A nice night at Nobles
Nobles bar, on Leith’s Constitution St, has recently reopened after a refurbishment. This represents Fuller Thomson’s first Edinburgh venture outside the confines of Ocean Terminal shopping centre - they already run Ocean Kitchen and Cafe Tiki. The interior of Nobles is absolutely stunning - the Edinburgh based Malcolm Fraser architects were responsible for the look, which expertly retains the best features of a traditional bar, but with sympathetic modern touches. The stained glass facade, the long bar and the wide open, airy space really make Nobles a good looker; infact our first words after stepping inside were “wow”.
First off Nobles was and still is a solid pub to enjoy drinks in. There is ample room to sit, whether on the modern bar stools or classic pub tables, or to stand around the bar and enjoy your favourite tipple. While attracting a new crowd with its recent evolution, it was refreshing to still see a good mix of locals around the bar who clearly hadn’t been isolated by the recent changes. We tried a glass of Nobles’ white rioja (£3.75) which was absolutely lovely. Despite Bellinis being available with Nobles’ hearty breakfast, it was disappointing the bar staff were unable to conjure this drink up at night time.
Nobles menu is fresh, interesting and eminently reasonably priced. For starter we shared a British asparagus, pea and basil risotto (£5.15) - this was a good effort, which was simply seasoned and allowed the fresh asparagus to do all the talking. My creme fraiche mash potato was sublime and just stole the show from the accompanying meat packed chicken and ham pie (£7.15), which itself was delicious. Our other main, beer battered haddock with chips and mushy peas (£7.95), was very good too - although the batter was perhaps a little too crisp in places.
If I can judge any item of food it’s chocolate brownies, which are a personal favourite of mine. This dessert was sensationally good - warm, crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside. The pleasure of Nobles’ chocolate brownie was over all too quickly though - a deeper/larger portion size would be appreciated on future visits! It’s worth noting that in general Nobles’ dishes are towards the light size, but (as usual) maybe that’s just me.
We left Nobles suitably impressed with not only the bar, but also the quality of food on offer. If this is what Fuller Thomson can do to traditional bars then we can only hope their Edinburgh empire expands even wider.
Nobles is located at 44a Constitution Street, Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 6RS.
Telephone: 2021 561 821
