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- Price Range:
-
££
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Music:
- Juke Box, Music Videos
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- No
5 reviews for The Merlin
All Reviews
The Merlin
30/7/2010
After moving into the Bruntsfield area, myself and my flatmates decided to pay the local bar, the Merlin a visit. And over the last year, we have been back very few times.
On the face of it the bar looks very nice, and does indeed very nice and warm inside with its booths and other seating areas. However, take away that, then the place is quite average really.
The bar serves a decent selection of drinks including some fine ales. However, the drinks are slightly on the pricey side (No wonder really due to the area). The food is quite good, with a traditional menu of sorts, a menu which you would come to expect from a normal bar. The food is tasty and the servings are generous.
However, the real problem with this pub is that it lacks character. There is a lack of people chatting, and it does get quite quiet at times. A shame really, as it could be so much better!
The Merlin
27/7/2010
1 photo
Very much in the same vein as a Spoons pub, The Merlin is a pub trying to be a bit classy but ends up just being filled with lads. It is one of these new fangled gastro pubs that have sprung up everywhere in the last 5 years and as such the menu is exactly what you'd expect. There are the standard fish and chips, steak pies and grills - gammon / steaks etc and all of them are average. The food is always slightly overcooked, and you can tell they care more about avoiding potential food poisoning than actually making the food any good. The service at both tables and the bar is pretty slow, but the staff are quite friendly.
The size of the pub is both a plus and a minus. It is really roomy so you do feel you've got a bit of personal space, and it is well divided, with the pool tables at the back. The downside is that if you get a group of lads in here then they completely take over. The outside bit is great, and when I went it was really sunny so we could all sit outside and have a good few pints in the beer garden.
If you just want a bog standard pint and don't harbour any great expectations from this pub then you won't be disappointed. However if you were expecting something pretty good from the inviting look of it, then the magic doesn't live up to its namesake.
The Merlin
4/7/2010
Eugh!!
This place was cold, sterile and not very nice. When I came I felt like I was walking into a 70s bingo hall, the decor is somewhat outdated, and the staff were nothing short of rude!
I ordered a gammon steak and it was tough, they forgot the egg on top and my plate was overflowing with chips.
The entire time I was there I was surrounded by drunken lads, roudy gals and drunken louts. It was a horrible experience and I don't plan on returning!
The Merlin
17/6/2010
The interior is very grand hunting lodge-esque; a stags head on the wall, fancy wallpaper and gold frames hanging on the wall, it kind of feels out of place in the location.
I would say it's more of a local pub but that makes the atmosphere much more laid back and friendlier to me. It is a gastropub serving traditional pub food like sausage and mash and fish and chips, as well as pasta options, and a few veggie options thrown in for good measure. The waiter service is good, and I enjoyed my meal, but it wasn't anything outstanding. I had the steak pie and it was lovely, it tasted really home made and the chips were definitely not frozen. My boyfriend's beef burger went down a storm too.
Typical, hearty pub grub in nice surroundings.
The Merlin
26/6/2010
The Merlin is and odd mash up of ponsy gastro-pub and ultra manly local boozer.
The inside is a macabre collection of dead animals and old wall paper, but actually it keeps in line with the feeling of a hunters lodge that seems to be going on. The atmosphere is very 'local - pub-ish', so once you get over the initial stare of being a newcomer, you'll find that actually the place is very welcoming and is friendly.
Drinks wise the Merlin has a wide choice of everything myou would expect in a place like this and it is all served by very friendly staff. The food is nice, but not as good as I was expecting, which was a shame.
Traditional, but lets itself down in some areas.