Former Auction House Reimagined as All-Day and Late-Night Destination
The Lyon Public House has officially opened its doors at 51a George Street, Edinburgh, following a six-month redevelopment of the historic building. The flagship venue from Edinburgh hospitality group Encore Bars offers an all-day and late-night experience centered around modern pies, pints, live music, and duelling pianos.
The building, which operated as an auction house for over a century, has been designed to reflect its past, influencing everything from the interiors and menus to the names of its distinct spaces. Auction rooms were traditionally characterised by their loud, reactive, and theatrical atmosphere, an approach The Lyon aims to bring to its hospitality.
At the heart of the venue is Hammer Hall, featuring two pianos and beer hall-style tables. Pianists perform requests during dinner service, transitioning to duelling pianos later in the evening. Other spaces include The Sale Room for live bands and performers, and the glass-fronted Courtyard, which connects the venue to George Street. Lot 51 is a private room equipped with its own bar, accommodating up to 15 guests for dining or 30 for drinks.
Food is a central element of The Lyon’s offering, with Executive Chef Jake Clayton and Head Chef Andrius Sabanovas curating a menu of reworked pub classics using seasonal produce from local suppliers. The venue boasts an in-house bakery, producing fresh pies daily.
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The late-night pie window at The Lyon serves until 3am, offering selections such as steak pie, macaroni cheese pie, and Lorne sausage rolls, alongside two regularly changing seasonal pies. From 10pm, late-night pies can also be ordered directly to tables throughout the venue. The bar features 18 draught beers, including world beers, Scottish favourites, and a rotating guest line, with Lyon House Lager, a 4% lager brewed in Scotland specifically for the venue, as the house pour.
Gavin Currie, Director of Operations at Encore Bars, stated: “We’ve put a huge amount of thought into The Lyon, so it feels brilliant to finally open the doors and let people experience it. We wanted to create a proper public house for George Street, somewhere you can come for a pint or a pie, stay for dinner and suddenly find yourself singing along at the pianos a few hours later.”
Mr Currie added: “The history of the building gave us so much to work with. For more than 100 years, people came through these doors for auctions that were loud, theatrical and full of characters, and we wanted to bring some of that energy back. There are little references to its past everywhere, but ultimately The Lyon is about creating a brilliant atmosphere and a place people will want to come back to again and again.”
