Review of Teuchters Landing, Leith

Teuchters Landing is my reminder to give places a second chance. I first went to Teuchters Landing with my boss at the time to impress a client. It was nice; expensive fish, expensive wine and we sat in a lovely conservatory by the Water of Leith while swans basked in the sunshine.

It was nice but that’s not my thing. I’d prefer chicken, chips and a pint.

Years later I went back to Teuchters Landing, another work event, and the place had changed for the better. The food is still very good but the airs and graces have come down to acceptable levels. In fact, “in a mug” is a theme for much of the good. Fancy that chicken and those chips? Order chicken wings in a mug or chips in a mug and you’re set. If you go for a hotdog, it won’t be in a mug, it’ll be on a wooden board and it’ll be huge.

This feels more like me – and far more appropriate for a pub called “Teuchters Landing”. The name comes from the fact the pub is built on the spot where steam ferry boats used to set off from Edinburgh to reach Aberdeen. Teuchters is an unkind nickname for highlanders. That doesn’t mean this is a rough pub; in fact the staff there are very nice and always friendly.

Teuchters Landing is an “order your food at the bar” place. Remember where you’re sitting, think about how to describe that to bar staff since tables aren’t numbered and then head over. Teuchters is a bit like a TARDIS. It gets bigger on the inside. The front room opens up into two smaller rooms and behind that there’s the long conservatory. There’s outside seating too – loads and loads of it – but, as this is Edinburgh, that’s only useful in the summer.

The pub allows dogs before 6 and drinking outside before 10.

Another big plus for Teuchters Landing is their range of drinks. They’ve a good supply of spirits and the pub is a great place to sample a whisky if you’re a visiting tourist. There’s a guest keg on all the time and plenty of Edinburgh brews. Teuchters Landing is owned by the “a room in…” company but it’s not a chain that spits out a mass produced service.

I’ve only seen people attempt this a few times but Teuchters Landing is home to a game where you can attempt to win a drink by throwing a hoop over a bottle. You get to drink whatever you snare.

It’s no surprise that tourists parties or large work parties sometimes turn up here. The front room can get very busy and this is where the bar is. As much as I like Teuchters Landing it’s no fun coming in, out of the rain, only to discover there’s a coach load of people milling around in front of you, blocking the door and without the wits to get out of the way.

The new Leith market that runs every Saturday should help more people discover this bar as it’s a little out of the way, just off Commercial Street, and down by the water.