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    John McIntyre Conference Centre

    5.0 (1 review)

    John McIntyre Conference Centre Photos

    Recommended Reviews - John McIntyre Conference Centre

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    11 years ago

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    The Out of the Blue Drill Hall - Exhibition at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall. Image: Craig McLean

    The Out of the Blue Drill Hall

    (15 reviews)

    £

    Leith

    Love this place! Everyones very welcoming and it seems to do everything! Cafe, artists studios,…read moreperformances, classes/workshops, occasional club nights, gigs, book sales, flea markets, veg' markets, DIY workshops, vintage sales and even wiff waff Wednesday (highly competitive - in a fun way) table tennis! There's probably more on offer but I've just not managed to see it all yet! I've had the fortunate experience to perform here with a dance group (Code Butterfly) a few years ago and we danced all around the space and the audience followed us. There is an amazing network of old tunnels that surround the main hall and maze of staircases that the normal Joe Blogs wouldn't be able to explore unless they came to the show! Blessed! That aside, the cafe is cheap and they serve a lovely brunch at the weekends. There is plenty of local information for groups and community happenings. The perfect place to go to find activities to do or groups to join if you are new to the city. It's a beautiful, quirky venue in an original Drill Hall. Staff are very helpful and friendly. There is a homely, nourishing, homemade, community feel about the place. Child friendly venue, although at the same time it's not over-run with noisy screaming kids. Out Of The Blue's sister venue is Bongo Club, which explains some of OOTBs ethos. The only downside I'd say about OOTB is it's a bit chilly, they do try to heat the space with heat lamps etc, but it must be hard to heat such a vast space. Just wrap up warm and grab a hot chocolate and you'll soon heat up! :)

    Out of the Blue is an old TA drill hall just off Leith Walk, now converted into a local community…read morecentre. There's a big central area that usually houses some sort of art exhibition, there's a little dance studio, and there are lots of small offices around the sides let to local businesses. And there's a small cafe that does reasonable coffee and is quite popular at lunchtimes. It's an interesting space and worth remembering about if you're down this way. The cafe service could perhaps be faster when they're busy, but they do a good veggieburger and there are some nice comfy sofas to sit on. A few years ago they first used it as a Fringe venue and it's a great space for that. They often have concerts and other small events on at other times. But it's always worth popping into if you're in the area to see what's happening as there's always something going on, and if you're lucky (and it's quiet) it's a great refuge from the bustle of the city in which to unwind for a while.

    Honeycomb & Co - Delicious vegan cake and oat milk latte

    Honeycomb & Co

    (6 reviews)

    ££

    Very good ambience, modern and friendly staff. Perfect for brunch and breakfast! The avocado on…read moretoast is very good! If you are in a hurry, this is not the ideal place to go as the food usually takes quite a while to arrive after you've ordered. But it is definitely worth the wait.

    I'm not one to be a Debbie-Downer leaving a 3 star review on the brand-new-swanky cafe/restaurant…read morein Bruntsfield... But I have to be honest to my fellow yelpers out there! Let's start with the things they're doing right. First of all, I love the interior. They've chosen the most beautiful, light airy unit and have been respectful to the original features (especially the gorgeous, large windows). The branding is cohesive and extremely endearing, with little bees on most things from the menus to the counter. They are also part of a charity which helps the preservation of bees in the UK, which I loved! I'm also pleased to see them using Artisan Roast beans for their coffees and lots of locally sourced produce for their food. So what's the problem I hear you cry? Well it was one simple (yet usually delicious) word: PANCAKES! I ordered them and they were completely raw in the middle. Again, I'm hearing you say "3 stars for raw pancakes is a little harsh, isn't It?!" So I spoke to the server about my raw pancakes, to which they said sorry and took them away to make me a new batch. Now, the pancakes that were returned to me were burnt with a slightly, less raw middle. They were genuinely worse than the first ones. Not one server came to ask me about the second lot , and the owners and managers never came over (even though I saw that they were informed in the first instance). When my plate was taken, the waiter asked if they were any better because I had left all but one bite of the burnt pancakes. I explained they were even worse and this guy is the reason that honeycomb aren't getting 2 stars! He apologised and agreed with how bad they looked. He also took the pancakes off the bill which I really appreciated. So all in all, go here for coffees and to sample their cakes but "bee" careful not to order the pancakes!

    Mansfield Traquair Centre - Mansfield Traquair Centre. Image by edinburghphotowalks.com

    Mansfield Traquair Centre

    (5 reviews)

    New Town

    I didn't know anything about this place before, it's a former church now being run as a conference…read moreand event centre. It has some truly spectacular murals covering the walls, and the ceilings in the side chapels, painted in an arts and crafts style and positively dripping with gold leaf. They are absolutely stunning and well worth a look if you can finagle your way inside. They host a lot of weddings here, and you could hardly ask for a better setting once everything is lit to your taste (you can choose your own colour scheme). Downstairs they have toilets (sorry ladies, yours is 2 floor down) and breakout rooms for conferences, plus access to a secluded garden area out back.

    Like a scene from a movie. That would probably be the best way to describe this venue. I recently…read moreattended a wedding here and it was done up to perfection. The venue was visually stunning on entry and they make great use of the hall splitting it into different sections throughout the day. The service from the staff was excellent and attentive. Always on hand to supply drinks from the bar or even to provide a safety pin for a button when it was needed. In terms of visuals and service I can't fault it. My only negatives are that I felt it lacked a wee bit of atmosphere and the food quality did not match the levels that you would expect from such a high level venue. It it hard to judge on the latter completely as it depends if that was what was actually chosen at pre event tastings or if the standard dropped on the night. Still all in, if you can afford it this will provide a great setting for any event you may have and is certainly worth considering.

    The Caves

    The Caves

    (23 reviews)

    Old Town, Royal Mile, Newington

    All I can say is what a joke The Caves bar management was last night. Waited a year and 8/9 months…read moreand traveled just under 2 for a gig only to be kicked out 5 minutes in for trying to help a miss understanding of speech, guy behind me at the bar shouted over "dae use take caird" and I heard the guy behind the bar say did he just ask if we sell gear, and I approched the bar and said with my card in my hand in front of them "he's asking do you accept card" and then I got a yes we do off one guy then no more than 1 minute later bouncers came and took the guys behind me in the line away then come back and took me away, was thinking what have I done I've not even been in there enough time to even slip up, and the bouncer explained to me and these 3 other guys who I had never met in my life that we weren't allowed back in because bar management had kicked us out for apparently asking the bar if they "sold gear", so I asked can I at least speak to the bar management who kicked us out and was refused, aye these guys were going off there heads but I was trying to be civil about it obviously I'm going to be angry about it but I'll still try and keep my head about me, and then they 3 guys left and then asked again can I speak to the management yet, and yet again was refused and was told I would need to wait till the end of the night after the gig was finished to speak to a manager, and we'll I was waiting on my friend coming out anyways at the end to get the bus home but I still tried asking, can a manager speak to me yet I've been kicked out unfairly for trying to resolve a misunderstanding, and kept being denied, then it comes to the end of the night and asked the bouncers, so now can I speak to a manager, and then was yet again told no you can't after waiting 3 hours in the cold because I don't know people from edinburgh so I couldn't meet up with anyone and I didn't want to sit in a pub myself so I just stayed outside and waited on my mate coming out, and the hope I'd get back into this gig, all I can say I'm sorely disappointed about not getting to see that gig and how poorly executed the situation was, totally unprofessional If the guy who kicked me out gave me an explanation as to why I was kicked out so early into a gig that I'd paid to see, I maybe wouldn't have such a strong bad opinion about this place, all it would've took was no more than 2 minutes of time to explain what actually happened to see if it could be solved. People had seen it happen and heard what I said and tried complaining to the bar management and they weren't interested to hear anything, basically seemed like a case of if your face doesn't fit your not welcome.

    If you are ever invited to go to the Caves- DO IT!…read more It usually is open for particular events, rather than everyday club nights and can host a variety of music tastes. What makes this place so amazing is the fact that it's in actual caves, with many secret corridors and rooms- all of which are open during the Fringe. The upstairs bar and balcony is great to have a drink and chill and watch the people downstairs. The atmosphere is further enhanced by the cool lighting and the dark and heavy furniture and decoration, which anywhere else would look tacky but here it somehow works brilliantly. It certainly has a lead as far as ambiance is concerned and it basically represents one of those clubs that totally sums up the city you are in- it represents what you expect to find from a secret Edinburgh. If only it was open more often! Oh and keep you eyes peeled for the Cow backside on the corner, as theire are no big signs for the entrance of the Caves.

    John McIntyre Conference Centre - venues - Updated May 2026

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