"The Southern, located in Newington, forms part of the FullerThomson chain who also own Holyrood 9a and Red Squirrel. The pub is full of dark surfaces but is warmly lit and has a cosy feel. The place wasn’t very lively but we had arrived relatively early in the evening on a Tuesday. The Southern’s main offerings are burger based. However, there are other options such as hotdogs, salads and other light bites. There is also a breakfast section and a special section for children. To be honest though, you would be a fool not to pick one of their burgers. I went for the Southern burger with the brioche bun and non-seasoned fries. The Southern burger is a 6oz beef burger with red onion, rocket, Hereford Hop cheese, beer mustard mayo and caramelised onion mayo. There were skewers in all of the burgers with a massive bit of pickled cucumber on top. The cucumber seemed a bit weird as it wasn’t even a gherkin and was way too massive for decoration. I also hate cucumber, so that probably didn’t help. The fries came in a cup, which works well for me as I like to slather mine in vinegar. They were great fries, crispy and fluffy, just how I like them. My burger oozed with the rather delicious mustard mayo. The salad was generally quite nice but the tomato had a bit of that fuzzy texture rather than being firm and fresh, but that can often be the case with large beef tomatoes. The beef burger itself was firm, juicy and packed full of flavour. The whole thing was a slightly messy affair in the process of eating but it was worth it. If you like a good burger, I can recommend the Southern as a satisfying fix."
