Now regarded as one of the city's trendiest watering holes, the highly-rated Fountain bar’s previous incarnation was once described on the Edinburgh Pub Guide as the “waiting room for Saughton”.
Prior to its transformation in the 2000s, the Fountainbridge boozer was called the Dundee Arms and over the years it earned a sorry reputation for bloody violence - and even murder.
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Regulars knew to keep one eye over their shoulder as the notorious pub, which straddled Dundee Street and Murdoch Terrace, became known to all and sundry as 'The Vietnam'.
This was not a child-friendly establishment. By many accounts, it wasn't very friendly at all.
The pub's dodgy rep even led to the old joke that if the bouncer outside asked if you had a knife, and you said no, then they'd hand you one.
While some say they had no problems at the Dundee Arms, others claim the stories are all true.
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Recalling the pub on the Living Memory Association website, Ronnie Mackay says it was common to see punters being ejected from the premises.
He said: “You could get problems in the Dundee Arms, which got its nickname The Vietnam. That just speaks for itself. It was rough and people would get barred oot o’ there.”
Writing on the Lost Edinburgh history site, Dee Wilson says the pub was no stranger to violent scenes.
“I lived in Murdoch Terrace for a while in 1972,” Dee recalled. “If we couldn't afford to go out at the weekend we just hung out of the windows watching the fights spilling out of the Vietnam.”
Hamish Redpath added: “I lived by the Vietnam for years. It was crazy - there was always blood outside the pub.”
But police weren’t being called to the Dundee Arms over just the odd burst lip or broken nose. Every now and then the violence would take a more serious turn.
In 1984, Tom Fergusson, a former Detective Chief Inspector with Lothian & Borders Police, investigated the murder of a Vietnam regular.
He said: “At the time, it was the last place you would think of going for a quiet drink, never mind a meal.”
One poster on the Edinburgh Pub Guide website wrote: “Was never the Dundee Arms – that’s only what the sign said. It was VIETNAM.
“In my time, there were two murders in or outside the place and numerous stabbings.”
In the years since the Dundee Arms became the Fountain, the bar’s old warzone reputation has thankfully faded. Like any pub, trouble will occasionally erupt, but serious incidents are now few and far between.
Trawl through TripAdvisor and you can see for yourself that ‘The Vietnam’ tag no longer applies.
One reviewer recently wrote: “Cracking drinks and food, relaxed atmosphere and reasonable prices. The staff are very welcoming and always a sign of a good pub when dogs are allowed.”
Another added: “The staff are friendly and attentive, service is speedy and reliable, the food is tasty, and the bar staff are happy to make cocktails not on the menu to a really high standard! One staff member even put glitter in my mojito!”
