The Steading – good pub grub and an ideal meeting place

The Steading sits in the shadow of Edinburgh’s ski slope on the outskirts of the city and is conveniently located just off the by-pass and on the main road south through Biggar to England.

It has been a popular place to meet and eat or enjoy a thirst-quenching pint for some years and the fire and comfortable sofa as you enter is an attraction.

You just have to look at the amount of cars consistently parked there to know that it is a popular place.

The Steading is certainly not pretentious and provides no frills traditional pub food.

One of our waiters, however, needed a course on how to smile but we could not complain about what we received.

Starters included lentil and chorizo soup and spring rolls plus prawns. All good food.

Our mains included fish (sizeable, but the battered version was superior to the breaded), steak and ale pie (good filling, tender meat and crunchy pastry), liver and onions and a tasty Parmesan chicken on a bed of pasta. Nothing fancy, but all perfectly acceptable for the price.

The restaurant was busy – this was a Sunday night – with a mixed clientele from families to pensioners.

The bar also boasted a small but pleasing selection of cask ale. My Timothy Taylor’s Landlord was as it should be, well-kept and beautifully poured, and the local cask ale from Stewart’s Brewing, just down the road, which I also savoured, was also pleasantly hoppy.

In all, a pleasant evening with friends from different parts of the city making the venue, which has a car park and on-street parking, an ideal meeting place.

The Steading, 118-20 Biggar Road, Hillend, Edinburgh EH10 7DU t 0131 445 1128