Malones Irish Bar is a cheery sports bar on Forrest Road – handy for Edinburgh Uni students. A large bar with a mezzanine and gallery, it has plenty of nooks and crannies in which to while away a couple of hours. Or days. Regular live bands and ceilidh nights keep the crowds dancing. Sports fans can watch all the action on four large HD screens and two projector screens.
Simple, fresh, local and delicious are the key words in the kitchen at Malones and the menus also make the occasional nod towards Irish culinary traditions. For example, the full Irish breakfast includes Clonakilty black and white pudding while the soup of the day is served with soda bread. As well as a keenly priced range of lunchtime wraps and sandwiches, there are salads, sharing platters and light bites such as chicken goujons and haggis bites. The latter come with an exotic mix of chilli mango chutney and Drambuie sauce.
As well as several beef and chicken burgers, the main courses on offer are classic comfort foods. Think mac ‘n’ cheese, steak and chips, chicken curry, fish ‘n’ chips and beef stir fry.
Malones is on Forrest Road in Edinburgh’s Old Town. There is limited pay parking on nearby Chambers Street. Several bus routes run past the pub to and from the city centre. Waverley train station is a brisk fifteen minute walk. Local attractions include the Festival Theatre, Meadows and National Museum of Scotland.