The Counting House

The 2013 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This grandiose building in the very heart of the city centre is vast and ornate, even by JD Wetherspoon standards. What was once a Bank of Scotland now feels like the living room of a stately home. An impressive domed ceiling rises above the central bar, where busy staff rise admirably to the challenge of serving a constant stream of drinkers (but locating a vacant table in this popular post-work haunt can be difficult). Finding something to eat is not so problematic: the menu covers just about every conceivable pub dish. The quality of food presumably matches most expectations when pitched at such relatively low prices. The salmon and lime fish-cake starter has much in common with an oversized fish finger, but a mushroom dopiaza main course is choc-full of whole button mushrooms in a tangy sauce - served with a naan, poppadums and a sealed pot of mango chutney. The Belgian waffle dessert, topped with freshly sliced banana and vanilla ice-cream, is enough for two. The themed curry and grill nights offer more bargains.

• High point: Thursday curry night
• Low point: Such a busy place can prove noisy