The Pub

by - Saturday, May 18, 2019

By now, there is little doubt that Edinburgh qualifies as a great European city. History, culture, politics, overall influence, science, restaurant scene. If you go down the checklist of items needed for a bonafide high-quality city, you can see it's there. Check, check, check.

As far as the restaurant scene is concerned, there are more international menus on the table than you would expect from one of the northernmost European capitals. French, German, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, Middle Eastern...it's all there. What is even more remarkable is the fact that we decide to visit none of the above and instead just walk the 50 or so yards from our flat to the local pub.

The pub, or public house, is more than just an establishment that is licensed to sell alcoholic beverages. In too many places to mention, the pub is the raison d'etre, the central focus for communities. There's the main section featuring the TV screens for sports, along with the occasional slot machine preferred by loners or guests with a gambling streak. There is the wing reserved for families, people like us who would like to enjoy a few quiet drinks and dinner with the family.

Our pub in Bonnington appears insignificant, but that's just the thing about pubs, the it factor that makes them so popular. There's the second-hand peeling furniture you would never encounter at a Counry Club or at a Chez Luis, Chez Huis or Chez Duis-Whatever. The pub doesn't pretend to be anything it is not. Everybody is welcome, of course, but it is a popular spot with a broad appeal and intends to remain that way.

While we are having dinner - pub grub that consists of hamburgers for the kids, curry for Liebi and surprisingly good vegetarian dishes for myself - there are football (soccer) matches on the screens in the main room. And not just any matches, but Champions League, with one game featuring two English powerhouses, Tottenham and Manchester City. 

Now if you look at the bulletin board near the entrance, you'll find just what is on the agenda over the next couple of weeks. There's Quiz Night, a must at every pub, as I have learned. For some people, this is the uncontested highlight of their week. There are loads of prizes, plus (no doubt) the trophy that goes to the champions. 

Then again, there are more themes at work, as determined by the customer. There are karaoke pubs, biker pubs, the aforementioned sports pubs...and even a strip pub in town! How is that for diversity? This is the 'Where everybody knows your name' theme personified and perfected. I have been to the smallest pub in Edinburgh at Grassmarket and to the highest Irish pub in the world in Cusco, Peru. One thing they all have in common is the fact that I have never checked my wardrobe to see if I was underdressed or whether the evening would break the bank for me. 

At our pub in Bonnington, five goals are scored within less than a half hour in the Tottenham vs. Manchester City match, so the pub is rowdy tonight. And yet, Liebi and I are just there to (literally) drink it all in, with a few pints of Tennent's, a Scottish lager from Glasgow. We raise our glasses for a toast...to pubs everywhere.

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