lemon Eton mess was fabulous and only the white and dark chocolate cheesecake – too solid a chunk of chocolate on top – didn’t work.

6 price

Just under £50 for a couple of mains, two desserts and drinks, so not one to break the bank.

7 ambience

Good music, good atmosphere and not too much of a din.

8 something special

Those beer recommendations. If you can’t really decide, you can get third of a pint measures, so you can always indulge yourself and pick more than one.

9 toilets

Perfectly clean, despite this being a busy pub.

10 verdict

Well-presented pub food from a very slick organisation. 16/20