Irish eyes smiling as Edinburgh's Avoca takes off

Retailer Patrick Furey likes to think of his pub business Avoca as one of Edinburgh’s best kept secrets.

Situated on Dean Street in Stockbridge and tucked away from the city’s more commercial areas, the pub offers a relaxed drinking and dining environment where service is everything and standards are impeccable.

Patrick took over the Punch Taverns owned outlet back in 2002 and has steadily built it up to become one of the company’s flagship Scottish sites.

Back then, the pub was called McAndrews Ale House and had been closed for more than 12 months.  In great need of refurbishment and a total change of direction, it took someone with Patrick’s vision and expertise – plus an effective partnership with Punch – to get the ambitious project off the ground.

Said Patrick: “I had been looking for somewhere in the city for a long time.  Although this particular pub was old fashioned I could see the potential of its position in what is an affluent area of Edinburgh.

“I was particularly attracted by its very ornate ceiling, which we repainted as part of the Punch backed investment scheme, along with new wood panelling all round and a re-laid floor.”

New kitchen equipment, furniture and a colourful array of elaborate flowers and fabrics rounded off the refurbishment scheme. 

The final piece of the jigsaw was a name change – and ‘Avoca’, the name of the beautiful County Wicklow town where TV’s Ballykissangel was filmed – fitted the bill perfectly, not least because Patrick himself originates from the ‘Emerald Isle’.

So what sort of a pub is Avoca? 

Relaxed, unpretentious and extremely welcoming pretty much sum things up.  There is a wide selection of beers and 15 different types of wine.  Customers enjoy full table service while sitting on comfy sofas, which gives Avoca something of a continental feel.

Although drinks led, there is a food offering which local critics have kindly described as being ‘several cuts above pub grub’.  The restaurant serves contemporary food, including fish and chips and home made burgers.

Patrick added: “Avoca is all about doing the simple things, but doing them well.  I am very pleased with how things have turned out since starting here and am hopeful it’s a concept we can eventually take beyond Edinburgh.”

As for keeping this gem of a pub business under wraps, well a place in the grand final of Punch Taverns’ Shine awards has probably put pay to that idea.  He was crowned champion of the pubco’s Scottish estate in 2004.

Punch’s regional operations director Sue Allen said: “Patrick’s hard work to create such a successful and customer focussed business over the last two and a half years makes him a worthy award winner.”