Red Squirrel

Another bar that a couple of months ago seemed to be doing all things right in terms of variety & pricing which has now jumped into the £3.90 - £4.50 a pint bracket. Aren't we in a recession? Still, voting with your feet's as good a way as any to get the message across that something's out of order.

Great burgers, beer and b-ecor(?!)

What more can a man want…

I was excited to see a new restaurant on Lothian Rd – it’s becoming quite the place for dining. I was particularly pleased to see a Monday – Friday breakfast menu for only £5. To be fair I didn’t try anything else but the fry was particularly good! Quality ingredients. I saw they also have a stack of board games which I thought was a great idea.

Visited this pub for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and have been back three times since then! With an extensive menu of gourmet burgers, you really are spoilt for choice. They don’t skimp on size or quality either – the giant burgers on soft sourdough buns are served on a wooden board, with skinny fries and slaw on the side. The first time I visited I had the guacamole burger, served with bacon and cheddar – I’m not exaggerating when I say it was amazing! If you can manage anything afterwards, I’d definitely recommend the warmed chocolate brownie, served with a generous helping of vanilla ice cream. At two courses for £10, the prices are extremely reasonable – especially in its city centre location.

As for its drinks, this is where Red Squirrel really gets top marks. With their wide range of contemporary beers, the only difficult part is choosing what to go for. But the friendly and knowledgeable staff will help advise you. And if you still can’t decide, they offer a 1/3 pint taster for only £1. And if you’re not a big beer drinker, you can look towards the delicious cocktail menu. Excellent value at £3.95 each. Or if it’s just an afternoon cuppa you’re after, they offer coffees, tea, suki teas and a great hot chocolate.

With its dark wood fittings, low level lighting and atmospheric music, Red Squirrel is a great place for catching up over a coffee, grabbing a quick lunch, meeting for a pint or sitting down for an evening meal. Top marks.

As mentioned in other reviews, this pub has recently changed hands and has been bought by the owners of the Holyrood Bar.

My husband and I took a wander down Lothian Road recently one Saturday afternoon (not where we would normally venture for a quiet drink it has to be said!) and decided to pop in for a drink and a bite to eat.

There is an excellent selection of beers, with some unusual ones that are difficult to get in other pubs around town and they had a good selection of cocktails for those who prefer other options. Staff are also happy to let you have a taster of beer before you buy to ensure it is to your taste and they are very friendly and knowledgable.

The lunch menu is pretty standard pub grub but it is all done very well. We had two burgers from their extensive burger menu and didn’t manage to eat another thing all day, they really were that huge!

Only issue with our visit was that there was a big tour group that came in shortly after we had ordered which took over a large area of the pub so you might want to time your visit so you aren’t surrounded by lots of people trying haggis for the first time as it seemed like it was a regular finishing point for the tour. This wasn’t really an issue for us though and we are looking forward to revisiting soon and trying some more of their extensive beer selection.

We popped in here one evening as I’d noticed that it had recently opened and it was around the corner from a place we’d booked in for dinner. As we sat down with our selection from the interesting and long beer menu (and Aspall cider on tap!) in the cosy booth seat, we felt a Friday evening happy glow of getting the weekend off to a great start at a lovely place. The staff were friendly and chatty and the prices very reasonable for a city centre location.

This place lingered in our thoughts and although it’s a bit far from where we live, we’ve made an effort to come here a couple of times since. Once for lunch (good halloumi burger) and another time for a few Saturday daytime beverages. They’ve got some great opening offers on their cocktails at time of writing, and you can also try out more of their vast range of beers by buying sample glasses – third of a pint for a £1 I think – great for the unsure.

Definitely a firm favourite at the moment, highly recommended.

so the red squirrel has changed hands again !!! I have a feeling it only opened in the last week or so cause when we were in and I went to the bathroom I could still smell the paint. It wasnt that long ago - maybe a year and renamed so here we go again...
Really nice seating areas with a mixture of tables at the front, stools and bar tables in the middle and comfy booths at the back - lovely. Its a pretty huge bar and would be good for a big group.

Fab amount of different beers and ciders on offer - around 20 and a lot I hadnt even heard of. As well as teas, coffee's and suki tea. The menu is pretty good as well, its basically a gastro pub type menu with the usual - risottos, burgers, etc and not too expensive.. We only got the piri piri fries that came with a salsa, sour cream and blue cheese dip - nice touch for £2.95. What really caught my eye though was the sharing platter for two which was cheeses, artisan bread, meats, chunteys and smoked chicken gorgeous!! It was around £12.00 and you can add a bottle of wine to it for another £10.00 - brilliant idea.. Fab if you just want to catch up with friends and pick at something while having a drink.

Its really nice and clean looking in here, something a bit different to your usual pub, its sort of more like a European cafe especially with the music in the background.. Definetly not your usual Tollcross bar and I think for this reason its a brilliant edition to this area, I really love it, its casual, but classy, relaxed but good quality and the interior is really pretty and child friendly.. Good place for a coffee with your mum, bottle of wine with some friends, or dinner with your boyfriend before the movies. I hope they do well.