The Jolly Botanist on Edinburgh’s Morrison Street opened last month, and has already proved a hit with customers. Owners Iain Pert and Gordon Gilhooley of PG Taverns have been delighted with the response to their newest venture.
Gordon told DRAM, “We’ve been really busy since we opened. Some of our other places have been a slow build, this has been the opposite.”
The new bar, on the site of the former Spider’s Web, is unrecognisable. For a start the bar is no longer gloomy it boasts full length windows which open onto the street and windows to the rear which overlook a back area. Explains Iain Pert, “The windows were all boarded up, and when we were ripping out the interior we discovered them. Although these windows look old, they are actually new.”
In fact the bar looks lived in, despite only being open a couple of days when I visited. Says Iain, “We had the idea of a gin bar concept and originally we wanted a really old building which we could put a high quality bar in to. When we took over the Spider’s Web it was dark and dingy, and we also found asbestos.”
It was the asbestos which delayed the project somewhat. Says Gordon, “Initially we had planned to be open last September but when we started work we found asbestos.”
Unusually Iain and Gordon used just one company for its architectural and design work, DBP and Dimension was the main contractor on the job. Says Ian, “We would come up with ideas and DBP would interpret them and come back to us with mood boards. Some of it was spur of the moment. It’s definitely not an ‘out of the box’ design.”
Gordon comments, “We wanted a mixture between an old Victorian house and a Jules Verne/steam punk type of gin house.”
This included putting old looking windows in, aging the brand new steel work to look rusty, and leaving the fire retardent on the ceiling exposed. Some walls have been plastered but others have been left with exposed brickwork. Says Iain, “We wanted the wall at the back left looking like a work in progress, but the efficient plasterer plastered it smooth. It was too difficult to undo so we had to add a paint effect that made the wall look old.”
By now you will be getting the picture! The bar at the Jolly Botanist is a long dark wooden bar but says Iain, “It’s long, but not long enough. We’ve been so busy that I realise that we could be doing with more space at the bar.”
What they don’t have at the bar is stools. Says Gordon, “We want people to sit down.”
And there is plenty of seating to choose from from high tables eating eight, to low booths, to tables for four there is even a one seater that sits two.
As you enter the bar there are a couple of large barrels and a comfortable looking booth to your right, beyond which lie the toilets… and even they are a work of art. Says Gordon, “There are lots of wee touches that I hope people will appreciate. They are not always immediately obvious, such as the hand painted toilet bowls and the mural in the men’s loos.”
The main bar is split into three areas – the barrels as you come in which are situated beside a hearth with a wall splitting this area from the central part of the bar. Sports lovers can enjoy a giant screen here, and there is another screen on the opposite side of the wall. Says Iain, “These really are state of the art.” It’s not the only state of the art piece of equipment – the till system is from Ipos – and is utilised through ipads. Says Gordon, “They look great, and this latet technology allows us to see, from our phones, exactly what our sales are at any time of the day, and even who has completed the sale. We can also work our Spotify through the till, and our speakers are all wireless.”
It’s beer dispense is also ‘Smart’. The Heineken systems has Octopus attached to the ceiling of the cellar. Says Iain, “It is the 3rd generation of the system and is fixed to the roof. We have no wastage and Innserve do all the line cleaning.”
But back to the actual bar design. The furniture is all new but it looks established. It’s not shabby chic, but its anything but shabby. But it is quirky. For instance around the barrels there are leather, three legged stools at waist height. The tables by the windows are small and round with a mix of small stools and dining table chairs… I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a variety of chairs in any venue. All look like they have been around a while, but actually are beautifully upholstered and are brand new. There is also a nice wall detail beside the large windows. Fixed to the wall there is a glass piece of artwork – seven old fashioned taps have been fixed to a piece of old wood and glass pendulums hang from the taps spout. At night these light up. Says Iain, “The idea is that at night this lighting formation highlights the mural below which states ‘Show me Gin’ with a finger pointing to the door in.”
This is just one of the quirky features. I think if you sat in the bar all day you still would be able to come with a feature for an eye-spy game. Many of the other quirky details have been brought in by Iain’s wife Angela. Says Iain, “She found all the glass domes under which sit various plants. She also made the colourful stag heads at the rear of the bar, and has created the flower arrangements which come in small brightly coloured painted cases, amongst other accoutrements.”
In fact son, Tony, has also been involved in the opening of the pub. Says Iain, “He went on a social marketing course and came back with some great ideas. Our social media presence has increased massively. Already we have more than 3,200 likes and our page has reached 85,000 people. We’ve had comments from people as far away as Singapore! And it seems to have paid off. We didn’t imagine how busy it would get on our opening week. It totally surpassed all our expectations.”
Iain’s favourite part of the bar is the rear area. You go up a couple of steps and there is a mezzanine which takes around 30 people. It has two chandeliers and another fireplace. It also has two large windows which although they look like they have always been there. They are in fact, new. The tables here have a leafy stencil design, which adds a quirky effect.”
Downstairs there is a dedicated area for washing dishes, which is separate from the kitchen – there is even a separate dumb waiter/lift for dishes. There is some office accommodation, a large spirit store and a large new cellar. Says Iain, “This all used to be the downstairs function suite – we have utilised it for other means, however the old bar downstairs actually still exists and we have left it exactly as it was complete with dusty bottles of wine and old glassware. It’s a relic from a bygone age.”
Of course upstairs the bar is anything but. The backbar displays a huge range of gins. (as you would expect from a gin bar). Says Iain, “Most of our customers, particularly the women, are drinking gin.”
Iain concludes, “We are really happy with it, and so are our customers. We couldn’t get any busier at the weekends than we are now!” That’s a good complaint to have!