Edinburgh boozer is something of a national treasure
By Jonathan Trew
THE Central Bar sits at the foot of Leith Walk - if it was in the centre of town then it would be one of the best known and loved bars in Edinburgh. Once the waiting room for Leith's long gone train station, it is name-checked in Irvine Welsh's novel Trainspotting and was used as a film location when ex-Skids singer Richard Jobson made Sixteen Years of Alcohol.
But in its own way it was famous long before Begbie first went radge or Jobson wailed about heading Into The Valley.
When it was built, it was one of the most modern-looking bars in the city with a cuttingedge design. It's also fair to say it is one of Edinburgh's earliest style bars.
Admittedly, none of the punters drinking in it in the 1890s would have had a scooby what a style bar was and even now the closest they get to a cocktail is adding a scoosh of ginger to a nip of whisky.
But they would have thought the place looked as smart and as futuristic as the newfangled motor cars they were beginning to hear about.
Over a century later, it still scrubs up well and makes many of the identikit city centre bars look about as exciting as a party political broadcast. It shut down last July and then re-opened in December with a new owner who refurbished the place but kept it true to its roots.
It's the ceiling to floor tiles that grab your eye first as you walk in.
As well as the fancy Victorian swirls and embellished mirrors, there are four painted sporting scenes on the walls.
Unfortunately for two of the panels, blood sports such as hare coursing and shooting have lost their mass appeal since the tiles were stuck on the wall.
But, as the popularity of Tiger Woods and Ellen McArthur show, golf and sailing stories can still pull a crowd.
The other eye-catcher is the ancient horseshoe bar and the carved wooden birds of prey on the gantry which seem to guard the optics bottles. Although the Central Bar would still be recognisable to the ghosts of the men who rode the steam trains in to Leith Station, it's not stuck in a time warp.
There are two big plasma screens mounted high on the wall on either side of the bar so customers won't miss any goals no matter where they are standing in the place.
Under its last owners, the Central Bar had built up a reputation for live music.
Karine Polwart, who recently won three gongs at the Radio Two Folk Awards, has played there with her former band Malinky.
The new owner is keeping that going but with less of an emphasis on folk music. Thursday nights are open mic and there are live bands on the rest of the weekend.
Don't expect anything too leftfield though. You are more likely to hear American Pie than a Radiohead cover and it's odds on that Robbie's Angels will make an appearance at least once over the weekend.
As I said, if the Central Bar was moved uptown it would be mobbed with people demanding it become a national treasure. The only problem with that is the drink prices would head towards city centre levels which means that in some cases they would near enough quadruple. I've been charged £4 for a vodka and tonic uptown.
It's £1.25 in the Central Bar. 'Nuff said
The Central Bar 7-9 Leith Walk Edinburgh Tel: 0131 555 2006 Prices: Pint of Carlsberg £1.59; glass of wine £1.95; bottle of Magners £2.75; alcopops £2.30 Open: Mon-Thu 9am-midnight; Fri/Sat 9am-1am; Sun 12.30pm-midnight Rating: Five stars
