House of Gods owner launches Leith Social Club

Leith Social Club has opened in Edinburgh, taking over the former Tam O’ Shanter site on Great Junction Street.

Once a working-class pub, the space has been reimagined to create a mood of the 1980s and 90s. 

The site has been designed in collaboration with House of Gods hotel founder Mike Baxter. He says the pub is a love letter to the decades which shaped his youth and within the project he has sought to celebrate the wider location. 

"When the team approached me to take on the Tam O’Shanter, I thought we should take a gamble – Leith doesn’t need another speakeasy," says Baxter. "What I wanted to do was to celebrate the culture and community and reimagine the local pub for a modern audience.

"I lived through the 90s in bars like this. I wanted something that felt real. Inspired by The Face magazine, with live music, classic DJ sets, a great pint and killer art. A place for Gen Z, Gen X and everyone in between."

Design details

Interiors feature a Burberry concept pool table, dart board and a soundtrack from a LaserDisc jukebox with a top 20 picked by the Happy Mondays' Bez.

The team are planning a social schedule which will feature pub quizzes and live podcast chats with icons of the era.

The pub’s opening weekend coincides with the arrival of Oasis to Edinburgh, and Leith Social Club has curated a calendar of events to celebrate.

On 7 August, Definitely Maybe and (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? producer Owen Morris will be sharing stories from the studio in an intimate, ticketed event prior to the pub welcoming the public from 8pm.

There will also be a Noel Gallagher experience, alongside The Oasis Exhibition held in collaboration with Bittersweet Home. 

Throughout the opening weeks there will be a schedule of Oasis-themed entertainment, most notably an appearance from The View’s Kyle Faulkner, who will be playing his favourites from the band’s repertoire on 13 August, and a DJ set from Irvine Welsh on 16 August to launch the pub’s Acid House Saturdays.

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