Remembering Edinburgh's roughest pubs from days gone by - including infamous boozer The Gunner

More than 1,300 people responded, suggesting a variety of ‘colourful’ pubs dotted around the capital with some sharing stories and memories from the notorious bars. Locals listed several premisses from yesteryear including Fairleys dancehall, the Penny Black, Captain's Cabin and the Busy Bee.

But one pub that stood out from the list was The Gunner, an infamous Muirhouse bar that closed in 2015. Around 200 people agreed it was Edinburgh’s roughest pub back in the day with one resident stating ‘even the police were feart to go in’ whilst another added ‘it wasnae that bad’.

One man said: “I was in the Merchant Navy and have been in rough pubs all over the world, but the roughest pub I have ever been in my life was in my home town -  The Gunner in Pennywell Road in the early 1980s.”

Other locals suggested its reputation as a dangerous pub has been exaggerated with many claiming the stories don’t reflect the experience other regulars had. Known as Boom Boom, the North Edinburgh pub has since been demolished.

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One local resident, whose flat overlook the pub said ‘it made for some entertaining viewing at throwing out time’ whilst another added ‘I remember it well and will never forget when I was a bairn watching two old woman rag doll each other.’ Another simply said: “‘I went once and only once and will never forget it as long as I live.’

Another local, recalling his days as a tradesman in the 1990s, said: “We were never out of that pub fixing windows and mirrors after some ruckus. I’m sure that pub kept that company in business - it was a full time job on its own.” 

One reader remembered going in for a swift pint at the windowless pub with his friend on a Friday after work. He said it was the roughest pub he has been in ‘without a doubt’. He said: “I was terrified to look anyone in the eye. The guy I was with introduced me to his mate called Bleed. I didn't ask how he got that name…it was definitely a scary pub.”

Another notable pub which has since closed was the Dundee Arms, located on the corner of Dundee Street and Murdoch Terrace. But according to our readers most referred to this pub as ‘The Vietnam’ or ‘The Nam’ with one local explaining it got the name ‘because there was non-stop fighting’.

Broomhouse bar The Gauntlet also received a few mentions from our readers. Having served customers for more than 30 years, the bar made headlines in 2009 when a gangland feud took place outside the bar.

Speaking about the pub, one resident said: “I only went in once while I waited for the shop round the corner to reopen after lunch. Never drank a pint so fast in my life. The looks I was getting were unreal.”

Others remembered the former Leith pub, The Jungle. The premises is now a top-rated gastro-pub, but many moons ago, locals suggested the atmosphere was very different.

One resident said: “I hated walking past it because there were always fights with people being thrown out.” Remembering a time in the early 1970s, another said: “We were told not to take a fiver out in the pub or you’d get mugged - instead buy fags in the newsagent to break the fiver.” They added: “You’d be lucky to get a pint for a fiver now.”

Former West Granton Road boozer, the Willie Muir lounge was mentioned several times by our readers. Some said the Willie Muir was a great wee bar but others suggested it wasn’t the friendliest pub if you weren’t a local. One reader joked: “The Willie Muir was a place where you could buy back anything that had been stolen.” The pub would later close in the late 1990s after the building was damaged in a fire. 

The White House in Craigmillar was also mentioned as one of the capital’s roughest pubs. Now a popular community kitchen and café, locals said the former pub had a fearsome reputation back in the day, with one local having added: “I saw some states lying outside there bleeding on the pavement when I lived there.”