13-02-2025
I visited Britain's ‘most popular' pub, where a pint costs £1.99
It's 10pm on Thursday evening, and Edinburgh pub the Standing Order is pleasantly quiet. At its rows of two-seater high-tops and dark-wood dining tables, a scattering of tourists, students and locals sit chatting beneath the grand, gilded ceiling of what was once – as the name cannily hints – the Union Bank of Scotland's neoclassical head office. Above the bar, a life-sized model of a bank manager – his face creased with fatigue, an open briefcase of money resting in his arms – presides somewhat eerily over the scene below.
Little do these punters know that they are also, in fact, sitting in Britain's best pub – according, that is, to a ranking of the 20 best-loved attractions, pubs and restaurants in the UK, released last week by Google Maps to mark the platform's 20th birthday. Venues were ranked based on the number of reviews they had received, and how many times they had been rated four stars or above. With 11,599 reviews – from enthusiastic tourists and locals alike – and an average rating of 4.2 stars out of 5, the Standing Order stormed to victory.
On first glance – with its Georgian grandeur, quirky history and central location on smart George Street, in the heart of Edinburgh's grand, grey-sandstone New Town – it seems a fitting winner. Indeed, by the reckonings of any touchstone on the subject (from George Orwell's oft-quoted 1946 essay, The Moon Under Water – which stipulated 'draught stout, open fires, cheap meals, a garden, motherly barmaids and no radio' – to Telegraph Travel's own investigative foray into the country's finest watering holes), the Standing Order stacks up reasonably well.
Its interiors – marble pillars, etched glass, wood panelling – are smart and traditional; its bar staff are amiable and efficient; its draught beer is cheap (classic Scottish ale 80 Shilling will set you back just £1.99; a pint of ubiquitous Doom Bar a comparatively princely £3.32); and its Thursday curry nights draw many. All are singled out for frequent praise in its starrier Google reviews.
But look closer – to the digital-font price tags under every beer pump; the heavily stylised branding on every menu and blackboard; the corporate logos on the touch-screen tills – and first impressions falter.
For the Standing Order is no quaint independent boozer, it's a JD Wetherspoon – and though locals will admit to having a soft spot for its chain-pub charms, news of its recent country-topping accolade was nevertheless met with consternation.
'I'd never really thought about it, but now you mention it, I suppose it does have everything you'd want in a pub,' said temporary barman and regular punter Chris. 'And the prices probably help. But best pub in Britain? That's probably more a sad indictment of the rest of Britain's pubs.'
This sentiment was echoed by 60-something Edinburgher Derek – whose response to hearing he was drinking his pint of bitter in the country's best pub triggered a loud 'Ha!' and a prolonged head shake – and by local bartender Logan, of nearby cocktail joint Lucky Liquor. 'There's just no way – it's not even the best Wetherspoon's in Edinburgh!' He scoffed. 'The Caley Picture House is much better.'
But then the students arrived – en masse, fresh from a darts competition at the University of Edinburgh's student union, dressed as monks and nuns – and, with them, the hitherto absent stream of affirmations.
'It's cheap, it's beautiful, it's student-friendly – what more do you need?' said Matilda, who was sporting a wimple. 'Dressed like this, people on the street and in some of the other bars look at us like we're mad, but in here they're used to it,' added her friend, the venerable brother Charlie.
As he spoke, another group of students arrived – wearing headbands with teddy-bear ears – and dutifully flocked to the bar. 'I mean, it's a Spoons: the drinks are cheap, and the set up is amazing,' said chief teddy bear Naya, from Aberdeen. 'It's a massive student bar, too – especially on Wednesdays, our sports night,' added Charlotte, from Oxford.
'It's a nice looking pub, for sure,' chimed Simon, another monk from a neighbouring table. 'And £1.99 a pint? You can't argue with that.'
George Orwell missed a trick, it seems. Cheap meals and draught stout may keep the tourists and long-standing regulars happy – but for Edinburgh's thirsty students, the perfect pub needs to offer just two things: a relaxed attitude to fancy dress, and change from £2. Offer all of the above, and – as the Standing Order has discovered – you're onto a winner.
