Here are the questions we get messaged about most frequently,
so please check here before contacting us as we cannot always reply in a timely fashion.

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What are your opening hours?

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• Mon-Wed 3pm-12am (Kitchen 5pm-10pm)

• Thursday 12pm-12am (Kitchen 12pm-10pm)

• Friday 12pm-1am (Kitchen 12pm-10pm)

• Saturday 10am-1am (Kitchen 10am-10pm • 10am-1pm is BRUNCH, usual menu after 1pm!)

• Sunday 10am-10pm (Kitchen 10pm-8pm • 10am-1pm is BRUNCH, Sunday Roast menu after 1pm!)

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Do you take bookings?

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Yes! In fact we recommend it, particularly Friday, Saturday and Sunday when we are most busy. Please call 0131 554 4444.

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Why don't you take bookings online?

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We're a tiny team and our peep running social media and answering online queries is often off-site. Our bookings diary is manually run on-site – for clarity and to prevent any technological failures and double bookings. Just call us, we're nice!

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Do you cater for vegetarians, vegans, Halal or Kosher?

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Absolutely! Around a 1/3 of our menu is vegetarian and the majority of our veggie options can be made vegan on request. Around half of our beers are also vegan friendly. Our wines are unlikely to be vegan due to popular fining processes, but we will always make the effort to check on request.

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We respect everyone's food choices and try to be accommodating but do not regularly stock Halal or Kosher foods as to date there has been little demand. Please call us and ask if you would like us to stock Halal or Kosher for your visit.

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What about gluten and other allergens?

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If you are a coeliac we will do our very best to accommodate your needs, however, as Bread and Beer are our modus operandi, this does reduce your options, so please call us in advance of your visit if you would like us to prepare something special for you.

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Our kitchen is busy and quite small, so while we do our very best to avoid cross-contamination, customers MUST be aware that there is always a risk and that this risk is their responsibility. Our kitchen contains flour, nuts and seeds, mustard, eggs, dairy products and most other allergens. We also forage for a great deal of our greenery and grow our own herbs and salads which are often members of the mustard family and may also contain traces of lupins and other allergens. We sometimes also serve wild mushrooms which some people can find more difficult to digest, but these are always clearly marked on the menu.

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A few of our beers are gluten free but please call to check and ask if you are unsure.

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Do you allow children and/or dogs?

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Yes we do, though we have the following (minor) restrictions:

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Anyone under the age of 18 is considered a child for the following guidelines...

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Children are allowed in all areas at all times EXCEPT at the bar and, in the evening, the back room. This is to comply with licensing laws, for the comfort of our adult guests and the safety of children. We are an adult venue serving alcohol and in the evening children will need to be sat at tables on the dining platform and supervised at all times. We do have games and colouring books for younger guests and are happy to accommodate prams. Please be aware that dogs are often in the venue and it is your responsibility to care for the safety of your child, not our staff or other guests.

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Rowdy or unsupervised children will be cooked and served for Sunday Roast the following weekend.

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Dogs are allowed in all areas at all times EXCEPT the dining platform and on the furniture. This is for the comfort of our non-dog-loving guests and to keep the sofas free from mud and fur. Dogs must be well behaved or on a lead and supervised at all times. If your dog starts chewing furniture, snapping or barking, we may ask you to take your dog elsewhere for the comfort of our other guests and safety of staff. Please be aware children may be in the venue and let us know if you need to move to a quieter space if your dog is likely to be frustrated by other guests or dogs. We have a water bowl and bed and usually some treats for our four legged pals.

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Do you have a baby change/feeding facilities?

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We have a basic changing area with a changing mat in our large toilet and free nappy sacks for disposal in our bathroom bins. Please do not flush wipes or nappies down the toilet! Put them in the bin, ideally inside a nappy sack.

We will happily provide hot and cold water for baby food and formula purposes, please ask a member of staff. If you wish to breast feed, we are happy for you to do so anywhere in the building you choose and, if you wish to find a quieter space or have any other needs, we will do our best to assist.

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Do you have a children's menu?

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All our food is made from fresh with well sourced ingredients and we will happily make half-portions of our menu items for children without salt/other seasonings. We always have bread, butter, cheese and salad items so can whip up a quick sandwich or some veggies on request. We do not have a dedicated children's menu.

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Can we bring our own cake/other food?

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If you are coming for a party, of course, we're happy for you to bring your own cake by prior arrangement. We'll also happily make you a basic one with enough notice! Any other food consumed on the premises MUST be purchased on the premises.

 

Are you an accessible venue?

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Essentially, yes. Our doorway is wide enough to fit a standard wheelchair and we have a large gender-neutral toilet. Some of the internal doors are quite heavy (we are working on this) so please flag a member of staff if you require assistance and we'll be happy to help. Our building is listed so we are limited on the changes we can apply to the building however, we do recognise that improvements can be made and are working on them. We do not have internal ramps so the dining platform may be inaccessible to some guests as it is up two small steps. Please call if you wish to reserve accessible dining on the lower level.

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Do you charge to hire your back room/events space?

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Please call us if you are interested in organising events for larger numbers of people or want a private space. Depending on circumstances, times, dates and numbers we may offer space free of charge, have a minimum spend or flat fee. Call us on 0131 554 4444.

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Do you hire out upstairs/How do I get there?

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When we took on the venue it covered two floors but it is now split into two different businesses (and yes, we still have a staircase but it goes nowhere)! Upstairs is now owned by our great friends Insider Tattoo. Their entrance is the red door along Henderson Street and their logo is shown above the buzzer. There is no access to Insider through The Bakers Arms but if you get lost, we'll happily help you find your way.

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Why 'The Bakers Arms'? What's it all about?

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Bread and beer are life staples and essentially solid and liquid versions of the same thing. We serve British inspired food based on this recognition and our draught beers are primarily from local, Scottish independent breweries.

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We're keen on things like well grown, non-genetically-modified vegetables, well cared for livestock and cooking everything from scratch. We don't make our own bread yet, but have a fantastic supplier that we are proud to work with until such a time as we save up for our own bread oven!

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Organic Growth..?

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If you've visited us regularly since we opened in December 2016, you'll know we have an organic growth process: for example; originally only the bar and dining platform was suitable for use and four months later we opened up our comfy back room space; originally we only did basic cafitiere coffees and now we have a proper machine and all have basic barista training; originally we had no signage except for hand written chalk marker in the windows, recently replaced by our first proper window vinyl (hurrah!) and hand painted signage over the doors and main facade; 10 draught beers have increased to 12... with more improvements to follow! We are working with our suppliers, regulars, charities and the local community to develop and grow The Bakers Arms into a significant spot for Leith and Edinburgh as a whole. We are completely independent, a tiny team and care deeply about what we do and how we do it.

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Wines, Beers, Soft-Drinks & Cocktails.

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We have a superb wine list curated by our general manager, Luke, who is an ex-Michelin Star Head Sommelier and leads wine tastings the first Thursday of every month from 7pm (call to book)! Our beers are hand chosen by the team, with draught mostly sourced from local independent breweries and international bottles. We also understand the plight of designated drivers, parents and those unfortunate souls allergic to alcohol, so we also stock at least one good zero alcohol beer and a wide range of tasty soft-drinks and excellent juices. We have a coffee machine and a small range of teas. Our cocktail recipes are bespoke and absolutely delicious.

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Do you have fruit-flavoured cider/WKD/Bacardi/insert-name-of-alcopop-here?

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No.

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Are you a restaurant, a pub or a bar?

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Technically none of the above. (Our preferred term is 'Craft-Beer-Bistro' but we are completely aware that this makes us sound like the pretentious fools we undoubtably already are). Our model is based loosely on the London Gastro-pubs in which our proprietor, Jamie, cut his teeth. So we're all about casual dining and everyone being relaxed – ordering at the bar if it's busy and chatting to you at the table if we're not. No need to dress up unless you fancy it. Do feel free to just pop in for a drink if you don't fancy what's on the menu today, or settle into a squishy sofa with a bottle of wine, bar snacks and a book.

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What's on your menu?

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One of our guiding principles is low food waste, so we only stock a few of every dish to keep things super-fresh. The result is that the menu is constantly rolling according to what is in season, what we have foraged/grown and what is available that day from our local suppliers. Take a look at our sample menu for a general idea or keep an eye on social media which we try to update as often as possible.

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Are you LGBTQI+ friendly?

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We are (allegedly) listed as an official LGBTQI+ friendly space and have hosted a number of events with LGBTQI+ organisations. We have a gender neutral toilet (our aim being to hopefully make all of our toilets gender neutral in time) and welcome everyone at The Bakers Arms, whether you're suited and booted or in six inch heels and drag worthy of RuPaul.

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Are you an ethical company?

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We try our best! Our waste management is arranged with Changeworks and we recycle as much as we possibly can, including plastics, glass, cans and food (which goes to compost). Our carbon footprint is extremely low and we actively take part in ecological initiatives such as planting trees to not only offset our carbon but to reduce it to zero and then some. We try to keep our food miles as low as possible by sourcing ingredients locally, growing them ourselves and foraging. We pay our staff a living wage or above and keep them fed and watered with good quality food and drink on every shift. We also give some of our time to Cyrenians Farshare and actively participate in charitable events in order to raise money for local causes.
In short, we care, and we do our best to demonstrate that in our actions as a company as well as individuals.

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Reviews and how do I do them?

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If you've enjoyed your experience with us, we really would appreciate a review and any feedback on our Facebook page or on Google. We don't engage with Trip Advisor at present but are aware that some people do choose to review us there.

If for any reason you are dissatisfied with your experience at The Bakers Arms, please tell us while you are here, otherwise we will be unable to help rectify the situation. We care that you are satisfied with your experience with us.

 

Constructive feedback is always welcome. Threatening or aggressive behaviour towards our staff or other customers is not.

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Where are you from/how did you get into this?

 

We're deeply proud to have an international team with huge collective experience in hospitality, and to have them all contributing their time, effort and ideas to The Bakers Arms. If you want to know about us in more detail, check out our Peeps page.

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Drugs, violence and other naughty shenanigans

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Don't. We have a handy police station 100 yards away, CCTV and a zero tolerance policy... And we'll tell yer mum...

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Are you looking for staff?

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Drop your printed CV round to us IN PERSON if you are interested in working here. Have a chat if we're not too busy. We'll pop you on file for future staff-hunting. Alternatively, subscribe to our newsletter below to get an email alert for when we are looking to expand the team.

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