The Constitution Bar is, as you might expect, situated towards the bottom of Constitution Street in Leith. The Bar is still “new” after having undergone a major renovation a few years ago. Testament to the quality of the work that happened during the renovation is the fact that the bar still seems to be brand, shiny, new. It’s certainly clean and comfortable.
The Constitution is quite large; especially if you take into consideration the delightful back room tucked away behind the main bar. Out front, however, is a comfortable seating area with lazy sofas and good sized tables. Around the corner is the “restaurant” area for proper eating – as shown in the picture below.
The range of drinks is good at The Constitution. This range does not just include different choices of beer, wine and spirits but also in price. If you want your ‘average Leith’ pint then The Constitution is as a good as any other but the bar also sells expensive wine.
The Constitution feels like one of those modern bars that should serve expensive and clever food. Maybe that’s the plan. Right now the menu is pretty good and finds the balance between safe and interesting. My biggest grumble with the Constitution over the years is that the lunch time service can be very slow. I think this is because they don’t often have many people in for lunch during the working week.
Grumbles can be addressed. The bar have added a “speedy lunch” sub-menu that seems to be designed to satisfy people like me who only have a precious hour for lunch. The sub-menu is pretty small – it’s really only burgers. I’ve tested it twice; it was speedy once and a little too slow once. Nevertheless, the fact the option exists on the menu at all is good for peace of mind as it suggests the owners aware of the issue.
Food is good, when it comes.
I’ve always found the service to be very good at The Constitution. My last few trips have all left me asking for nothing; greeted as I walked in, offered my choice of seats, drink fetched quickly and order taken intelligently. At least once the service was so attentive I began to wonder whether I had “has a little review blog” t-shirt on – but no, I suspect I was safely anonymous.
The Constitution has other modern successes. The bar has an absolutely giant projection screen that can be used for sports or news. This reviewer is no fan of sports nor bars filling up with loud football fans. I’ve never been inside the bar during a football match – and it would take some convincing to make me try. On the other hand, I wish they’d let the news run with subtitles more often. There’s a decent wi-fi connection too but you have to access for the passcode. It’s not one you’ll remember.
The bar is family friendly. It’s not uncommon to find a pushchair among the comfy seats by the serving area but perhaps there’s something about the unique combination of being a Leith pub while looking awfully posh on the outside because I’ve yet to visit for lunch and encounter the noisy family menace.
I worry that The Constitution spent a lot of money on the renovation as it never seems busy enough to be paying for any of the work. It may not be my favourite pub in the area but it’s my favourite second choice of pub for almost every other situation. I want the place to succeed. I want to have it as an option. I’d like it to be a little bit busier – but not too busy.
Leave a Reply