The World's End

So, so delicious. We went back the night after because it was so good, and had another incredible meal. The server was super nice, and chatted with us a bit and made the meal more fun and enjoyable. Will definitely come back here the next visit to Edinburgh.

Well we kept the best for the last. Yesterday we went to this famous place to have their immensely famous Fish and Chips .....and we were not disappointed. For last 3 days I ate around lot of Fish and Chips here and there whenever I was hungry. But the dish at the World's End is mind blowing. Staffs are friendly and so is the atmosphere . I fell in love with Edinburgh and will come back again but this time during summer 😜. Special me tion to their World's End in-house beer...I loved it although not a beer person 🙃.

So, it feels like you're eating in a camper van and the kitchen is tinier than your loo. Mixed reviews on the food, hubby hated his fish and chips while my grilled salmon was sublime! Pimms was good, beer can't be bad so all in all, GOOD!

Prince Gastronome. I know what you’re thinking.

No, this is not the location which inspired the film.

There are in actually at least three pubs called The World’s End in the UK (probably more). They’re not a franchise from what I can tell—I guess it’s something people in the UK just do. It sure feels like a franchise given the amount of memorabilia sold inside, reminiscent of Hard Rock Cafes and Planet Hollywoods. It is claimed that The World’s End is a landmark. It sure tries to make that argument.

I found myself wandering the royal mile for most of this November afternoon, stumbling past the titled pub late in the afternoon. I hadn’t planned on a pub to be honest, but one look at the name convinced me. Inside, tables are packed tighter than chickens in an industrial farm. Pictures, books, plaques, and statuettes pack the walls to such a degree, they spill onto the ceilings (t-shirts are actually stapled to the ceiling). Chalkboards are scattered about with various specials. This felt like a hoarder’s open house.

Like a complete gastronomic philistine, I failed to fill my role of a pub patron and just asked for a coke.

The World’s End is considered a tourist attraction strategically and iconically (it’s a word) located at the junction of St Mary’s and High Street, marking the outer rim of Edinburgh back in the sixteenth century. To those that lived in the city back then, the outer wall of Edinburgh marked the end of their world. In that, one can assume The World’s End can own some metaphorical claim to the name. It makes me wonder if any of the other similarly named pubs can make such a connection.

The more I read up on the history of the pub, the more I came to believe it earned its reputation as a landmark. And if you don’t care about that, they still have WiFi. When it came to the food, I’m surprised how productive they are considering that their kitchen looked about the size of a broom closet. Given that, I still received my dish in a timely fashion. Of course, being a proper pub, the menu was jammed with sandwiches and pasta with a headline reserved for fish and chips. I was instantly hooked on their “haggis, neeps, and tatties”—locally caught MacSween’s haggis served with creamy mashed potatoes and bashed neeps (turnips). The delivered plate was simple and delectable. The prices are a little on the expensive side mind you, an obvious inflation for eating at a tourist hot-spot. There also isn’t a lot of variety, which I wouldn’t normally complain about except that only four options on the general menu offers a vegetarian variation. And if you think I’m talking about the salads, you’d be wrong—those all have meat on them. Remember this is Scotland—their traditional breakfast is five types of meat.

I was asked if I wanted their signature whisky cream sauce and by reflex I said yes. This dish as prepared felt more suited for a proper restaurant, so I appreciated the attention to detail. It also felt properly Scottish, though I won’t claim it was authentic in any way on the off chance I get lynched by manic clansmen and beaten to a pulp with bagpipe chanter reeds (that happens, doesn’t it?). All I am saying is that of the twenty six or so options on the main menu, all but six would never been found on a menu in North America.

Let’s put things into perspective for a moment; if The Worlds End was transplanted brick by brick, word for word to my home town, it would instantly be my favorite pub by such a degree, it would reside in the tallest tower with second place reduced to begging for crumbs and sleeping in the slop drain. However, if such a pub were to be “translated” to Canada, it would be larger and hopefully not be plastered with so many self-serving product advertisements. On the other hand, a Canadian pub would be a shill for a dozen different brands of alcoholic cooler. Take the good with the bad and I would see about The World’s End a thousand times before welcoming a new dawn inside a Canadian pub.

Food: 4/5
Service: 3/5
Presentation: 3.5/5
Value: 4/5
Recommendation: 3.75/5

I had the fish and chips and a pint of Duchards. £9.99 for an enormous and very tasty meal that was quickly served by pleasant and friendly staff. The beer was also good but a little pricey at £3.65 a pint. Overall it's well worth a visit and I'll go there again tomorrow.

Service here was lovely. While I was up in Scotland I wanted to try my first Whiskey. The guy on the bar was only too happy to walk me through all the differences in notes and allow me to smell all the corks. Settled on one from Edinburgh as it felt right being in the place. There are places to sit inside and out and they also seem to have a very good smelling menu. Can't complain one bit.

Reservations are a must, as we saw several people who had wandered in turned away. The fish and chips were very very good, and so was the steak and ale pie. My partner LOVED the sticky toffee pudding. I had the apple pie and it was not overly sweet and came out piping hot. The ambiance is cozy, with the lights dimmed in the small restaurant. It was a good meal in Edinburgh that wasn't overly expensive. We would definitely eat here again next time we visit the city.

Great experience. I had the steak and ale pie with mash. Dad had fish and chips. Both delicious and the drinks were massive and great. Loved this historical site with it’s side of lunch. As for reservations, we stumbled into the restaurant around 230 and had no problem getting in. We saw it later that same night and it was PACKED. Like line out the door.

Need to this pub on how bucket list. Had a worlds end beer and a chat and left. But the insides blew me away. Tiny and held a punch of an atmosphere. Does get a bit busy from 6pm and hard to get a chair

Great little pub with an long history. Fish n chips was spot on, so was the burger. You’ll need reservations most days but they allowed us to eat very quickly. Worth stop for a pint and a meal. Reasonably priced for being in the heart of Edinburgh.