Russell’s Verdict
A buzzing bar-cum-eatery half way down Easter Road, The Mash Tun offers decent real ales and a variety of weekday food deals to satisfy hungry patrons. Living locally, we’ve dropped in a few times before as it has plenty of seating and provided tasty options when we didn’t feel like cooking.
This is a “look at the menu and order at the bar” kind of place, making it pretty relaxed. It’s your fairly typical bar, with the usual range of drinks plus a few cask and bottled ales, providing large wooden tables or smaller booth-like areas for more intimate drinks and dining.
Some of the tables (unintentionally) vibrate due to a rumble underground now and again, so it’s best to check that yours is stable, unless you enjoy shaking as you eat. Sports are also projected onto a large screen during big events, so it is best to avoid those times if you don’t want football chants to accompany your dinner.
Each day of the week sees a different offer. Monday to Wednesday, it’s buy one get one free on pizzas, Thursday is steak night, and so on. We arrived on a Tuesday, so ordered two pints of ale and two pizzas: the Mediterranean vegetable pizza, and the pulled pork with BBQ sauce pizza.
Service was a tad slow, but very friendly. Each pizza had a generous portion of toppings and a crispy base, though the pulled pork pizza was a little greasy. This is more American-style than Italian-style pizza, often with a bit of a Scottish twang. The ale is stored properly and accompanies the food well.
A range of homemade desserts are also available, though we were too full to try them.
In short: a good local for drinks and home cooked food, which shouldn’t break the bank. Pick your night carefully though if you want to avoid bustling sports crowds, and to make sure you’re getting the best offers on the food you want to eat.
Scores
Russell scores The Mash Tun
4/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
3.5/5 for setting
4/5 for service
giving an overall 15/20
We ate: BBQ pulled pork pizza and Mediterranean vegetable pizza
We drank: local ale
We wore: godzilla being attacked by kittens t-shirt, jeans
Total bill: £18.25 (using the buy one get one free offer – approximately £9 per person)