The Bullfinch in Edinburgh, City of

First night of Lotus Leith was fab… Thai prawns… the juiciest satay chicken… flavourful fluffy bao buns and homemade dumplings and spring rolls 😊 All served with the tastiest asian slaw that I’d happily scoff a bowl of on its own…. Give it a try. Can’t wait to see how the menu develops 😊

Great pub with good choice of Barney's ales plus guest beers. Didn't have any, but food looked very nice

Phenomenal food and great atmosphere!

A nicely refurbished pub with a good beer selection and friendly staff. However, the DJ booth was playing music at an insufferable volume that you couldn't hear yourself think or talk to your friends. It was so at odds with the mood of the bar and as I was getting the tram back from the shore you could still hear it even from the stop. Surprised the neighbours aren't up in arms.

Went there for Taco Thursday. 3 fantastic tacos of your choice for £10, an incredible deal. Will definitely be back next week.

I have had mixed food experiences at The Bullfinch (hence the 4 stars) but the most recent meal I had from Guisados was spectacular. So many fun menu items and lots of veggie options. Recommend the nachos!

Such an awesome venue. The staff can't do enough for you. Ralph is great, Alex is very attentive and welcoming. If you like a variety of beers and mexican food, this is the place for you.

Nice pub with large windows and a beer garden at the back. The atmosphere is great, they have a great craft beer menu and the atmosphere is great. A gem in the center of Leith.

Nice pub with good beer selection 💚

Great pints. Great vibe and dog friendly. This nifty little thing in the bathroom making bird noise was a nice touch too.

Great bar with very f riendly atmosphere and clean toilets! I absolutely love the board games and the dog hall of fame they have hanging on the wall.

I have been to the Bullfinch a couple of times and have always enjoyed myself. I love how it's a little off the main pub area, and it always feels like a 'find'. The food offer was different every time I visited (they host different 'kitchen residents'), but always very tasty. Once I had the best roast parsnips I have ever tasted! More recently I had a vegetarian quesadilla and it was a good choice too. My husband was also happy with the beef taco. Finally, the nachos were absolutely outstanding - probably entirely homemade. The pub interior is pretty cool, with lots of period features (love the counter especially) mixed with more modern touches. The beer is fine but, as a lover of stout beer, I wish there was always at least a classic stout in the choices available. I usually need to settle for a lager - it's ok but not what I would normally go for.

Really tasty food, good sized portions.

The Bullfinch is one of my favourite pubs in Edinburgh and it has a beer garden. Now the Bullfinch is even better as Mexican food popup specialist Guisados has moved into the kitchen. Tip: Always check for specials. I like the Bullfinch for its friendly vibe and great staff. It's one of Edinburgh's pubs with a great range of beers but it's the vibe and food that makes me come back. Importantly, the Bullfinch isn't just indie beer and real ale as there are cocktails and spirits here plus soft drink options. I recommend eating if you can. There's plenty to pair with Guisados' excellent and authentic Mexican food. Thursday is Taco Day and superb value. There's a pub quiz on Wednesday so that's not the day to try and bring a large group without a reservation. Tip: Trying the walk from Leith to Portobello? Good luck and why not reward yourself with a visit to the Bullfinch which is on the Leith end of the coastal trail. [March 2024 update - pub quiz is a local favourite]

Fantastic hostelry, lucky for anyone who lives nearby. Cool, easy going, great beer selection

Best Mexican in Edinburgh (and this is coming from a Mexican). The pub is amazing, lovely staff, it's kid and pet friendly so great for families, amazing beer and the best Mexican food I've had in a while. Very authentic, they make their own corn tortillas and tortilla chips which makes such a difference and they've got al pastor tacos and also mole which are our absolute favourites.

Without doubt the best mexican food I've had in Scotland. The tacos Al pastor was amazing and the menu is way more authentic mexican food than most. Great service and beer too. Highly recommend

Best pub in Edinburgh but sssshh 🤫 don't tell anyone 😜😉

My favourite place for a drink in Leith, legendary staff, great tunes / beats, interesting beer, fulla dogs, lovely cuddly crowd, always good vibes.

This place is a local gem. Has instantly become my favourite local pub. They currently offer Mexican food and it is out of this world! I love their live music nights and the atmosphere is always great!

Pub with a very pleasant atmosphere, once a month there is a Spanish party, and we were lucky to coincide that day and that night there, without planning it, we met Javi from Palencia who played in the group that was entertaining the night and we were able to chat with him, very nice. He advised us to have a good party after the one he and his group were giving, and we were very grateful. A good place to have a quiet drink, with good music and a good price. We will return the day we return to Edinburgh 🤗

Food was excellent and service was very good, a nice cozy wee place 😀

Great night out there, especially the monthly Spanish and Latin parties they host.

Staff incredible and awesome beers! Just wish they sold marshmallows!

Obscure location but excellent bar staff and a good range of beer.

A cosy spot on the corner to enjoy some delicious food, devine cocktails, and listen to nice music 💜

Nice wee place, good to see it busy and glad it's not changed too much

Good good good pub!!! Check out the beer board for starters. The food is good too. Maybe not quite as much choice as the beer board but quality for sure. Definitely on my Leith tour list from now on.

our fave Leith pub. super dog friendly and the staff are ace

Nice Wee Pub with outdoor beer garden. Some tables covered and have heaters. Update 2023 - Went to the pub on a Saturday in June. They were having a barbeque outside and there were people both inside and outside. Great selection of beers and cocktails. Inside the music was a bit high for me and my friends but everyone else in the pub was enjoying it.

Fine if you're a beer drinker, but the wine ain't cheap.

Makes living in the neighborhood absolute hell when events are on like today. Music is blasting and their guests are shouting the street down. Zero regards for people living nearby. I can only imagine what hell the people in the building must be going through.

We shared 4 different starters which were all nice and tasty, barneys beer on draught was excellent .check it out !

The beer, the food, the staff, the atmosphere! Top notch

Lovely makeover of old Leith pub by Barney's beer co..good selection of craft beer and great vibes

Had a good night in here for a mates DJ might. Was amazing. really enjoyed myself. But i did notice they don't take cash. It's only card payments.

Lovely pub, great atmosphere. Still has a dart board. Dog friendly.

Great local pub with a decent beer selection. Lots of events happening and the food is delicious. A much needed pub in a ever growing area of Leith

Great bar. Decent local beer. Tasty scran Cash jackpot pub quiz

Great Sunday roast! Cool pub, decent screens to watch the Six Nations, good beer selection.

Une agreable soiree dans un pub pittoresque ! Accueil tres gentil, grand choix de biere, nourriture gouteuse et tres bon rapport qualité prix 12 £ un.plat principal et 1 pinte de biere au choix. Ambiance quizz tres sympathique ce soir !

Great! Chess club here too on the 2nd and last Sundays of the month.

Nice atmosphere, friendly staff, good selection of beers. Dog friendly too!

Good beer, friendly staff, friendly customers

Top rate roast beef, perfect roasties, Yorkshire puds and veg.. loads of delicious gravy (in a jug, so much better)! Only just had room for cherry affogato 🍒

Really cool bar went for Sunday roast absolutely brilliant Good service well cooked roast with a cherry affogato to finish with had a great pint of Barney’s GF lager couldn’t ask for more

Came here for a banging Sunday brunch and left extremely satisfied. Wide range of beer on draft, tasty cocktails, excellent service. Without saying it lightly, easily the best sticky toffee pudding I’ve tasted. Cozy atmosphere. Would definitely recommend.

Great pint try a number 4 from the pints on the wall 👌

A great wee bar! A TARDIS of a place though. Great tunes, amazing food, top beers and friendly staff. Will be heading back soon.

Really nice evolution from what was the old ‘The Pond’, however, the bar staff seem to lack any sense of urgency and are cold and unwelcoming. It seems to try too hard to be trendy but lacks the endearing attributes of somewhere you could call a ‘local’.

Good food ,small plates of tasty food. It depends on who is making the cocktails 🤔

Good beer, poor negroni, it's up to you.

Uncontrived atmosphere, proper tasty but simple good food. I went with my wife to meet 2 friends. Its one of those beautiful old Edinburgh pubs, with fabulous old carved wood panelling. The lighting is great and every table feels like a quite private corner.

Very nice bar with relaxed ambiance, large selection of craft beers, as well as a range of very tasty and original £5 cocktails. The food is incredible with a very good selection of vegan and vegetarian options, and most dishes are gluten free. Everything was delicious, portions generous, and the prices very fair. The smoked king prawn fruit skewers were the star dish. Staff are very friendly, and the bar has different events on such as "sesh and sketch" and a pub quiz every Wednesday. Will definitely be bring friends here.

Good little beer garden out the back and a nice range of beers on offer. Really like the staff too, it’s a friendly place a little bit away from the other pubs in Leith. They do things like pub quizzes, drawing nights etc during the week.

Great space, great beers, great staff who are happy to recommend things, great food, great time! A brilliant local.

Nice old pub with friendly staff and service.

Nice staff, dog friendly, decent size smoking area/beer garden. Selection of good beers along with some good music... What else one might want? :)

Really good atmosphere, staff were lovely, cracking music, brilliant drinks. The cocktails in particular were fantastic

The Bullfinch is overpriced and lacking any notable character. Almost £5 for the most basic lager, it is a shadow of The Pond, and determined to fulfil every "hipster bar" stereotype. When you can get a better, and cheaper, drink in the centre of town you know something is wrong. The soundtrack is bland Muzak, and the decor lacks any uniqueness. I hope it changes in the near future!

Great spot for brunch on a lazy Sunday. Great food and beers and a pinball machine!!!

Dropped into this traditional pub on a Sunday afternoon and enjoyed a brilliant brunch. The staff was welcoming, taking time to describe the offerings on the menu and the wide selection of craft beers and ales. I opted for the oak-smoked salmon on sourdough bread accompanied by gin-pickled veggies, crispy pancetta, house labneh, and watercress. They do some interesting burgers and sandwiches too among other things. The pub is a great place to relax and chill out. Check out their music and quiz nights. I'll be back for sure.

Nice friendly place and great beers

Nice pub with good selection of beers, the kultur was decent! Had brunch that was also really good. Staff were nice and friendly, all round great experience, would visit again

Relaxed vibe and great brunch - Get the shakshuka! 🤩

Had brunch here the other week. Absolutely delicious. Great hangover cure drinks and lovely staff. Dog friendly too!!

Absolute best brunch in Leith! Really welcoming and happy atmosphere and lovely bar staff. Highly recommend the Lamb Hash or Shakshouka on brunch menu and they shake a brilliant Bloody Mary. Dog and kid friendly too

First time in a long time... Since the name change from the Pond etc. Great selection of beers for every taste. Barney's raspberry sour was a hit, I went with Barney's as well, although some good German offerings too. Niceyin.

My favourite local. Excellent for food too and has a heated outdoor area

Eaten here a few times and I can’t stop thinking about the food! Hidden gem for sure !!!!! Bullfinch has brought back a bar that belongs . You want comfort quality and banter that’s for everyone hit it up

First visit my phone battery was dead so couldn't order through the app, asked the staff if we could order at the bar because of this and was told abruptly 'no' and they walked away. Been five times since then with work colleagues for the wednesday night quiz (which was very good) this week I asked if I could book an additional table for following weeks quiz, but was told 'no, this isn't a staff room'. Considering my work colleagues put at least £60 each in their tills every Wednesday I felt that was incedibly rude. I appreciate sometimes people book tables and don't show up and this not good for their business, however my work colleagues have always filled the tables they have booked and sometimes filled tables where other parties have not shown up.

I attended a festive night out here, ordering via the QR code was confusing as it was linked to a staff members phone number and it was not clear why or how to progress past this step. Further it was not clear that there were table numbers and these were linked to the order, regardless of this staff kept asking who had ordered items they were delivering rather than placing on the assigned table - it was loud so staff were getting frustrated with not getting a response to who had ordered certain items. The staff ended up being incredibly rude to our group which ruined our night. Poorly organised and rude, would not visit again or recommend.

As a regular customer and given that my colleagues and I keep coming back every pub quiz night, I was very disappointed about the disrespect from some members of the staff. Whenever one of us had issues ordering with the QR system (low battery phone, problems scanning) we got told we couldn't order at the counter. In addition when we tried to book an additional table for our group for the next pub quiz we got told THIS ISN'T A STAFF ROOM. Thank you.

Due to the pub's close proximity to our work, we have been coming frequently over the last 6 months for after work drinks despite us all being in agreement that the service is seriously lacking. Unfortunately, there is a feeling that your presence in the pub is an inconvenience to the staff. They lack the helpful, friendly, welcoming approach that is top notch in many other pubs in Leith. Would recommend going elsewhere.

The Pond is dead, long live the Bullfinch! A great wee pub that’s had a lot of the work done that the Pond needed. The beer garden has a good covered area where my friend and I sat and had a few pints. The staff were knowledgeable and enthusiastic and we had some local lagers. Pleasant toilets and good quality furniture and it’s an easy 5 stars for the Bullfinch!

Friendly staff, comfortable surroundings and dog friendly

Η πρώτη παμπ που επισκέφτηκα στην Σκωτία! Πραγματικά το απόλαυσα και θα πήγαινα ξανά και ξανά! Πολύ χαλάει κλίμα με ωραία μουσική με θαμώνες της περιοχής. Μάλιστα υπήρχε και ένα σκυλάκι το οποίο μας έκανε παρέα!

Phone battery dead so couldn't order drinks via QR Code and staff snapped a bit when I tried to order at the bar and pay in cash

Still open and doing well, small plate food menu shows strong promise for the full release. Beer garden is well done, and the staff have been great

Very disappointing experience here on Friday. Despite 4 members of staff behind the bar, we were not seen to or greeted for about 2 minutes (it was not busy & we had a booking). By husband had to call for their attention I’m the end. After this we discovered it was menus by QR code that was a small sticker on the table, which had clearly been rubbed away so wasn’t complete. Only after having to get a member of staff did we eventually get a QR code. As we sat there on our phones looking at the menu, it felt a lot like we shouldn’t have bothered coming out & would have had the same experience sitting at home ordering a takeaway off our phones. Hopefully this is just temporary & they are not planning on keeping this ordering system. Being waited on by a server is an important part of a dining experience. Food was decent but didn’t enjoy it as the whole experience was unenjoyable.

Great vegan/vegetarian food, really innovative with the taste profile and great to have some new taste in “pub plant based food”. The beer garden is amazing and the staff were so nice. A gem.

Lovely place, ditch the QR codes and better menu & welcome required though

What a lovely pub, nicely improved by new owners. Excellent beer selection. Food was excellent with a good selection of Seafood. The pickled vegetables £3, were best I have ever had. Very good value food and the staff were friendly and extremely helpful and gave me the recipe fro the pickled veg and a large carryoot. Will definitely be back.

Great staff. Real ales. I'll be back.

Well worth a visit, lovely food and great selection of beers and ales. Friendly atmosphere and welcoming staff.

Tasty food and great beer selection. Has been renovated beautifully while keeping all the old features.

A brilliant addition to the area! Very welcoming with great food to boot. Being dog and kid friendly is a bonus too.

Really nice local pub! Staff were brilliant!!!

Great pub and beer garden, perfect for dogs and 1L steins of German beer for oktoberfest, couldn't ask for much more

Great drinks and lovely atmosphere!

Interesting range of beers. Excellent staff. Dog friendly

Fantastic over haul of the old pond. Great staff too. My complaint would be even though the food was good it was very pricey for food and drink. Up town prices

Great place. The food is amazing and the barstaff are lovely. My only wish is they had more variety on the beers, but it's still great.

I found the Bullfinch unless you were a beer drinker lacking in choice of other beverages, and what there was was over priced. I will not be rushing back.

Fantastic addition to the Edinburgh pub list, with great beer, nice food and an excellent outdoor seating area.

Great to see The Pond (as was) loved again and busy. Great selection of beers on tap and all served in multiple sizes. Super friendly staff and very tasty food. What more could you want!

Nice bright pub just a few minutes walk from The Shore

Great new place in Leith to rival Nauticus and the Lioness. Good craft beer and wine selection, and good food (although only does small plates at the moment)

Went here last night; sorry to say it was awful. Zero atmosphere, inoffensive muzak, overpriced, indifferent service, intensely uncomfortable seating of the isn't-it-so-cool-we-made-these-from-old-barrels variety, craft beer served about 5 degrees too cold and food that would be fine if they weren't charging twice what it's worth (although the wet, squidgy, translucent, oily mess they called tempura was an affront to deep frying regardless of price). This is the diluted long tail of rampant, thoughtless hipsterisation. Basically perfect for the new Leith crowd. RIP The Pond. The only things that have survived the hipster conversion are the beer flies - there's still plenty of those if that's your thing. EDIT: Interesting to see that the majority of the reviews here are of The Pond not The Bullfinch - figures.

All about the welcome, staff are ace. Bar currently stripped back and basic, but I believe big things are to come. Will be back.