Winner of 'Best Pub Food' in the Scottish Restaurant Awards 2008

This is a presitgious award fiercely fought over by the best food outlets in Scotland. Click here for a full list of winners from the Scottish Restaurant Awards website.

With a combination of superb ales knowledgably kept and cared for and nationally acclaimed (see above) pub food, the King's Wark is an assured winner in the eating and drinking stakes.

One of the best and largest servings of haddock and chips around is on offer here, but this does not mean the more epicurean among us are overlooked. Quite the contrary is apparent, as sitting along side is the likes of a delicate seafood risotto, tender yet crisped pork belly and a finely balanced chowder. Indeed the sea plays a significant role in the menu here, with the best of the aquatically available also present on the daily specials board.

The King’s Wark carries on into its very own restaurant section where the food is lifted to the next plateau. The menu is not bewildering in length, nor does it read like a chapter from ‘Le Guide Culinaire’, but this belies the quality within. By concentrating on what they know and do well, the small rise in price to move to a more formal setting is repaid with a rewarding experience that disappoints neither palate nor pocket.

The King’s Wark has been refreshing the good and great of Leith for as long as there have been Leithers. One of the oldest buildings in Leith, the King’s Wark is certainly not short of character and as such offers a welcome break from the glossy façade that now covers so much of EH6. Providing a refuge from the bustle of the Shore, with a calm atmosphere of candle and firelight, it engenders a glowing warmth among its patrons built upon satisfaction time and again. The menu reflects this with many comfortable favourites sitting alongside more adventurous fare, all executed with flair and diligence.

And best not to forget the famous King's Wark breakfast, which at the weekend is a must book affair with competition for places not to be taken lightly. Sizzling hot plates of fried goodness have reacquainted body and soul for countless Leithers over the years and allow the smooth graduation to one of the many well kept ales expertly pumped from behind the bar. With a good selection of drinks, and swift, attentive service, it would be hard to find a better or longer standing shelter from the punitory effects of a good time.