THE Caley Picture House pub was once a popular venue for the biggest UK musicians.
Now a pub, The Caley Picture House is the biggest of the Wetherspoons chains in Edinburgh and looks like something from The Great Gatsby.
The Caley Picture House is on Lothian Road in the Scottish capital.
The pub opened as part of the Wetherspoons chain in 2016, making it the eighth Wetherspoon’s pub in the Scottish city.
The Caley Picture House has fast become one of the most popular of the chains, thanks to the interesting interior which takes the pub back to its roots.
The Grade B listed building was originally The Caley Picture House cinema and opened on January 1, 1923 with Game of Life – a silent film.
Over the years the building has since changed, becoming nightclubs and a live music venue throughout the 1970s and 80s under the name Caley Palais.
If you’re thinking it would just be welcoming local bands, you’d be wrong.
Notable past performers include Pink Floyd, Queen and AC/DC.
There are also records of Robin Trower, Wishbone Ash, Uriah Heep, Hawkwind, Rory Gallagher, Beck, The Smiths, New Order, Bogert & Appice and Gentle Giant taking to the stage.
After years of providing entertainment, the venue finally closed after a farewell party on December 31, 2013 and became a Wetherspoons three years later.
In keeping with its past, the pub has retained its theatre look, with navy and gold decor looking like a scene straight out of the 1920s.
The bar is found at the back of the pub where the screen of the cinema, and stage would have been.
Now, there are 74 taps on the bar offering a selection of beer, wine, ale and cider, and 134 tables for punters.
There are seats and tables all around on different levels from the stalls all the way up to the circle.
In the lobby, there’s a stark reminder of the pub’s past with a classic film projector.
One punter says the pub is “outstanding, roomy, stylish and unique” with some adding it “doesn’t feel like a Wetherspoons”.
Some could even remember The Caley Picture House in its former glory days as a cinema.
They said: “What a wonderful interior which took me back to the 60s as a child going to see The Great Escape, Zulu, Clint Eastwood films with my uncle.”
We also had a drink at The Samuel Peto in Folkestone, which is in a former church and one of the most beautiful Wetherspoons in the UK.
With so many Wetherspoons chains, here are another 11 that we believe deserve a shout out.
These are some of the top Wetherspoons around the UK
These Wetherspoons pubs are some of the best-loved in the UK according to Google Maps
The Standing Order, found on George Street in Edinburgh. The building, once the Union Bank of Scotland, is now a Wetherspoon’s pub. But it still has lots of its original features like the high ceilings, marble pillars and even a walk-in safe. It is spread across three floors with lots of different rooms where you can have a quiet drink away from the busy bar.
Blackpool’s The Velvet Coaster was the second top-ranked pub according to Google Maps. This boozer is right next to Blackpool’s South Pier, so it is the perfect place for a drink pit stop, and even has a huge beer garden and roof terrace.
The Counting House in Glasgow, which was third on the list of the UK’s top pubs. It’s not hard to see why punters love a visit to this Scottish gem if you take a look at the glass dome ceiling. Yet another converted bank, the building was designed in the Italian Renaissance style boasting Corinthian columns, sculptures and a huge central dome.
