It is rare to find a pub in the heart of Edinburgh’s city centre that has not been snapped up by a large chain such as Wetherspoons or Green King, and even rarer to find a free house that has not been turned into a bistro bar in order to survive.
The Wally Dug on Northumberland Street however is one such bar. Originally built in 1811 as a watering hole for workers constructing the New Town, it has changed hands many times and has been transformed from a bar to a tea and spirits establishment and back again on more than one occasion.
In its recent past the bar was known for a bit of a wild student drinking spot but over the last year it has come under the new management of Michael Freedman. And although it continues to be popular with students in the area, it has broadened its horizons following a facelift and also welcomes working professionals and local residents to its cosy environment.
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As well as being popular with the wide ranging demographic of the New Town, the Wally Dug is also a favourite of an A-list celebrity, Jenna Fisher, who played Pam in the hit US series adaptation of ‘The Office.’
Michael reminisces about the time that Jenna and her husband stopped in one night after arriving in Edinburgh, where they joined the pub's weekly poker game and unbelievably won. They drank and chatted the whole night and often return to the pub when they revisit the capital.
On the pub's new lease of life and what it can offer to visiting punters, Michael, who studied mechanical engineering at Heriot Watt said: “We like to think of ourselves as a big community.
“The Wally Dug is a place where you can walk into knowing no one and leave with multiple friends after just a few hours of drinking. The bar staff are all extremely friendly and we like to think that we have a special bond with our customers.
“I like to think we are a traditional Scottish pub but with a bit of a New York style dive bar mixed in. In the recent past the bar maybe became a bit too student dominated and could get wild but I think we have found the perfect balance of accommodating our loyal student customers through student discounts from Friday to Monday as well as our working professional locals midweek.
“We regularly have live music events to try to support local artists and are frequently visited by the Smoking Jefferey’s. Behind the bar we have a large variety of whiskies with over 40 different brands.
“Each week we have a Dug dram where we buy in a high end whisky in the range of £150-300 and sell a dram at wholesale cost. This means you could try a 25 year old whisky for around a fiver instead of the £12-15 you would pay at a high end whisky bar.
“A lot of people come in here just to try these whiskies. We are also known for a toffee vodka shot that one of our owners introduced and that has been dating back a number of years.
“We are one of the last bastions of community pubs outside of the bureaucracy of large conglomerates and that allows us to be unique and versatile with the drinks that we bring in.”
The bar supports a wide range of small breweries from Arthur Seat’s Top Out in Lochend to MoR brewery in Peebles. Although they also stock the favourites such as Tennent’s lager and Guinness.
They were recently named as the number one dog friendly pub in Edinburgh by a dog owner blog and Michael jokes that regularly visiting pooches can often be seen through the window trying to pull their owner down the steps when passing on a walk.
The bar, which sports a piano from the 1700s, is split into four areas: the recently renovated and quirky wooden smoking cabins on the outside; the main bar that is filled with local art work; a ten person side area perfect for a private booking and a back room that is suited to large groups.
The Wally Dug, and its newly renovated interior, can be found at 32 Northumberland Street and is open seven days a week to the public.
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