Overview

Loses marks on the ugly toilets and small old lifts.

Transport & Parking

You can park outside on Lothian Road with a blue badge between 9:30 – 4:30 Mon – Fri and 8:30 to 6:30 on Sat. Parking restrictions on Lothian Road end at 6:30pm. The nearest car park is Castle Street car park, although a better option for blue badge holders would be to park beside the Usher Hall/Lyceum Theatre and then cross Lothian Road at the crossing beside Nandos.

Access

Access to the building is via a ramp with an automatic sliding outer door and a push button operated double inner door. Door width is good. The bar and eating area is accessed by one ramp. The other two doorways have steps. There is plenty of room for a wheelchair on the tables by the main walkway although it gets a bit cramped on the tables in the middle. To access the cinema there is an open top scissor lift (see photo) beside the stairs which takes you down to cinema 2 and 3 and a traditional lift (108cm x 140cm) which takes you up to cinema 1. Loses one point as the lifts are a bit small and dated.

Toilets

There is a big disabled toilet on the same level as the ticket booth (down the corridor to the left as you face the ticket booth) and there is a further, slightly smaller, disabled toilet on the lower level where cinema 2 and 3 are. Loses a point as they are functional but not pretty.

Staff

Great. Very helpful and friendly. Recommend them very highly.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

The Film House is the home of the Edinburgh International Film Festival and has an excellent selection of films from around the world. The bar has a good selection of drinks and they even let you take them into the cinema – just ask for a plastic glass. The food is decent but won’t win any awards. At the same time it is good grub at a reasonable price. They do a special offer between 3pm & 5pm each day all main meals are £5.50, all special meals £7.50. The staff are very friendly and helpful letting me taste a few of the 11 beers on tap before making my choice. On a Friday lunch time, when I visited last, the crowd was mostly retired but the place was busy and had a good atmosphere. During the Film Festival it is very busy all the time. Free wi-fi is available in the café/bar. Children are allowed in the café/bar between the hours of 10am and 8pm. High chairs are available. Full menu served from noon to 10pm every day and open from 8am for breakfast Mon-Fri and 10am Sat & Sun