The Sheep Heid Inn, Duddingston, Edinburgh

Last Saturday I went to Edinburgh for a special Christmas outing with a scrambling group I'm a member of. We climbed Arthur's Seat, a hill of just 251m high – but we climbed up via a scrambly route known as the "Gutted Haddie".
Having built up good appetites doing the steep scramble in the fresh and very chilly air, we strolled back down the hill to Duddingston, an area at the foot of Arthur's Seat, to have lunch in the Sheep Heid Inn, a very old pub.

The Sheep Heid dates back to 1360, and is Scotland's oldest surviving public house. The furniture has an antique feel, although the establishment is very warm and comfortable, with modern facilities.

The bar serves a wide range of beers, real ales and malt whiskies - in fact the drinks menu, which can be seen on the table in the above photo, is a booklet.

There were many wines on the drinks menu, however I felt the descriptions of the wines were not very enticing, with too many of them described as "easy drinking". I really wanted to know how dry or full-bodied they were.
I decided to order a half pint of Guinness instead.

Our group arrived at 12 noon, which is when they start serving food. We were given lunch menus, which offered a wide choice of gastropub-style fare – not the cheapest type of food, but it looked like quality.

I decided to go for the Lobster & Devon Crab Fishcakes accompanied by asparagus, pea & truffle oil veloute and topped with crispy seaweed, at £12.95. It tasted very good, though I would have preferred the single asparagus to have been lightly cooked instead of raw and crunchy.
The veloute dressing was delicious, although there wasn't quite enough seaweed.

Although there were 11 in our group, I decided to only describe the meals of the four people at my table: Malcolm, Mike and Nicky.
Malcolm chose Crispy BBQ Chicken, which was described as "Panko-coated" and "topped with Korean-style BBQ sauce". It was served with carrot, mooli, cucumber and chips (fries).

Malcolm very much enjoyed his meal. He had the two-course lunchtime fixed price special, for a total of £11.95, which included Soup of the Day as a starter.

Mike ordered Battered Halloumi. It was served with "twice-cooked" chunky chips, which he said were absolutely delicious, as well as minted pea purée and tartare sauce.

Mike enjoyed the halloumi (which is a kind of hard cheese) but he said there was too much batter. He also went for the fixed price special at £11.95, including the soup.

Nicky had the King Prawn, Crab and Chorizo Linguine, which was made with a white wine, tomato, garlic & chilli sauce, for £13.95. She said it tasted delicious, but much more filling than she'd expected.

The other seven people in our group said they also enjoyed their meals.

This is clearly a popular weekend lunch venue, as the tables filled up very quickly. The service was very good, and despite the number of diners, the staff were very friendly and polite, and we didn't get the feeling of being rushed.

There is more seating upstairs, which is probably used for special functions or at busy times, and there is also a beer garden outside.

One thing I loved about this pub is that it's a mile or two away from the city centre, in a very pleasant, quiet area. I will definitely visit the Sheep Heid again, for a special meal out, or just for a drink or a coffee after climbing Arthur's Seat or sightseeing.

Opening hours:

11am to 11pm, Monday to Thursday
11am to midnight Friday to Saturday
12.30pm to 11pm Sunday
Food available: 12pm to 10pm Monday to Saturday
12.30pm to 9.30pm Sunday

Location:

43-45 The Causeway, Duddingston, Edinburgh, EH15 3QA.

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Restaurant Information

Sheep Heid Inn

The Causeway, Edinburgh EH15, UK

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The Sheep Heid Inn, Duddingston, Edinburgh
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