With its crazy junk-shop decor, inflated beer prices, strange signs forbidding all sorts of activities, cash-only rule and famously rude staff, this undeniably quaint Morningside den shouldn’t be a success, yet it’s a singularly famous Edinburgh institution beloved of its many fans – and loathed as ‘pretentious’ by many in equal measure. One reason for its popularity is the remarkable assortment of ephemera lining the walls and hanging from the ceiling – loads of clocks and everything from model ships and Chinese umbrellas to tools and oars add to the soothing, homely ambience. The cocktails are good, there’s a large selection of malts and they even serve Salmanazars (nine-litre bottles of Champagne). The food is generally limited to unexceptional but filling open sandwiches or a cold buffet.