The Ship Inn Melrose

I searched for dog friendly pubs in Melrose, and the Ship Inn came out on top. It's more dog tolerant than dog friendly, they welcome our four-legged friends but don't lay out the red carpet. The service was quick and courteous, and the food was great British pub grub. My wife said her haddock and chips were fantastic. She only had a medium portion but it was massive. And the Dirty Dog with crispy onions was really good too. Great value for money, and you know exactly what you're getting.

My partner and I were visiting Scotland. We were staying at The Waverley Castle Hotel so we decided to take a walk to Melrose and we came across The Ship Inn and we had lunch which was a ham & cheese and they toasted it and a pot of tea which was lovely. I have attached a photo of my lunch. The staff were very friendly. The local people were friendly too.

What a find this place is! We headed into Melrose and this establishment is right in the centre of the town. We walked in and it was busy. They said they had no tables inside but did have covered tables at the rear outside. As we started to head over there the manager said he would have a table for us inside in a few minutes if we wanted to wait at the bar which we did. Ordered some soft drinks and two minutes later we were shown to a great table for the two of us and our dog. We ordered starters and mains but when the starters arrived we realised we'd ordered too much. The portions were huge. My wife had nachos and I had the soup of the day which was awesome. My wife had maccaroni cheese and I had a chicken cesar salad along with a portion of cheesy chips. The salad was magnificent filled with chicken and the portions of cheesy chips was ridiculous but the dog was quite happy as most were going his way. Overall it was just over £40 for drinks and food which you really cannot complain about sit was spot on. The atmosphere inside was also really good and despite being busy, we didn't have to wait long. So many people were being turned away though so may be worth booking if you are looking to drop in. Can't rate the place highly enough and will certainly be back soon. Thanks

Lovely pub and friendly staff, coming from Edinburgh I have to say I love the prices for the beer as well. Lovely pint of real ale with the price beginning with a 4, long time since the price of a pint in Edinburgh began with a 4. Unfortunately those of us who stay there are subject to the tourist rip off prices

We just popped in for drinks, but wish we'd been here for food! Food looked great and prices reasonable. Lovely pub but good selection of beers on. Staff were excellent and very friendly. Large inside but also decent size beer garden with heaters. Dog friendly too! Added photos of the menus for those who may be interested (it's what I always look for 😂) We will definitely visit again when in the area.

I could wax lyrical about the Ship. Good beer, good gin, good food, good atmosphere, good locals (always friendly banter at the bar!) and most importantly, absolutely amazing staff. Can't praise this pub high enough, was our favourite pub on our week holiday in the Borders. This will now be the standard I judge other pubs. Thank you from us both!

It was about to be very busy as we came in. Luckily we weren't staying for long. Someone had 50th birthday balloons up, which was ironic as my friend turned 50 just the day before. Had a great jacket potato with coronation chicken. Great place, just busy.

This is a very nice pub with plenty of seating, however it does get very busy so you are best to book a table. On the two occasions we had dinner there we sat in the bar area but it did get very noisy with the guys on a pool table enjoying themselves. There is a much quieter area of seating through the back which we could’ve sat at, but we did enjoy the lively atmosphere. There were plenty of staff on duty and they were very quick, friendly and efficient.

I couldn't say I enjoyed the food, it was not particularly tasty and was expensive given the quality. The setting may be nice but I would have rather had a tasty and enjoyable meal.

The Ship Inn is a small but well formed pub with two main sections, a small area for locals on the left as you walk in, and a bigger area on the right. The place has been recently refurbished but the old stone walls and old bar are still intact. If you ever visited the Clutha Bar, it's sort of got a similar layout, including TV with some Soap Operas on a Friday night! Very dog friendly (just like all the pubs in Melrose) and they served a really nice pint of Deuchars IPA - which in itself is a rarity! There's a large outdoor area at the back that was being refurbished for our visit, but it looks pretty smart and will no doubt make an excellent area to enjoy a pint in the sun in Melrose.