The Phoenix

When I told my hairdresser that my evening plans included going to the Phoenix bar, she exclaimed that the place is legendary and contains ‘characters’…
Not sure what my expectations were exactly, but I was hoping for some decent food as I had a voucher for burgers and a drink for two people.
I also wanted to visit The Phoenix, as I had not been there before. Located on Broughton Street, it’s fairly central.
It’s clearly a sports bar, with several TV screens around. It is also a traditional pub and they serve cask ales, burgers and hot dogs which is pretty straightforward.
The burger was ok. I wouldn’t say it was the best burger I’ve ever had, but it is certainly very good value. Also where else can you get toasties for £2?!

Not your trendy, hip bar. It hovers between sports and brown pub. We went for a burger and drink deal. Note that the burgers aren’t home made. But they were decent.
Positive: cheap prices for both food and drinks, good enough selection of drinks. Good service
Negative: no real atmosphere, the massive tv’s 4 of ‘m. Quality of the food and condiments.
It is apparently good for footie games and i guess that is its main purpose. No swift return from me.

A boozer for locals. An old mans pub that fits the requirements for the role but actually goes a bit extra to give its patrons a decent experience.
First things first. If your a tourist, for most of you this is not the right place. It’s a pub where most people know each other and has no flashy edges. If it was in Glasgow and on the Subcrawl route it would most definitely be on the south side. I ended up here to watch the football before a wedding. I was with a rangers fans and a hibs fan watching a game between their two teams. This was most definitely a hibs pub as the cheers were deafening for them when the 4 goals were battered into the Rangers net.
What makes this pub go the extra mile. They let my 4 year old nephew in with us. They asked a lost and bewildered looking tourist if she was ok when she entered by accident and was the only female in the bar. Finally the locals turned out to be very friendly. Even wishing us well and to enjoy the wedding as we left.
Bright and roomy. Serving a decent pint of decuhars. If u have fitba match to watch then head along.

A bit of a sticky pub, but it was a welcome respite to sit and have a rest after walking in the pouring rain. Nothing special, and it could use a good scrub down, but it suited purpose on the day.

Going to try and not hark on too much, but I remember when this place was a really great pub. Well good for broughton street in the late 90’s. I had not been back since the refurb, but urrggh was all I thought when we were leaving. All night the same round kept costing a different ammount. Yep we didnt pay the same price all night and we got in at 8pm and left at closing. If we hadnt been in for a function I would have left after one.
Mediocore booze, staff were fine if a little bored looking and décor was okayish. The function room downstairs was just bizarre. The last hour and half we spent upstairs and I really wasnt keen at all. Better options close by.

has some great live music sessions and artists playing. good reading material and opens at 9 in the morning

Broughton Street can be quite an amazing find when you first stumble upon it, but after a few treks up and down it begins to become apparent that very few of the shops, cafes and bars are as good as you first thought. The Phoenix however, bucks this trend by being better than its modest appearance would suggest.
After catching fire a few months back it’s had a refurb with some cheap furniture that would have been modern about 1999. It’s a bit of a dump, but on a street populated mainly by people who think they’re in a Hugh Grant film, it’s actually a breath of fresh air.
Inexpensive booze, football on telly and no pretension. A-​OK.

This is a totally decent little pub. I like the pleasant nature of the staff, and I enjoyed their whisky of the month immensely.
This is quite a good one if you’re going to a George Street but can’t face Tigerlily pre-​club.

This is somewhere where you go when you’ve been drinking solidly for hours and the lemon yellow exterior summons you but you’re not sure why. It’s dingy inside but it’s never going to be your first choice of watering hole.
It’s a bit rough, but that’s Edinburgh standards on Broughton Street so if you’re going to be stabbed with anything, it’s probably going to be an Ugg boot.

Great pub situated on Broughton Street. Best pub on the bus street when it comes to looking for a place to watch the football. They have a huge screen projector tv above the bar and another smaller flat screen tv at the back section. They sell a huge range of lagers (over 6 on tap) and do a reasonably decent food menu. Not proper meals but snacks like heat-​up pizzas, bacon rolls etc. They have a legendary Top of The Tops juke box which (when the footballs not on) is constantly on use. £1 for 6 songs so you can soon get the pub to listen to your favourite music for a while! They open early (9am) so if you work shifts, or in my case, want to watch rugby/​cricket on Sky that starts early, this is a great place to visit. They have a selection of newspapers to borrow and a downstairs bar which can be hired for birthdays /​leaving dos etc.

The first thing you notice is the glare of the light. This bar can be seriously over-​lit at times and it makes you wonder why.
Adjust your eyes though and get into the wrangle-​gangle atmosphere and you and your friends are going to have a good night (I wouldn’t come here on your own)!
The biggest attraction of the pub is the jukebox. Chosen tracks boom around the saloon bar and if you’re the one pumping in the pounds, the place moves to your beat! Drinks prices are ok, there’s plenty of seats and there’s a good mix of people all aiming for a good laugh.
The party pub atmosphere means it’s best enjoyed on a Friday or Saturday night, or when the sport’s on.

what used to be a fairly traditional scottish pub has become, as with most of the street, cool with a capital k.
A good selection of beers though, and some decent malt whiskeys provide for a good evening every time. The food’s better than average too. Worth a pop-​in if you’re in the area and don’t fancy any of the horrible-​looking places by the omni-​centre…

Located in the trendier that thou new town area of Broughton Street, The Phoenix attracts a heady mix of professionals, students and tourists alike. Great for conversation and spotting eye candy over your G & Ts. Tasty barsnacks available throughout the day.

This bar caters for local and those from further afield alike. It’s a good place to meet mates for a few quiet drinks or to watch the big game, be it rugby or football. As expected it is a Scottish pub, so if you are planning to watch an English game, make sure there aren’t any Scottish ones on at the same time otherwise you will be disappointed. It is supposed to have one of the widest range of lagers in town, but I’m not convinced. Anyway worth a visit for a few quiet beers.