The sign invited unflattering remarks about Dirty Dicks pub in Rose Street. Picture: contributed

Patrons at Dirty Dick’s bar told how they were treated to endless rounds of free drink on Monday night – and even urged to write scathing online reviews about the Rose Street pub – when a disgruntled bartender decided to wreak revenge on the landlord.

The barman even drew up a sign slating his boss which claimed his colleague had been fired earlier that day for eating a salad during a ten-hour shift.

And it implored revellers to take write withering online remarks about the pub on reviews website TripAdvisor to damage its reputation.

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One drinker, Kahlum Grant from Aberdeen, had travelled into Edinburgh with his girlfriend to visit the Christmas market when he stopped by the pub at around 7.30pm.

The 28-year-old said: “We were there for about two hours in which time I had five bottles of beer and got three of them for free.”

Girlfriend Megan Wilson, 23, from Dunfermline, said people drifting into the quiet pub had been taking advantage of the hospitality.

“The place was pretty much dead but the barman drew our attention to the blackboard with the message on it,” she said. “He was really angry.

“Apparently a girl who was working there had been fired earlier for eating a salad during a ten hour shift – she was accused of stealing it.

“When people came in they all thought what the sign said was pretty shocking.”

Miss Wilson said the bartender insisted he wasn’t meant to be working that day but had been called in to cover for his former workmate who had been sacked.

“He literally did not care,” she said. “He was Australian and he was travelling, so he was just doing jobs here and there to pay for his flat and the next couple of months.

“He kept pouring exaggerated shots – the other guys that came in were loving it.”

Since the drama unfolded, around six negative postings have appeared about the pub on TripAdvisor.

Gordon Henderson, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said comments made on a popular review site could be damaging for any business and warned against rushing to judgement without knowing the full facts.

He said: “There has clearly been a dispute between the business owners and their staff here. I think it’s a shame that it can’t be resolved in private.

“I don’t think we can comment further on this case without knowing the full facts.”

A manager at Dirty Dick’s declined to comment when contacted by the News.