The Standing Order

Really cheap food and drinks, great for occasions for large group of people. In terms of the quality of the food, you pay what you get for! :) busy place, lots of people!

To be honest, I’m starting to think all Wetherspoons are the same. I’m not necessarily saying that’s a bad thing, but like Harry L said, you know what you’re getting when you walk in to one. I quite like that about the chain.
My guy and I were out in Edinburgh, and were seeking some tasty beverages. With about a million people wanting the same thing, we decided to duck in here for a quick pint before we hopped to the next pub.
Just like most of the Wetherspoons I’ve been too, this one was mahoosive, very grand and packed full of all sorts of people. It almost felt like 5pm on a friday even though we were there on a saturday afternoon, as there were loads of people seemingly just out of work in a mixture of different outfits ordering a mixture of different drinks.
We were able to get two drinks pretty cheaply, we enjoyed them over a bit of chat about the day thus far, finished up and made our way to the next pub.
Cheap and chearful, easy peasy. If you’re looking for a cheap drink or an affordable bite to eat even in an expensive city, stop in here– it’s worth the go.

The place seems like it’s always full and that’s understandable because the atmosphere is great, the food is very affordable and comes along with a drink.
Whenever we go out my friend only wants to go here.

The Standing Order is a superior JD Wetherspoon pub housed in in a former bank. It has a huge main hall with an amusing figure of a banker in the left upper corner. There are also three separate rooms which are a little quieter when things are getting busy (which they usually do after 5 p.m. on weekdays and from noon on weekends). Because of its competitive prices (in an expensive city) and huge range of alcoholic drinks it naturally attracts a lot of young people and boozers, and «white trash» in general (And, yes, that’s definitely a thing in the UK!). Thankfully, there are so many options where to sit or stand you can normally avoid getting into trouble. But do expect a lot of sloshed people or binge drinkers, and hen parties, after 8 p.m.
While JDW frequently attracts justified criticism for providing cheap and nasty alcohol (all those rainbow-​colored pitchers — Yeccchhh!) to teenagers, the chain is also a *major* advocate for British real ale, and they usually have a quickly rotating selection of cask ales (or ciders) on tap — especially at The Standing Order, where there are often 10 or more different microbrews on offer! In addition to the customary range of lagers, which is also huge.
Food is streamlined at JDW, the menu is (with very minor variations) the same for all of their pubs. Of course, the ones in England don’t normally offer haggis, neeps and tatties — one of the signature dishes of Scottish cuisine (offered here without whisky sauce, alas!). There are «club» days almost every day, which means that a certain part of the menu is further reduced in price, or that there are additional dishes on offer on those days only. There’s a «Mexican Monday», a «Fish Friday», a Thursday «Curry Club» (particularly good!) and, of course, the traditional «Sunday Roast».
The quality of the food does vary a bit between individual Wetherspoons, but if you like a certain dish at one you will almost certainly like it at any other «Spoon», too. I found the kitchen at The Standing Order to be efficient and the waiters to be friendly and helpful. Even when people complained about the quality they stayed friendly and got the customer a new dish.
The bar staff are also friendlier (and less robotic/​moronic) than at other Spoons.
If you prefer a QUIETER place with the same range of food and drinks, consider THE ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL towards the western end of George Street. It’s also a Spoon. Not nearly as big, and attracting a slightly older (and less trashy) demographic.
See my food photos of what to expect at The Standing Order (or at any other JDW).

El sitio es bastante amplio, con buen ambiente, la comida es barata, y tienes los gin-​tonics por 3 pounds. Creo que es un sitio para pasar cualquier viernes noche con tus amigos.

Good vibes, manager is very nice. The food service was quick. The food is average, nothing too fancy, but I managed to order 3 drinks, a salad and a bowl of fries for under £10… I mainly came here to watch the football live and they even have projector! Decent place

Big place, quieter table in the front room facing the street. Fair price. generous and tasty chips

The Standing Order is a nice place for drinks and food in Edinburgh. It is located right in the city centre, easy to find and reach. It’s a huge place with lots of place to sit. This is good on the one hand as it makes it easier to find a proper place to sit also in the evenings when the pub is usually very crowded. But on the other hand this also makes it less cosy. I still like to go there as you get good quality food for little money. They also often have specials, like curry evenings, and meal deals. The selction of drinks is also very good. The staff is nice and friendly and you don’t have to wait very long to be served.

If you like cask ales about £1 less than anywhere else in Edinburgh this is your spot! I avoid it weekends when it is full up & ready to burst. There is usually 8 – 10 taps of decent UK microbrew… Works for me!

Didn’t try the food here — was standing room only when I showed up to investigate and see what they had to order. Sure do have the best prices on drinks in the area, as far as I could tell. Was waited on fairly quickly as I pushed my way up to the bar.
Very neat place seeing as it used to be a bank and all. I was a bit put off by not being able to secure a seat and having to nurse my drink at the bar, but I suppose that’s to be expected when you have some of the best drink prices in the are.
Get there early to secure a good spot!

Je pense pouvoir dire qu’il s’agit du pub préféré de tous les étudiants. Situé en plein centre-​ville, il est toujours le lieu de rencontre de chacun.
Le décor du pub aide grandement à son succès puisqu’il s’agit d’une ancienne banque. Promenez-​vous dans chaque salle, vous y découvrirez de chouettes bibliothèques bien remplies et l’ancien coffre fort de la banque !
Comme dans tous les pubs de la ville, les tables sont très peu nettoyées et sont donc archi-​collantes… beurk. La nourriture est surgelée donc pas extra mais les prix restent correct.
C’est le meilleur endroit pour y manger un petit déjeuner typique (anglais, écossais et végétarien) copieux, à petit prix !
Ce qui m’a toujours impressionnée là-​bas? Les serveurs qui empilent une montagne de verres sales comme des chefs. Et quand je dis «montagne», je n’exagère pas.
Évitez le pub les jours de matchs si vous n’aimez pas le foot ou le rugby parce qu’il y a deux écrans géants et donc une foule de monde.

This Wetherspoons is housed in an enormous former bank building, made obvious as we took a seat by the giant vault door! What was on the other side of said door? I fear I shall never know, and I’m ever so curious. The building itself is impressive, with lovely architecture and pretty mouldings on the ceiling to draw the eye. I do love a stunning building. ^^
In spite of being pretty massive in square footage, the place was heaving with people traffic — and we were in on a Sunday afternoon! That usually means that a pub is doing something right. Unfortunately, it looks as though whomever put the layout together decided they’d cram as many tables as possible as close together as they possibly could. This wasn’t just in the main area, this was in all the nooks and crannies and wee rooms that adjoin each other. It must be bedlam to be a member of the waiting staff in there, almost a circus act when trying to dodge certain tables to get to another! That’s what it felt like trying to get to a vacant table at any rate. There was also a curious maze of stairs and passages to get to a toilet, which I’m sure after someone’s had one too many pints they might have a bit of trouble making it in time!
Anyway, all the standard Wetherspoons grub was available, and the service was very good indeed (in spite of the staff no doubt somersaulting to get to us). My Highland Burger was very tasty, piled high with haggis and onion rings, and came with a wee gravy boat of whiskey sauce which I split between the burger and my chips. But at the end of the day, it just felt like a Wetherspoons with nothing special to stand it out from the crowd. I could have been in the Counting House in Glasgow for all I knew!
Great stop for cheap and easy pub grub and reasonably priced boozamahol, but probably not a place to spend a whole night out.

Its a wetherspoons so you know what you are getting, food was tasty and cheap enough, drink was cheap and the service was quick. the interesting thing however was the location and the inside of the building. Its clearly been a bank in its day as you ahve the old style chubb safe door up the back which just looks as if its dying to be opened. This place scored more on cleanliness and service than other wetherspoons however which is good. The only thing i can fault them on is its a bit of a maze to get to their toilets.
Failing that though its a nice wee place for a quick drink or to recharge the food batteries!

This place was ok. It’s located on George Street, which was super busy when we stopped in. Despite being in a main shopping area, and probably a touristy area, the prices were fairly reasonable. I love the statue of the man at the back of the pub. Patrons and staff were fairly nice also. I can’t complain.
It’s a large bar, and very busy, and noisy as a result, but I think that’s to be expected when it’s full of people.

The Standing Order Wetherspoons Bar on George Street is cheap. This for many a relief as George Street is expensive. In my view it shouldn’t be on George Street — it would be so much better fitting on Princes Street.
It is also big, crowded and extremely noisy due to all the sound is bouncing around the high ceilings and of the bare walls. The main drinking hall has neon strip lighting and keeps every area well lit.
I usually avoid going here as by paying a little bit more money for a pint in a different bar I actually will be able to talk with my fellow drinkers on the same table without having to resort to shouting.
Also I prefer a bar with atmosphere, like background music, a little bit of decoration on the walls and comfortable corners and dimmed lights. — all of this that is missing in this Weatherspoon (if not all of them).
Yes, the beer is cheap.
Yes, the food is adequate (and cheap)
Yes, there is plenty room for all your footie mates and hen/​stag party without having to make a reservation.
Yes, you can actually afford to buy about 2 – 3 rounds for all of your friends from Uni
and still have some change for those bathroom polo mints, when you have pulled that ‘sexy one’.
Only when you don’t mind having to queue ages for those cheapo rounds, sometimes 3 persons thick alongside that really big S-​curved bar.
And that ‘sexy one’ you pulled is clearly a result of cheap lager you both consumed in copious amounts.
Joking aside, this place is collecting a certain demographic of drinkers, yes drinkers, I don’t see why anyone would like to go here and only drink soft drinks. It collects drinkers like flies to a honeypot — did I mention they serve cheap lagers?
It is about volume, cheapness and certainly no overheads, and these Wetherspoon places know how to maximise and profit from this.
(That is likely why there is no music –it is very very expensive to have a full PPL
music & TV licence in a public house and the bigger the place the more it costs.)
The food is of an average quality, cheap and err. cheap deals with the cheap lager (you see a pattern emerging here). Nothing exciting and nothing special. It will fill your stomach and will not offend (apart from when it is brought back up after too many beers…) Burgers, Curries and Bangers. Food that will sound
the same whether you order it in a drunken slur or shouting it sober over the table. Food that substantiates you, so you can drink more. As more or less mentioned by another reviewer — this is McD disguised as a bar. Now that is quite an accurate description, as I do not frequent McD either for similar reasons. And I guess that the aformentioned demographic WILL visit McD for those same reasons too.
Sure, on the surface there is nothing essentially wrong with their concept, perfectly acceptable, but that is also my main reason why I choose not to like it because I am a local looking to have a good time, not acceptable, good. Not compromised by pricing and and not just looking for a cheap booze up.

I dont understand the low reviews. The place is dope. Cheap drinks cheap food whats not to like. The place is set in an old bank so the décor looks super dope. There is a high ceiling and the walls and tables are all oldschool. The place can get pretty packed and hard to get a table. The tables are just scattered everywhere so goodluck. I hate that you order at the bar for everything. Im not used to these uk standards. For games they pull down the huge projector and screen off tvs as well. The place is sick! Ive had their breakfast and the regular burger here which was pretty average but you dont really come here for the food. I like this place.

Typisches Wetherspoons, sehr günstig, aber recht gepflegt. Sehr schickes Interieur, da es sich in einer ehemaligen Bank befindet. Sehenswert und groß!

A great place for cheap drinks and food. 2 burgers and 4 pints were only about 16 pounds. The food was a bit above average pub fare and the beers were great. Many guest taps were on offer; however, many were empty.
Big bonus: There were 2 TVs on the wall in the main that were playing soccer.
Big bonus: There was no background music.
Con: Tons and tons of people fit into this place (evidently it used to be an old bank), and hence is super crowded and very noisy.
I was there on a Friday evening with a co-​worker and we were very quickly served our burgers (order @ bar, served at table).

Cheap drinks. Big crowd. Food isn’t awful.
I don’t really know what to say about this place. It’s a lovely building and there’s a novelty to it, but it’s an average Wetherspoons pub and you get what you pay for.
The staff are a bit rude, they wouldn’t accept French or Russian IDs last time I was there and the barman made a bit of a show of it. We got served but after far too much humming and hawing for my liking, considering the youngest of us was 25.
It’s meh but has served a purpose on more than one occasion.

My experience at the Standing Order was good. Maybe because it was my first entry, but I was impressed by the place, a kind of noble hall, large as a 9 aside football pitch, high decorated ceilings, and plenty of cheerful people. Cosy and warm inside.
We went in on a cold Thursday night (c. 9:30pm) and were lucky to find a free bench. We only took some usual drinks. I could observe some chips and burgers hoovering above the hands of waiters, so there is food option here. The bar was large, and served by a good number of barmen (and bar-​lasses), so it did not take ages to be served.
I did not paid much attention on the prices because I went straight to a 3x RUM and the prices were from 2.09 (McKRaken) to 2.99. I did not locate any particular drink deals, though at a glance, I thought that the prices were reasonable. I felt no foul play with the crowd, though I have not been deep inside the mass since our table was at the perimeter. So far so good…
However, being so large, I had to shout so that my furthest friend (about 3m away) could listen me at the other side of the table, and I had difficulty to understand some conversations simply because of the high level of noise there was from the mass. So maybe it’s not ideal for a big bunch of gangsters to plan a theft or a brood of chicks to share their passion stories. While (I assume!) that for small groups (1)2−4 heads, it would be a great place, also because being crowded, you may get a better chance to find amusement (in fact there was a group of sexy lasses which I can define very well) or the partner of your life (who knows!).
For today, 4 rounded points
/X\arZ

It’s a Wetherspoon. Enough said.
Had the Chili Con Carne, was nothing FANTASTICABALEULOUS however was hot, hit the spot and filled me up :)

Typical, but huge pub. Nice athmosphere, good drinks and classical food. We’ll return!

I’ve lived in Edinburgh now for a decade, and have only been in the Standing Order twice… I think that’s quite enough!
The interior is stunning, spacious and there is so much scope for it to be really fine establishment (see The Dome along the road!), but instead it’s jam packed full of the most annoying crowd of drunken women, leery guys and rude people! On a weekend night, there is nigh on no hope of finding a seat, and the bar is usually 5 folk deep. When we left, the bouncer was fighting with a drunk guy outside while his girlfriend screamed at the both of them, some under-​agers were trying their best to convince the other bouncer they were over 18 and a bunch of boozy lads were trying to pick up girls with rubbish banter… enough said!
If you want extremely cheap food, drink and Hendricks Gin & Tonic served in a half pint lager glass, with a slice of lemon instead of cucumber (extremely disappointing… Hendricks is my favourite AND the only time I eat cucumber!), then this is probably the best place to go, otherwise, I’d head elsewhere!

Wer Edinburgh besichtigt, wird definitv am Weatherspoon vorbei kommen.
The Standing Order hat ein nettes Ambieten (das Gebäude war mal eine Bank) mit hohen, stuckverzierten Decken. Es ist weitläufig, mit großer Theke und nett eingerichtet.
Wir haben hier wirklich gut und zu günstigen Preisen gegessen. Es gibt verschiedene Angebote (Burger + Bier, Fish & Chips + Tee) die sich preislich lohnen. Ich habe Maccaroni & Cheese gegessen (lecker!!) und kann dazu einen Side-​Salad für 80p empfehlen ;) Auch abends herrscht hier eine nette Atmosphäre. Es gibt diverse frisch gezapfte Biere und Longdrinks. Wir waren zweimal hier und es hat sich beide Male absolut gelohnt :)

Antiguo banco convertido en bar. Han conservado la caja fuerte. Es un lugar de reunión para escoceses de todas las edades, en especial el viernes por la tarde y los días de rugby.
Los precios son baratos, tanto para beber como para comer.

The only thing keeping this place in busniess is the fact that it’s part of the Wetherspoons’s chain. And it’s an insult to perfectly good Wetherspoon’s pubs at that.
I went in not so long ago, having drunk in here regularly for the past 3 years since I moved to Edinburgh, carrying a big bag. I’d just got off a train and was meeting some friends, but the manager at the door said I couldn’t take my bag into the bar in case I had my own booze stashed away.
What!!!
It does beg the question that if I wanted to get pissed for free why wouldn’t I have just met my firends back in my flat? But the manager who was supervising the door that night insisted that I leave my bag at the door with him. Despite him promising that I could get it back from him at the end of the night, come 1am I couldn’t find him — or anyone else willing to help me.
I naively thought I’d call back in during the week and collect it, only when I did no-​one seemed to know anything about it. First of all, the manager who was working on the day that I called in tried to insist that I’d already collected it, then when it became clear that I hadn’t he tried to deny that he’d ever known anything about the bag.
Yes, it’s a Wetherspoon’s, so it’s cheap. But it’s by far the worst bar the you could find in Edinburgh’s city centre. Even if you don’t really care about my rant, I’d bet you any money you’ll not even be able to find anywhere to sit after you’ve waited at the bar for at least 20 minutes.

Vor 2 Wochen waren wir für 4 Tage in Edinburgh und schauten uns die Stadt an. Am Abend fielen wir per Zufall in die Trinkhalle vom Standing Order ein.
Ein Riesen Platz für hunderte von Leuten, wo auch die Rugby Spiele des 6 Nation Trophy gezeigt wurde.
Hohe Decken mit schönen Verzierungen bilden den Kern des Gebäudes. Am Ende des Saales schwebt ein alter Schotte über den Tresen, der den Saal mit seiner Anwesenheit ausfüllt.
Für uns eigentlich nicht all zuviel besonderes, aber die 140 anwesenden Franzosen, die die Nationalhymne sangen, waren der absolute Highlight des Abends.