the dogs

we booked a table for 4 last week after a recommendation from a friend. i like that it has an interesting feel as you come in, as if you are walking into someone's flat. we were seated in the front dining room which isn't huge and the tables are quite close together. at first i thought this would bother me throughout our meal but it wasn't an issue.
after studying the menu i decided to try the shredded lamb, skirlie, pomegranate and almonds to start. i'm not a huge fan of lamb but this was possibly my favourite part of my meal. i found the entire thing delicious and thought the ingredients worked really well together.
for my main i opted for the poached smoked haddock, beetroot quinoa and spinach. again, i was really pleased with my choice; it was my first experience of quinoa, which i found very tasty but the haddock was the highlight for me.
the dark chocolate and raspberry tart with orange, chili syrup caught my eye right at the start of our meal, so i knew i was going to go with this for dessert. the tart itself had great flavours, which i really enjoyed but my taste buds were confused with the orange and chili sauce, for me it didn't work.
i feel like the service could have been more friendly, but the food the dogs is serving is excellent, which is why i would definitely go back.

most likely my favourite meal during my second trip to edinburgh!

we came in for a quick lunch before heading back to london and the food was just sublime! i had the marinated salmon as a starter, haggis for a main and toffee rice pudding for dessert. they were all very tasty!

my dining partner had the confit duck to start and absolutely loved it too.

quick service and friendly staff. will definitely come back here the next time i'm in town!

came here for an impromptu meal with my girlfriend this evening. for the better part of two weeks i've had a terrible craving for steak and chips, and the dogs certainly made its mark. the steak was delicious and juicy while the chips had been fried hard and were expertly crispy. my girlfriend had the lamb and although of my cravings for steak and chips i was almost tempted into asking to swap because it was so delicious.sarahs.kirby

one of my favourite restaurant in edinburgh. you'll be in a cosy atmosphere feeling at home. the food is wonderful and original, chicken livers as a starter are the best thing! perfect for a nice date night out!

i am genuinely gutted at having to write such a negative review, but my visit to the dogs on my birthday is up there in my most unpleasant dining experiences to date. i'll try to keep this brief. 

the food was very nice, as expected. i had the hake for my main, and a berry & maple tart for dessert. top marks to the chefs! sadly, my memory of this restaurant is the terrible service we received from the owner, rather than the food. i have never in my life encountered such a rude, hostile and arrogant individual working in the 'hospitality' industry. 

i was embarrassed and disappointed at how rushed and unwelcome our group was made to feel from the start. due to the inclement scottish weather, some of our group ran a little late (10 minutes) and as a result we were made to feel like such an inconvenience. we didn't complain when half of the group weren't asked for their drinks order, or when one of the starters was mixed up, causing a short delay. these things happen. however, the way we were spoken to by the owner in his request to have the table back was unbelievably rude. not to mention he had happily taken our order for an additional three bottles of wine just minutes before. i then watched as he stood ranting and pointing towards our table from behind the bar in full view of the whole restaurant. this was definitely not the birthday experience i had hoped for.

as mentioned before, the food was really lovely. there are however many places in edinburgh which serve a similar or higher standard, with the warm, welcoming service which you would expect. the behaviour of the owner was completely inexcusable and left me wishing i had chosen somewhere else. such a let down.

the dogs! before going to this place, i never thought it would be easy to get good food for good prices in edimburgh or the united kingdom for that matter!

the place is amazing with very nice environment, but the food itself is pretty good also! it would make go for there again 10 out of 10! the pumpkin risotto was very good as all the other meals that my trip friends have asked for! not easy to find places like this without help!

the dogs is an unusual restaurant, with a quirky feel to it due to the mismatched furniture and crockery. it lives up to its name with paintings of dogs and statues in the two rooms that the restaurant covers. 
the food is delicious, i had the ox cheek dish, which was cooked perfectly. i would definitely recommend the chips in dripping, as we all ordered them as sides and they were so more-ish. for pudding i had the  lemon posset, oat and ginger biscuit. this was the perfect way to end the meal as it was light and the lemon was refreshing. 
i couldn't recommend this place highly enough.

we chose the pork and butter bean stew with crispy pork belly slice served with an oatmeal and bacon stuffing. it was basically pork rolled in pork stuffed with pork and some oats sat gladly on a bed of beans and more pork.

the dogs is a name that i have heard again and again from numerous sources, all lauding its fine food for great prices. holders of the prestigious michelin bib gourmand, that was an accolade that a poor student such as myself wouldn't miss. the award signifies food of great quality, served at reasonable prices, which is most certainly the holy grail of eating out for anyone i would imagine. finding ourselves that end of town having earlier been to the book festival, s.f. and i soon realized with excitement that we were near enough to pop in for a spot of lunch. when we arrived (early) we were the only ones there, so we bagged prime seats by the window. they actually hadn't even opened yet, but didn't mind us coming in to sit down whilst they prepared for the day.  we were offered drinks shortly after which arrived quickly. the service was friendly and pleasant and they were clearly on top of the service which quickly became busy. we both found it very difficult to decide what to order

the dogs is a name that i have heard again and again from numerous sources, all lauding its fine food for great prices. holders of the prestigious michelin bib gourmand, that was an accolade that a poor student such as myself wouldn't miss. the award signifies food of great quality, served at reasonable prices, which is most certainly the holy grail of eating out for anyone i would imagine.

finding ourselves that end of town having earlier been to the book festival, s.f. and i soon realized with excitement that we were near enough to pop in for a spot of lunch. when we arrived (early) we were the only ones there, so we bagged prime seats by the window. they actually hadn't even opened yet, but didn't mind us coming in to sit down whilst they prepared for the day.

we were offered drinks shortly after which arrived quickly. the service was friendly and pleasant and they were clearly on top of the service which quickly became busy. we both found it very difficult to decide what to order, as the menu is so broad. it is mostly stodge, however, so i wouldn't recommend if you are fancying something light (although soup is always an option).

take, for example, the salad i ordered. in fairness to them, it is advertised as 'roast pork, black pudding, dried tomato, apple salad with mustard dressing', but the few salad leaves there were didn't really qualify the dish as a salad in my humble opinion. the pork was absolutely delicious in any case with layers of gooey fat in a crispy crunchy exterior. this worked very well with the black pudding and apple i thought, although the dressing was far too acidic for my taste.

s.f. went for the 'chicken, mushroom, potato and tarragon pie with puff pastry' and also a side of 'chips cooked in dripping'. the pie filling was also sublime, really good, hearty, well seasoned fare and everything inside cooked to perfection, although on this we disagreed. i hate any vegetable overcooked, in pie or no, so the slight bite to the potatoes suited me, but not s.f.. the chips were ok, although i didn't pick up any dripping flavor which makes me suspect that probably they were done in oil, and my fried chips are better.
so altogether, a nice experience. friendly staff, yummy stodge, a great location but slight flaws that made it altogether ok but nothing special. i will return in winter because i reckon all of the above would taste just perfect on a stormy winter's eve.

when we were asking for edinburgh recommendations, the dogs came up time and time again. marina o’loughlin was one of many that gave it the thumbs up was, anything that gets her seal of approval is usually a pretty safe bet. founder david ramsden has created a very cosy little place, hidden up a staircase dotted with dog paraphernalia is a cute and delightful restaurant.

i feel like i’m saying this a lot lately, but it really was like being in someone’s house. a high-ceilinged period building, slightly worn around the edges, if the dogs was in london it would most almost certainly to be found in shoreditch. we sunk into our window seat and ordered a carafe of brise de france merlot £12.95 whilst i willed my stomach to feel a hunger pang. just four hours earlier we’d had a heavier than planned lunch at the scran & scallie despite walking around edinburgh in between meals i was still stuffed, the dogs deserved more than this.

read the full review and see more photos at: http://welovefood-itsallweeat.com/2014/02/01/its-the-dogs-110-hanover-street-edinburgh-eh2-1dr/

a dog grooming parlous? a pet shop? nope – a wonderful, chic restaurant with great, mid-range priced food. you walk up some creaky old, dark wooden stairs, accompanied by images of dogs (primarily whippet and greyhound-type dogs) until you reach this bright dining room. of course, another dog is overlooking your table as you eat your meal. at first we were served but a somewhat incompetent waitress but then – our scottish uncle appeared. how to describe him? ta

spot on. we happened upon the dogs by a stoke of luck. at first glance it looks haphazard, with mismatched chairs and higgldy piggldy tables, but the service was slick and no nonsense and the food very good. our waiter was quirky, with his biker look and deep gravel voice, but he had a great sense of humour, and his service was impecable.
i highly recommend this not so run of the mill restaurant and will definitely go back next time i'm in edinburgh.

the dogs looks familiar. the paper menus, simple sounding dishes utilising cheap cuts of meat, mismatched crockery and higgledy-piggledy furniture are all widely seen in gastro-pubs up and down the land. except, it isn’t a pub, it’s a restaurant. so i guess that makes the dogs a gastro-restaurant.

the dogs' popularity was demonstrated by the virtue that there was only one small table left in the main dining room as all the others were already booked for lunch, despite us arriving barely after noon. i had a devilled ox liver, onion, bacon and mushroom on toast. it was good but they certainly held back on the devilling; it took my breath away. i had to quench the fire between each bite either with wine or another mouthful of the delicious fresh warm bread. i was jealous of my companion's stornoway black pudding hash with fried duck egg. i think it was pretty good given the frequency of the simpering moans of pleasure emanating from her after nearly every fork-full. (there was no point in my trying it as my palette was awash with spicy liver). i also feel like i should have had the haggis, oh well. definitely a place to go back to and explore a bit more of the menu.