The Parlour

Having just moved into the area I’m sampling the local establishments, of which there are many! Having tried the Persevere, the Lioness of Leith, and the Palour so far (all twice), I can confirm that the Parlour is my favourite (with the Persevere in second in case anyone’s interested). It has a nice vibe to it, which feels really genuine, unlike others in the area. The music is good and the bar staff are that good mix of being friendly when you’d like to interact and quiet when you’re not — an underrated skill. The bar is stocked with enough to find something good to drink (I can’t comment on beer, it’s not to my taste), the décor is cosy and there are some interesting locals for good people watching. I’ll continue to go back.

Pleasant pub with decent rock’n’roll playing in the background.
Not sure they had any real ales on tap and it was practically empty despite it being a saturday night but comfy and well appointed aside from that so definitely deserving of a return visit.

Really liked the vibe in here — excellent sofas, nice light, free Sunday papers, very chilled out. The only thing missing was real ale on tap! Perhaps it’s better to come here during the day and try the excellent teas and coffees, and bring my wee dog, after a good run on the Links?
Really like what you’re doing here, so keep up the good work, and please let me know when you have a guest ale on tap :)

This is somewhere that I have passed a countless number of times that has caught my attention, but being on the unassuming little bit of road between the bottom of both Leith Walk and Easter road, did not expect to be any special. Turns out I was completely wrong.
This place is really great, its not massive but even on Friday night we managed to get a seat despite it being quite busy. Decorated with a traditional feel mixed with a somewhat nautical vibe that makes you feel like you are in the shore area.
There are massive comfy sofas at the back (the kind you get lost in) along with a good range of other seating. There is dimmed lighting with candles and fairly light adding to chilled out ambiance. From the signs they have all sorts of live music (i can imagine it being great for acoustic sets), with a dj on the night I was in going what I can only describe a jazz/​hip hop fusion, which sounds odd but worked amazing well as background music and was really enjoyable.
There was a great range of drinks, a great atmosphere, great décor, lots of excellent artwork (much of which was for sale), very friendly staff — making it in to my top 5 of «the best places in drink in Leith» list.

I had a brilliant time in here. The music was loud but not shouty loud. They took song requests and dished out free popcorn whilst singing and dancing to the tunes.
From the name and the décor it looks a little bit more straight laced but that certainly wasn’t the case on Saturday night!

I LOVE The Parlour! Staff are down to earth, friendly and offer free popcorn regularly :) The atmosphere is always cosy and relaxed and there is always a good mix of ages and people. Have been during afternoon as well as in evening and wish I had time to go more often! Added extras which put the icing on the cake for me are their fab selection of board games to choose from and the fact that dogs are welcome! (being a dog owner I may be slightly biased!). Looking forward to it becoming my new local :)

I’ve been a regular at The Parlour since it opened and I have to say I’ve only had happy experiences there (probably enhanced at times by their fab wines followed by fab coffees and homebakes the following day!).
It’s a great addition to an area that really needed somewhere chilled out and friendly to be able to pop into. And now the evenings are getting darker it’s even more difficult to pass by without stopping ‘quickly’ for a drink (or two …) and a chat as it always looks so cosy inside!
It’s a pity that a couple of the other reviewees haven’t had the same first impressions as me and I really hope they give it another go. I’m sure there have been teething problems as with any new business but having got to know some of the staff, I’m sure they’ll be taking these comments on board and trying to improve. I think the guys involved have done a great job in creating a lovely place to go to — I hope others will continue to support this local business and give them a chance to get even better!

Went here the week after it opened & it appeared to be a friendly new addition to the pub scene! They were advertising Bloody Mary’s outside so as I love a good Bloody Mary, that’s what I asked for!
When it finally arrived it was fantastic, with a fresh chilli garnish! Unfortunately the barman was muttering away to my companion that he had been thrown in at the deep end & his partner decided to advertise things and not tell him how to charge! Finally they agreed on a price which seemed about right. My companion opted for a real ale which was a personl fav of his! It was a fairly pleasant experience and we said we would return!
Funnily enough we tried to do just that on Sunday! After a busy day being out and about & finally walking around that area at about 5.50pm we decided to call in. The doors were closed and a hand written sign advertising the fact that they would be closed for staff training until 6pm was taped to the door! We hummed and hawed about waiting till 6pm when a rather disgruntled young lady stormed out of the door cigarette in hand! Our guess was that the staff training was perhaps not going as well as it might so we decided to head for another hostelry where the bar staffs faces wouldn’t turn the beer sour! That said we will try again as it is in our area!

Have to say I don’t agree… Barman was a very pleasant fellow when I was in a few weeks ago. Not grinning ear-​to-​ear, true, but neither did he shower me with customer service fakery– which is always welcome. I remember hearing some great indie and 60s psychdeila tunes on the PA one night. The range of beers on draught is a wee bit narrow for my liking… Probably 3.5 stars is about right, with the half deducted for the small number of beers on tap. This area needs dragging up by the bootstraps– especially in terms of decent boozers, so let’s not knock it before it gets going…