In Search of the Ultimate Beer Garden: Cumberland Bar (Fish Cakes and Chips)

My friend S and I have been searching for the perfect beer garden so as not to waste all the perfect weather we have been having.

The Pear Tree is fantastic, but located the other side of town to us, and generally swamped with students

Google search let me know what I had already suspected, Edinburgh doesn't have very much in the way of Beer Gardens at all.

But closer to us, was the Cumberland Bar, and the garden looked promising. We also figured if we got there before the workers got out we should be able to get a table.

Photos courtesy of the-pub-inspector.blogspot.co.uk

The first of our party arrived just before 3 and snagged us an excellent sunny table.

I arrived shortly after, and after procuring myself a bottle of Sav Blank from the bar £16.95, went down to join him.

The guys had ales and Miss K ordered a Carona. G said he could tell that his beer was the first of the day ie: from the lines, but apart from that all drinks were enjoyed.

I decided to order a wee snack, and decided on the haddock and spring onion cakes with chips (option of curly fries).

Well, did I get excited when I saw the beautiful mountain of golden fresh crispy chips on my plate. From previous posts you may have noticed Edinburgh is pants when it comes to chips. Really good, golden, crunchy chips are almost impossible to find here, but these ones looked like a really strong contender.

 Well, oh my... they were perfect, so crispy, and stayed crispy till the very last chip (sign of REAL good chips), fluffy on the inside, a couple of extra crunchy ones as well... I was, and still remain, super happy with the chips.

The fish cakes were fine, delicious, but could have used a bit more fish I felt. The spring onion worked perfectly to add a bit of zing.

The lemon mayo didn't really go it for me, garlic mayo or plain would have sufficed.

The salad was crisp and fresh but undressed. There may have been dressing inside with the condiments, but I hadn't grabbed any.

For me this was top notch beer garden nosh!

Cutlery, condiments and S&P were help-yourself, food orders taken at the bar, and plates brought to the table.

He had brilliant sunlight till around 5. The sun was lovely and warm but the breeze had an evil iciness to it, and the moment the sun dropped behind the adjacent building temperatures plummeted.

In conclusion, yes I think this may be my new favourite place to drink in Edinburgh. At least as long as the sunny days hang around.

http://cumberlandbar.co.uk/