#364. Drinkies, 39 Queen St, Edinburgh

Drinkies is the white-fronted place on the right.

All told, we figure we've probably spent at least one full day of our year in Edinburgh waiting to cross Queen Street. At Frederick and Queen is this hole in the wall I didn't actually realize was a drinking establishment until fairly recently. (I thought it was a wine shop.) Much like Snoopy's doghouse, or the TARDIS on Dr. Who, Drinkies defies the laws of physics by being dramatically larger within than it appears from without. The interior is spread over two floors, complete with interesting art, a wheel-chair accessible washroom, and comfortable furnishings.




















I was served by the owner, who recently sold the establishment. He was attempting to drain the inventory before month's end, so the only remaining beer on tap was the Italian lager Peroni, which is too bad as they used to stock a couple of decent kegs. After three years as owner/operator of Drinkies Wine Bar, he was moving to a beach in Gambia to escape the dismal weather. Born in India to Scottish parents, he was raised abroad in the sunshine until returning to Glasgow at age 12. He opined that the Scots are all depressed due to the lack of sunshine, and they drink so much in order to self-medicate.

Aye to that.