Edinburgh Pub Guide: Jekyll & Hyde

Jekyll & Hyde and Hanover Street

You find the Jekyll and Hyde on the stretch of Hanover Street that descends from George Street towards Queen Street. On a good day the views from outside the front door extend down to Leith and across the Forth Estuary to distant Fife.

Pub Sign The "Library": Entrance to the Loos

The imagery outside the pub is dark and Gothic, all the way down to the real flame lamps that light the frontage. The name is pure Edinburgh and comes, of course, from the title of the Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novel: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The book was about good and evil, light and dark. The pub tends to focus on the darker side of its theme.

The Bar Rear Room

One result is that if you go in on a bright sunny day, you are very unlikely to see much beyond the first couple of yards until your eyes have adjusted. Edinburgh is home to many dark pubs, but the Jekyll and Hyde probably takes the award for being the darkest.

Once you eyes have adjusted you make your way past the bar and up sets of stairs to successive levels of the pub: the further towards the rear you go, the further you have to climb. Until you get to the back, anyway, for here you find yourself looking down into a rear room that comes complete with windows and natural light. One of the levels you ascend through appears to be home to a library. Your eyes have to be especially well adjusted to realise that parts of the bookshelves form the doors to the loos.

Cocktails are available on a "seven deadly sins" theme, and there is always a selection of malt whiskies available. Traditional pub food is also served. Jekyll and Hyde attracts a broad mix of customers, including business people, students and tourists.

Interior, Looking Towards the Door