Over the past year or so we have heard good things about Sygn Bar in Edinburgh’s West End. Friends have raved about the cocktails and food and we had always meant to pop in. Sygn bar is perfectly situated for the West End bus interchange so no arguments about who’s driving!
At last we had an excuse to visit when we heard that Sygn was to host a Craft Beer tasting event with beers from brewers Monteith’s. This New Zealand brewery has been brewing quality beer for over 150 years. Craft Beers have become very fashionable with lots of small brewery businesses springing up around the world. I kind of think of the small craft breweries as the independent shops on the high street and the big brands as the Tesco of the beer world! We should make sure that where possible we support these small businesses.
The bar was really busy when we arrived both with beer tasters and also lots of folks enjoying the naughty treats from the food menu. Our plan was to start with Beer and progress to food later! Monteith’s were sampling three of their most popular beers; Pilsner, Southern Pale Ale and also an IPA.
The beers are just recently available in Scotland, hence the promotion by Sygn bar. Each bottle was served perfectly chilled and we found each to be very different in taste. The Pilsner was clean, light, fresh and refreshing, the Pale Ale more rounded with a smooth almost Elderberry flavour and the IPA much more robust and distinctively hoppy. Wendy and Jane who were with us preferred the Pilsner, I preferred the Pale Ale and Raymond the IPA so definitely something to suit most tastes.
Mid-tasting, Sygn chefs produced some sliders to also allow us to sample their burgers. A perfect accompaniment to the beers but the taster highlighted that we hadn’t eaten since lunch time and were now hungry boys! After the tasting was over we each received a jute branded bag with glass, bottle opener and a history of Monteith Brewing Co. The bag will come in handy to avoid the 5p carrier bag charge while promoting Monteith’s beers around Edinburgh and the bottle opener and glass has already been put to good use.
After the beer tasting was over, we decided to have a wee look at the menu to see if anything took our fancy and oh dear…….it did! The menu is designed to tempt and offers lots of sharing options. This is definitely a bar where you would pop in for a drink with friends and then order a few dishes to nibble away at.
Raymond fancied pizza but it was the Box of Fries that caught my eye. This is a great idea – chips with lots of different toppings served in a box – absolutely perfect after beer sampling! I decided to opt for chips with haggis and cheese……not exactly the healthiest option but it seemed like it was just what the doctor ordered.
Oh my goodness, the chips, haggis and cheese were absolutely delicious, but did leave a rather guilty taste…..especially after the slider earlier. Raymond’s pizza was equally delicious with a crispy base, hot and spicy flavour and plenty of it!
Sygn bar is definitely somewhere we will return to both have a drink and also a bite to eat. We want to try out their cocktails, their fizzy carbonated classics and their boozy milkshakes. Check out their cocktail menu online – it’s extensive and offers something a little bit different.
Sygn bar offer a variety of events throughout the year and you can join their guest list via the website. We look forward to visiting again soon.
Our beer tasting and slider were complimentary but we paid for the food and drinks afterwards.
Sygn Bar
15 Charlotte Lane
West End
Edinburgh
Tel 0131 225 6060
Website