Newsroom

The newsroom is a really great bar, the staff are friendly and the service is fast although you might wait a bit longer for a cocktail but i promise they are well worth it!
i’ve also been a few times for food…the burgers are mouthwatering!
i think it’s main attraction is the music, day or night the DJ’s always deliver!
A very well deserved 5 star!

I’ve passed this place a few times and decided to pop in for lunch today with a friend of mine. There were a few tables in, but after 5 minutes of sitting and being ignored by the girl drinking juice behind the bar I went and asked for menus. The staff were very pleasant, but a futher 10 minutes went past with no-one at our table so I went to the bar to order – at which point I was asked ‘do you want to order here or will I come to your table?’ I opted for the bar.

I went for the macaroni cheese with smoked sausage, which was alright but sadly lacking in smoked sausage (in that it wasn’t there – and I paid £5.95 for a bowl of cheesy pasta). My friend went for the burger which looked pretty good and was cooked to order. We had to wait quite a while for the table to be cleared, then again I had to approach the bar and request the bill.

My friend went to the toilets and said that there were 3 cubicles in darkness due to broken lights and another cubicle that was unusable – and this was in the middle of the day!

I’m not saying this was a bad experience – I’ve had far worse – it was just disappointing. I maintain that if you are going to run table service in a bar, train your staff well and offer good service!

UPDATE I went back here at the weekend and what a difference! Excellent, EXCELLENT, table service provided, good food, the table was cleared quickly after we’d finished, we were offered more drinks/tea and coffee, and the bill payment was easy peasy. It was a really great experience, it’s good to see they’re getting it right! The extra 2 stars on my previous review are a reflection on a much improved experience.

Always passed this place but was put off by the bouncers and the amount of baseball caps sitting by the window. However, needs must and I decided to nip in for a quickie one evening. It definitely deserves it’s reputation in a much that it dislikes anyone over 40 (I’m 45 but look about 40, apparently). Took a galactic age to get a drink – expensive, loud and generally a surly place to be. It’s a ghastly place and seems to attract neds and half-drunk jakeys which they seem to tolerate more than a middle-aged bloke with a laptop. Thus, if you fancy getting offended, ripped off or simply stabbed then do drop by. However, if, like most people, you’re after a decent drink and a chat with friends without being drowned out by background noise or cowering as there’s a fight brewing behind you between the bouncers and a passing member of the public minding his own business, then there are far far better places to go nearby.

I visited this bar yesterdays with a friend

we decided to try somewhere new for lunch and this place was right on our doorstep.

The food was awesome, great value for money as the portion was huge and it was all well prepared and very tasty.

The staff were very friendly....and might i say easy on the eye.

will definitely return!!!

I must concur with the generally negative comments about this dubious hostelry. I had been in 'The Newsroom' enjoying a very pleasant evening (Thurs 10 June) with a largely very pleasant crowd of people. At the end of the evening however, when the lights went up, having finished my drink and with my coat on ready to leave, and while standing waiting for my girlfriend who was still chatting to one of the Dejay's who was a friend of hers, I was then very unpleasantly and aggressively, and without a word, physically barged out of the building and verbally abused by a person who claimed to be the 'manager', there were still 20 or so other people in the bar at this time. I found this quite unnecessarily abusive and humiliating. I am a 59 year old man, and find this sort of treatment utterly unacceptable. I will not be back, and the objectionable nature of the incident questions as to whether I should take the matter further.

Nice decor and... well that's about it as far as the plus points go.

Minus points:
Can take aaaaaaaaages to get served, and I'm talking 10 minutes plus at times, even when the place isn't all that busy.
Cocktails are £3.95. Sounds like a bargain right? Wrong - the Mojito tasted like a battery acid slush puppy, and the only way to get an actual minty taste in the mouth was to actually suck at the one sprig of mint that was embedded in the crushed ice. Truly the worst cocktail I have ever experienced. You would have to actually PAY me £3.95 to try it again.

I really don't like being too negative in reviews but this place is really a bit poor unless it's being used as an initial meeting place before heading off somewhere better. E.g. the Voodoo Rooms is nearby.

Went to the Newsroom a couple of nights ago and the service was so bad I had to write this review to warn people away!

With all the choice of pubs/restaurants that Edinburgh has to offer and the fact that we are currently in a recession, youd think that the Newsroom would want to give their customers the best level of service so youd keep coming back? Apparently not.

If you arrive in Edinburgh looking for a cheap and convenient place for a some food or a drink - I would suggest you take a short walk either to rose street or the omni centre, both about 5 mins away from the Newsroom. You are most likely to get great food and drink, friendlier staff and an all round better experience.

This place feels like a real bar (very slick) and not a pub, so that's nice. I went there for dinner the first time because they had been handing out leaflets outside promoting their under £5 meal deal. In fact, with a drink, and counting the compulsory tip (the bill says clearly Service Charge Not Included), it will be more than £5. I've always had Fish & Chips and the fish is usually quite small (but not always, once I got a proper huge fillet of haddock). The chips are the thin American-style type, not the classic thick cut, so that fits in well with the smart feel of the place. It always comes with half a lemon (which I prefer to vinegar) and a portion of rocket and lollo rosso salad. Wi-Fi is the kind that needs a password the first time, but not for any further visits -obviously the password becomes stored somewhere, which is convenient. Reception, however, is only reliable or fast in the area at the back, not at the front (near the windows), so bear that in mind. Powerpoints are usually available if you need them (although subject to other people not sitting in the right places, obviously). The staff is predominantly female, relaxed and good-looking. Service can be slowish (never too bad), but that is not an issue if you have your laptop to play with. At the beginning I liked very much this bar, but now I am finding it rather edgy and dark for my taste.

Peroni on draught...need I say anymore?!

I recently attended a party in the basement and really enjoyed myself here. Excellent food and cocktails with many half price offers and the staff were friendly.

Upstairs seemed like a good after work city drinking venue and was packed with young professionals early on the Friday night. When we left, the main downside seemed to be that the place had become packed with neds so I’d suggest heading there early

I really like this place. It couldn’t be any more central. It’s modern, but very comfortable. The food is great value, and the portions are huge. Oh, it sells draught Peroni too - pricey, but a fine beer!