French-style chalet appears in-front of Edinburgh cocktail bar ahead of busy Christmas period

The chalet will be up all through the Christmas period.

A French-themed ski hut has appeared on the front of a well-known Edinburgh city centre cocktail bar.

Tonic, on Castle Street, has added the festive frontage as they launch their new Christmas cocktail menu, which includes nine new tipples such as Pumpkin Spiced Russian and Hot Apple Pie cocktails, among others.

However, the new temporary extension has recieved a mixed reaction to its erection on social media.

On Twitter, @EidynConnect wrote: "It's gone too far ⁦@Edinburgh_CC [Edinburgh Council] What kind of ramshackle monstrosity is this? Just asking," along with a picture of the structure.

@FionaSavage1 added: "What ever that’s meant to be is tacky and should’ve been on a bonfire!"

Not all of the reaction has been negative, though, with the addition receiving lots of admirers.

@AgileCabbage said: "I think it looks quite cool myself," while a picture shared on Tonic's own Facebook has drawn comments such as "Fabulous" and "Amazing" among others.

Tonic's marketing manager Christie Aitchison, 26, told the Evening News: "We believe Tonic itself is unique, and this new Apre theme just adds to it.

"As a cocktail bar, we’re in a fairly saturated market, especially in the George St area, so we need to be a bit different to stand out.

"We spend months putting together our menus and drinks, ensuring it’s the best possible product we can offer.

"But on top of that, we don’t take ourselves too seriously and like to have a bit of a laugh. A lot of what we do is very tongue in cheek.

"Christmas in Edinburgh is a great time of year and we just want to add to that.

"We’d love to see lots of locals down to join us and have a good festive time at Tonic."

The official opening of the new area, named Apre Tonic, was on Thursday and will be dismantled after the busy festive rush.

Tonic's full cocktail menu can be found here.For all the latest food and drink news in and around Edinburgh - join our new Facebook group here.