Giant new Edinburgh Wetherspoons pub in city centre gets opening date

The new Spoons will open at the former Revolution Bar on Chambers Street after the pub giant purchased the B-listed property.

Revolution, which shut its doors in August 2024, was a two-storey venue with the capacity to accommodate up to 600 revellers.

Now, it has been confirmed that the new Wetherspoons pub will open its doors on July 27, with work on the site already underway.

The capacity is listed as 485 persons, who would be located across the basement and ground floors. The papers say the venue will be ‘completely refigured’ to create a ‘traditional JD Wetherspoon style of operation’.

According to licensing board papers, the company asked for permission to serve alcohol between 9am and 1am Monday through Saturday, and 11am to 1am on Sundays on the site. It would open from 7am, providing breakfast in the morning and other food items throughout the day.

In January, councillors at the licensing board approved the firm’s requested licence conditions for the venue. It represented a change of conditions from the premises licence held by Revolution up to its closure.

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There are currently seven Wetherspoons pubs in Edinburgh: The Caley Picture House on Lothian Road, The Standing Order and The Alexander Graham Bell on George Street, The Booking Office on Waverley Bridge, The White Lady on St John's Road, The Playfair at Omni Centre and The Sir Walter Scott at Edinburgh Airport.

In its heyday, Revolution was one of the most popular bars in the city.

Locals were gutted when the venue pulled down the shutters last summer, and hundreds of locals flocked to the pub to enjoy a final drink in the weeks before it closed.

An announcement on Revolution's website at the time said: “We are sorry to say that we will be closing the doors on Edinburgh on or around August 31. We're going to be throwing the best parties and serving up the best food up until this time, come and join us for one last Pornstar Martini.”