Edinburgh bars: More than 100-years-old Leith pub the former Lord Nelson reopens with new landlord

The new landlord is keeping the strong connections with the local community.

When pub landlord Les Greenhalgh saw the former Lord Nelson in Leith after it closed it’s doors last year, he knew he’d stumbled across a gem.

There are few pubs in Edinburgh that captured the spirit of a proper ‘pub pub' better than the Nelson. It was one of a string of pubs in the city to sadly close in the wake of the covid pandemic, after opening following a refurbishment in September 2017.

Now the off-the-beaten track bar which is steeped in history has been given a new lease of life. Les and his wife reopened the bar in August and after just seven weeks he says they already have a band of loyal regulars of all ages who call this place home. The couple repainted the outside and renamed it as the Trafalgar Tap, with a nod to the street it’s on.

Les outside the Trafalgar Tap in Leith

But the couple, who also run the Barony on Broughton Street, are doing all they can to preserve the character and strong community connections.

Les, 58, said he loved that the bar earned it’s place as somewhat of a ‘local institution’ and wanted to recapture that with the Tap. In that spirit he has beers on tap and in bottles from many local breweries.

He told the Evening News: “The pub has such a great feel. We gave it a bit of a freshen up and changed the name but wanted it to be a strong connection to the local community here. There’s so much history in it. The bar is one of only a few remaining horseshoe bars in the city and as far as I know, it’s more than 100 years old. Billy Connolly was in here once, when he filmed When Saturday Comes. It's a privilege to take on such an old pub with all these stories.

"We took on the Barony a few years ago and love that it's ancient. It's like that here, too. Like walking back in time. I love the whole feel of the place with the bar in the middle. It means you are right in the centre of the place and get to chat to everyone at the same time. We have loads of local beers already and I hope to stock from all local breweries by Christmas. If a big chain took over the pub they’d likely have ripped it apart and changed it all to be able to cram more people in to the space. But we want it all in keeping with the history of the place.”

The pub has already got a strong mix of regulars and walk-ins from visitors. But unlike its predecessor the Nelson which showed sports on TV screen at the back the Tap doesn’t do sport. Instead, the focus is more on live events like music sets on Saturday nights and a quiz on Sundays. Customers are welcome to bring food and it’s dog-friendly too.

Les said: “We are lucky to have such a great clientele. New customers come in each week and we have a couple of locals who work here. We don’t do sports, so we complement the bar down the road. What we do is live music and events like the Sunday quiz. I am a big music fan and go to gigs and festivals regularly. We’ve got bands on every weekend on Saturday’s and I’m hoping if that keeps going well, we can do it on Fridays too. It’s going great so far, long may it continue.