Nobles By Bellfield bar review: Pub grub and good pints
The Bellfield brand spreads its wings onto Constitution Street with a rotating line-up of beers and a menu favouring local produce
Good pub, good beer, good food: it should be a simple formula, yet it’s surprisingly rare to find all three done well. Too often, decent kitchens are paired with dull, predictable beer lists or menus slide into freezer-to-fryer territory. So, when a brewery takes over a pub it’s worth paying attention. Earlier this year, Leith stalwart Nobles was taken over by Bellfield Brewery in a welcome expansion from their Stanley Place taproom. The refresh is subtle: the décor has been stripped back, keeping the grand stained glass and dark polished wood, but the eclectic art has left the building. In its place, a chalkboard lists a rotating line-up of Bellfield beers, typically 14 kegs and two casks alongside a few well-chosen guests. Non-drinkers are well served too, with a delicious draft 0.5% Fire Island IPA.
In the kitchen, chef Hugh Brown (formerly of The Palmerston, Fin & Grape and Mirin) delivers a menu driven by local produce, changing at least twice weekly depending on what’s best from suppliers. Meat from The Free Company shines in the Bellfield burger: two juicy, medium-rare patties stacked with cheese and pickles, excellent with a side of skin-on chips. Fish, from Fife’s David Lowrie, is equally strong: full marks for the tender hake with cider-spiked creamed leeks. Vegetables star mostly in the starters: asparagus with crunchy almonds and ajo blanco, and chilli-crisp tempura broccoli are both excellent. This is a pub that understands the balance between pint and plate, happily hitting the mark by keeping dishes simple and hearty yet full of flavour and interest.
Nobles By Bellfield, 44a Constitution Street, Edinburgh; average price £22 for two courses.