Joseph Pearce - I only went out for stamps
A place that looks far better from the outside than from the inside – but can it be called a pub?
Update 5 April 2024: Turns out my headline was more prescient than I realised. More details, thanks to reader Anne, at the bottom of this review.
I was at the Post Office on Elm Row thinking of which pub to write about this week when I made the decision to treat myself to a midweek afternoon pint. Did I deserve it? Probably not – I should have been working, or gone to the gym, or run some more errands. But I’ve committed to releasing a new review every Wednesday. And it was already Tuesday afternoon.
So, under the guise of needing some material for this week, I stepped into Joseph Pearce. Taking the corner unit of Elm Row and Montgomery Street, the old institution has previously been a grocer’s and – as the sign outside still says – a wine and spirit merchant. It appears that it was an old-fashioned boozer for quite some time until it was taken over by a Swedish couple, who have run it since 2008.
I step in to a high-ceilinged bar area, with various levels of seating scattered about. There’s a snug corner set up like a living room (comfy low sofas and arm chairs), as well as lower tables and high tables with stools. I settle myself at a high table by the window, a perfect people-watching spot out of the blustery rain. Up some stairs is the dining area where the menu fuses traditional pub food with Swedish fare.
In one corner a large TV is showing daytime TV on mute, which makes it largely pointless. Instead, I hear a playlist of mostly covers of popular songs (including an inexplicable ska cover of Dave Brubeck’s Take Five).
While the building dates back to 1898, the pub seems to want to obscure a lot of its historical features. The dark wooden bar is painted purple. An ornate column supporting the ceiling is covered up with flowery wallpaper. The style could be generously described as eclectic, or more accurately described as inconsistent. Plastic plants and fairy lights are everywhere. Two birdcages hang from the ceiling. An orange painting of a city skyline hangs on one wall.
To the pub’s credit, it retains a pendant light above the bar which at least looks like it has been left over from its previous iterations. Candles at each table are a nice touch. And there’s a grand set of antlers on the wall which perhaps nods to the pub’s Swedish heritage. The only other Swedish references that I can see, though, are some flags and a poorly printed copy of an old aquavit advert.
To be fair, perhaps I’ve come in with the wrong expectations. This isn’t a classic boozer and it’s not trying to be. It may date back to 1898, but it’s not an Athletic Arms or a Windsor, pubs which preserve turn-of-the-century decor. It’s trying to be modern and cater to a different crowd. I’ve never been to Sweden. For all I know, this is what pubs look like there.
What’s most disappointing is the beer selection. There’s no cask, which would be fine were it to have an interesting range on keg. But a couple of mass market lagers, a “craft” pale ale (actually made by Greene King) and a cider are all uninspiring. It’s somewhat saved by the presence of Murphy’s stout, a beer which I have praised before. I opt for that, but it’s not as good (or as cheap) as it is at The Diggers on the opposite side of town. On the gantry, there looks to be a decent spirits selection, including some Swedish options. And the cocktail menu offers the usuals for £10-£12.
Visiting on a wet Tuesday afternoon doesn’t allow me to make a proper judgement on the place’s ambience. But I hear it gets pretty busy of an evening and I’m sure the atmosphere ramps up. Plus, its outside tables are a bit of a sun trap which come into their own in the summer time. Maybe that’s the best way to experience Joseph Pearce – from the outside looking in.
Where is it?
Where next?
You have plenty of options going down Leith Walk, including The Victoria, run by the same owners and with a much better beer selection. Otherwise, The Windsor is literally a few doors down from Joseph Pearce and is a far superior pub.
The chaser
This week’s chaser is not strictly related to Edinburgh pubs, but to Scottish beer. The staff at Brewdog’s Waterloo bar in London issued an open letter to the company last week through the beer writer David Jesudason. In it, they said the bar’s management “operate like a cabal because they have instilled a culture of fear, through a combination of bullying and gaslighting.”
The open letter follows Jesudason’s article on the bar, which reports that staff “couldn’t take toilet breaks without being followed by managers”, that “children are regularly put at danger when they’re in the presence of drunk adults” and “that profits are prioritised over staff and customer safety”.
Brewdog was on the Sunday Times’ Best Place To Work 2023 list and also claims “certified excellence in employee conditions” from an HR body called the Top Employers Institute. The company denies everything that was alleged in the original article (linked below). As far as I can see, it has not yet responded to the open letter from staff, which was published on 29 March.
Update: Here is a response from a duty manager at another branch. A reminder that Brewdog deny all the allegations.
The update: 5 April 2024
Thanks to reader Anne, who informed me of Joseph Pearce’s longer relationship with the postal service.
Apparently, it used to open early in the morning to cater for workers coming off the night shift at the Royal Mail sorting office which used to be round the corner on Brunswick Road. Anne - who worked nearby - would regularly see gents in there on her way into the office. She denies ever joining them at that time - though apparently a colleague or two were known to slip off for a morning pint.
Anne also recently lent me a copy of Camra’s Edinburgh pub guide from 1979. Here’s part of the entry for Joseph Pearce. It turns out the “eclectic” decor is nothing new.
Inside the small public bar the visitor is stunned by the multitude of decorating styles – glittering wall paper to gothic pillars, colour telly to polished brasses. The bar, nevertheless has a good selection of beers and snacks at reasonable prices and the chance to booze all day.