Mathers West End – A pub you can bank on
Sometimes, a room, a pint and some company is all you need.
After reviewing Mather’s on Broughton Street last week, I thought it was only fair to pop into the other Mathers for a pint.
The two pubs are not connected by anything except their names (bar that apostrophe), but both share a history of once being run by wine and spirit merchants.
This Mathers was built as a bank in 1900, though it wasn't long before it turned into a pub by a Mr Hugh Mather three years later. The sign outside still displays the HP Mather name, advertising wines and spirits.
Inside, the one-room pub is dominated on one side by an impressive gantry, which Camra says is the original (with a few modifications) from when the pub first opened over a century ago. Other surviving relics include the stained-glass windows, fireplace and the high, deep red ceiling.
The pub celebrates Edinburgh’s brewing past with a number of mirrors and posters for William Younger – always a nice touch for a pub with so much history. Unfortunately, the ale on offer now is nothing to write home about. While I have seen a better selection in previous visits, this time round the only cask was a pretty bog-standard Deuchars IPA.
Still, that doesn’t seem to stop a small but loyal crowd of regular drinkers (mostly lager by the looks of it) standing by the bar or perching nearby with a newspaper. It’s a relaxed atmosphere at the weekend, offering a quiet haven when steeping in from the busy intersection of Princes Street and Queensferry Street.
The pub does fill up though, especially when there’s a big show on at the nearby Usher Hall, or when it shows sport on the ample number of TVs.
Like its namesake on the other side of town, Mathers won’t win any awards for its ale. But like the other Mather’s, it’s there to provide a welcoming, communal space in a pleasant atmosphere. And sometimes, that’s all you need from a pub.
Where is it?
Where next?
Ryrie’s isn’t too far away. It’s a little more expensive, but you’ll always get a decent pint there.
The chaser
Some sad news from Easter Road, where The Mash Tun is shutting this weekend. In a note posted on Instagram, its managers said they would be “handing the pub back to Heineken.” They end with the hope that “the new government will consider throwing the sector a bone”.
Labour did make some noises before the election that they would bring in some sort of scheme for communities to buy shuttered pubs. The Pub Curmudgeon outlines some of the major questions of how that would work in this blog post, and also asks why politicians only seem to care about the pub when an election comes around. Worth a read.