Encore Bars has officially opened its new ‘flagship’ venue, The Lyon Public House, on Edinburgh’s George Street.
The launch follows a six-month restyling of the large basement space at 51a George St, which was previously occupied by Encore’s Westside Rodeo country-and-western concept.
With Westside Rodeo’s haybales and bucking bronco now relocated to the site of the old Legends rock bar in the Cowgate, Encore has leant into the site’s more distant history as an auction house, styling The Lyon as an all-day and late-night destination around a Victorian aesthetic – with ‘pies, pints and duelling pianos’.
Director of operations at Encore Bars, Gavin Currie, said: “We’ve put a huge amount of thought into The Lyon, so it feels brilliant to finally open the doors and let people experience it.
“We wanted to create a proper public house for George Street, somewhere you can come for a pint or a pie, stay for dinner and suddenly find yourself singing along at the pianos a few hours later.
“The history of the building gave us so much to work with,” said Currie.
“For more than 100 years, people came through these doors for auctions that were loud, theatrical and full of characters, and we wanted to bring some of that energy back.
“There are little references to its past everywhere, but ultimately The Lyon is about creating a brilliant atmosphere and a place people will want to come back to again and again.”
At the heart of the venue is ‘Hammer Hall’, with two pianos and long beer hall-style tables.
During peak dinner service, the in-house pianists take requests from the floor, playing covers with a jazz and blues influence, before the duelling pianos take over later in the evening.
Beyond Hammer Hall, ‘The Sale Room’ hosts live bands and performers, while the glass-fronted ‘Courtyard’ opens the venue onto George Street.
‘Lot 51’, a private room with its own bar, is available for private dining for up to 15 people and drinks for up to 30.
Executive chef Jake Clayton and head chef Andrius Sabanovas have created a menu of reworked pub classics using seasonal produce from local suppliers, with dishes including lobster roll, ham, egg and chips and a Sunday roast.
At the centre of the kitchen is The Lyon’s own in-house bakery, making fresh pies every day, with steak pie, macaroni cheese pie and Lorne sausage rolls on the list alongside two regularly changing seasonal pies.
In an unusual feature, when the main kitchen closes, the pies will keep coming, with The Lyon’s late-night pie window serving until 3am. From 10pm, late-night pies can also be ordered directly to tables throughout the venue.
Behind the bar are 18 draught beers, ranging from world beers and Scottish favourites to a rotating guest line. Lyon House Lager, a 4% lager brewed in Scotland specifically for the venue, is the house pour.
The cocktail list also takes inspiration from the building and the city. Bonny White Glove nods to the auction tradition of presenting a white glove for the most precious lots, while the chocolate, marshmallow and vanilla Teacake Tipple takes inspiration from a Scottish teatime favourite.
The bourbon and coffee-led Smokey Wee Number is finished with orange and smoke at the table.
In terms of décor, Encore has invested heavily in recapturing a Victorian vibe – tapestries discovered at an estate clearance sit alongside original pub mirrors from the 1880s, antiques and curios sourced from dealers and auction houses across the UK, and a letter from Scottish artist Edward Atkinson Hornel to the Marquess of Bute.
Where reclaimed pieces could not be found, elements have been made specifically for the venue, including hand-built bars, custom lighting and tiles glazed in the UK.
