Tiles

Centrally located on the corner of St Andrew square, Tiles is a converted insurance building. The room feels quite large and is very elegantly decorated featuring a high ceiling. However, the pub is dominated by the bar itself, which is a very large and of oval design. There are tables at either end of the room and high stools down both sides of the bar, but you get a feeling there is insufficient seating for when it gets busy Food is served and the staff are always friendly.
I do like the atmosphere and feel of the place and it is worth a stop en route from The Guildford Arms and Café Royal towards Rose Street.

I’ve seen some low ratings for this place. Maybe they’ve had some rough days. The day we stopped in was definitely not one of them!
I had the haggis, neeps, and tatties… It was a good, hearty dish! The boy had a burger and chips… He completely enjoyed his meal and said the chips were top notch!
The staff was great! Very attentive and enthusiastic!

So we were looking for a place to have a bite just to get ourselves some energy to continue exploring the city centre and we ended up here. The location and the prices seemed reasonable so we asked for a table.
The service was quick and the food was good, not too much to choose from, we got a caesars salad, a ploughman’s plate (or whatever the name was) and fish and chips. The salad and the fish and chips were good, the other dish… Well, we didn’t know what it was before ordering it so maybe that’s why we were a bit disappointed. Finally, we shared a sticky toffee pudding which was delicious.
The decoration is very nice even though it’s quite crowded inside. Would definitely recommend it for a fast bite or a drink, probably not for a fancy meal!

Yeah… not sure I’ll be back to this place.
The main (and possibly only) selling point is the central location — right off Princes St and close to Waverley. You might just follow a colleague here for a swift one before he has to run off for a train. Oh actually, the ceiling is pretty immense too.
Aside from that I just don’t get the layout in here. The bar counter is an oval-​shaped island in the middle of the room that serves people on all sides. Which sounds cool apart from the fact that it’s MASSIVE. And therefore takes up about 80% of the space, leaving customers to play sardines/​rub up against strangers around the edge.
If either of those activities sound like your thing (whilst holding a pint and trying not to trip over bags/​chairs/​your mates) then go here!

Alright, so it’s a lovely building, I get that. But the bar takes up the bulk of the room, and trying to negotiate your way in and out is painful and involves a lot of ‘Sorry! Sorry! Scuse me! Sorry! as you try to get past people. Shrink or move the bar and make it a bit more accessible.

Formerly the prudential insurance company that had offices here pretty impressive art Deco style with fitted bog standard cheap hotel carpets. At first l wasn’t sure if this was a j d weather spoon pub but this one had less booze and sold cigars that’s when l realised this was a wannabe JD.
Even though a Monday there was only me and two other old lady’s finishing of their fish suppers l know this as it smelt the pub out.
I suppose this is an ok pub if you want a quiet night out or way before you hit the clubs.

Last weekend The Man decided he wanted to go shopping. Specifically, he wanted to go to John Lewis. Not wanting to pass up this once in a blue moon kind of opportunity, I agreed.
We shopped ’till we dropped and afterward found we were quite peckish and more than a bit thirsty. We hummed and hawed between the closest choices and decided on Tiles as I’d not eaten there before. I was assured that the last time The Man was here, the burgers were nice.
I’ve never found Tiles to be the most attractive bar. The few times I’ve been here I thought it could look so much better than it does, it just feels a bit too dingy for it’s central location right on St Andrews square.
They did have some interesting beer on tap and I decided for Stewart’s seasonal pumpkin ale. We ordered up two burgers, The Man got his with chili, cheese and jalapenos and I just asked for mine «normal.»
It was… reasonbly bad. The server also asked us how our meal was before we’d even taken a bite. It was like he was ticking the service boxes without thinking the process through.
My burger was completely dry and tasted like something out of Macdonalds. The chips were undercooked and when I asked for vinegar I got white instead of malt (a pet peeve of mine).
The Man’s burger was nicer because it was smothered in toppings, but still hardly good enough for the £8.75 price tag,
What really got me, though, was the fact that my plain burger was the same price as the one with chili, cheese and jalapenos. It’s because they dont’ have a standard burger on the menu, so it gives them an excuse to charge an exorbidant amount for a bit of meat on a bun served with a wilty salad.
Not a place I’d visit again.

Our hen party ended up here after only managing to get into two pubs along Rose Street. We thought one more drink then we’ll head along to the nightclub. We’d called up a number we’d seen earlier in the day to get free entry for a hen party if you called before 10pm.
So we thought we’d have a cheeky wee drink in Tiles and a night on the Tiles it was not. Ok, so we thought great we’re allowed in but this place was pretty dead. It’s about 10pm and there was only a few peeople dotted about. There was music but it was quite low so you could just hear it, like background music.
The round was expensive, it came to over £50 for 8 of us. We did have a wee cheeky shot to try and get us going but I think this place was bringing us down. The only thing that brightened up the time there was some attention from a group of guys who were just up for a laugh. They were trying to figure out who was the bride-​to-​be and thought it was me. Ooops! Nope I’m afraid it’ll be the girl wearing a halo and a pink fluffy ‘L’ plate. Flattered in all but not yet thank you.
I had a feeling I had been here before many years ago for food during the day and I remember it having more of an atmosphere. It’s maybe best visiting during the day. When it’s full of old men and most just sitting by themselves and at 10pm the place is pretty much dead then you know this ain’t the place to get the party started.

Located just on the corner of St. Andrew’s Square, I’ve mostly been there to use the loo. Because it’s the only place you can go around the area. But, then, eventually, I decided to go there for a drink. And I wasn’t disappointed. I mainly went back because I loved the interior so much. It’s got really high ceilings, and the space is all centered around the bar. The pub has an intact Victorian interior, and you could probably find yourself staring absentmindedly at the walls because of their intricacy. It’s also got, unlike many pubs in Edinburgh, a nice outdoor seating area for when it’s rarely sunny.
The selection of ales isn’t the best in Edinburgh, but they have Leffe on tap, which makes my heart skip a few beats. The staff are mediocre, but in a way that isn’t invasive or inconvenient. It’s a fairly buzzing bar, and is great for a nightcap before taking the overnight bus to London from St Andrew’s Bus Station.

I’m quite surprised Tiles hasn’t been reviewed before, because of it’s prime location on St Andrews Square. When I came here last week the place was busy, mainly with tourists, and the atmosphere was pretty nice for a rainy afternoon.
The bar/​bistro itself is lovely inside and out, with one of my favourite features, a high ceiling. It makes the place feel even bigger than it already is and adds an air of class to the place. Oh, and it might be a give-​away in the name, but the place has loads of beautiful tiles inside!
We were only really stopping for a drink and a snack, so we ordered the bruschetta and a round of drinks, 2 alcoholic including a glass of wine and one soft drink, which came to just over £10. Pretty standard prices. The bruschetta was ok, nothing spectacular but to be honest it was just something to nibble on while we chatted, so we didn’t really mind.
A nice bar, not so sure about the quality of food though, with great views of St Andrew’s Square and ample outside seating for when the sun shines!

Short, somewhat rude, bartender. Closes early. And seemed quite drab even when it was open.

We visited because this place had good Unilocal reviews, but it was a complete let down. It was nearly dead around 10pm, and within 30 minutes it started closing. So we left and went to a real pub –Whiski Bar if you’re interested.

Stopped by here for some dinner last week. This café-​bar is unusual with its high ceilings, circular bar and tile-​covered walls (hence the name). A good place to stop by for a drink, but I was disappointed by the food. It wasn’t bad, but it was the usual microwave-​heated pub grub and I was expecting something more. To be fair, their low prices reflected this and their service was very good. I would go back for a pint, but it’d give the dinner menu a miss.

I went here today with my aunt and uncle and thought it was a nice place to go for a couple of drinks.
He had Stella, my aunt had a glass of white wine and I had vodka and diet Irn Bru which came to just over £10.
We then shared the brushetta (which was lovely, the bread was still quite soft instead of crunchy like it is in some places and the tomatoes tasted fantstic) and the fries with aioli (they were nice but not crispy enough for my liking!) which was plenty between the 3 of us and the woman who brought them over was very friendly.
I’d recommend it here, it’s got a high ceiling and photos of Edinburgh on it’s walls, the only bad point is that the toilets are down quite a narrow flight of stairs so it can be annoying if someone’s coming from the other direction!

Great pub for a beer after work. Decent selection of beers at decent prices. Plenty of large tables for groups and very attentive bartenders.

What a nice downtown bar and pub to stroll right on into for some good food and drink. The décor is very unique to look at and very inviting as well. There was construction going on outside thus we decided to venture on in for this visit.
There were plenty of drink options as I found in most pubs in town but what I liked most is the amount of good food options they had on the menu. As a newbie when it comes to haggis, I tried their version which was wrapped in filo dough on a bed of neeps and creamy leek sauce. A very nice introduction if I must say!
I had the Scottish haddock that was lightly battered and fried served with fries. The fish was excellent and only needed a squeeze of lemon to make it taste perfect. I also enjoyed the Kopparberg pear cider I drank with my meal … I found it to be my new favorite drink.
The service was very nice and attentive. We mentioned we liked the parting chocolate treats that they gave us with the bill. Our waitress came back with a bunch for us to take home. Sweet!

I like this place for a quick drink on my way to somewhere else, mainly because it is such a beautiful building, as the title suggests there are a lot of tiles.
I used to have lunches there when I worked in the area and always liked them, the problem was alwyas making myself go back to work after them.
It is really awkward getting seat at times — I am very small and the big seats by the windows make me look like onhe of the Borrowers, and it can be a hassle getting served as well when the bar is busy which is what makes me thinks of this bar as either a start or end of night venue — not a place to spend the whole night.

nice building and interior. But the worst food I have ever eaten in a bar in Edinburgh. (And I eat out alot) Staff to concerned about the tips they had got to provide any level of service worth tipping. Althogh 1 member of staff did admit to us he knew the food was (and i quote) crap!!!

This very popular Café Bar, located on the South side of St Andrews Square, very close to the Bus Station, Harvey Nichols and only a stones throw away from Princes Street is covered in the original Art Deco tiles, hence the name.
They do a fantastic full Scottish Breakfast, well worth the visit for that.
Food is served all day, including traditional Scottish Fayre as well as Continental.
It is a great place for sitting outside in the sun with a coffee or a pint and watch the world go by.
The also do a good variety of real ales, for the real ale lover.
It has a great atmosphere, the staff are very freindly and acommodating, it has a nice comfortable feel to it and is a lovely place to pass the time. Would recommend it highly, it can also get very busy around 5pm onwards with the office workers coming out for a pint after work and can be very busy on the weekends as it is so close to many other bars in the area for people doing the Friday and Saturday night pub crawls, but don’t let that put you off as it still well worth the visit.
Picture available in gallery.

Tiles is absolutely covered in tiles inside, it’s quite magnificent! It might not be the nicest colour scheme (pale browns) but it’s pretty cool. The food is really nice and not expensive and you feel just as at ease with a coffee or a glass of wine. In the summer it’s nice to sit outside and watch the world go by on St Andrews Square.