It’s… | The Dogs, 110 Hanover Street, Edinburgh EH2 1DR

Digby was put in charge of guarding the bar… Photograph: The Dogs

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.

Citrus marinated seabass, confit red peppers, onion and baby potato salad £4.95 looked like the lightest option to start with, and thank god it was. Ade’s stomach capacity is obviously far greater than mine as he went for Asparagus, stilton and hazelnut barley risotto £5.45. A great idea to use pearl barley – one of my all time favorite ingredients in place of rice. The stilton didn’t overpower the dish, in fact the balance between the cheese and crisp asparagus was spot on, as was the bite from the barley.

I don’t know what I was thinking, but I ordered Braised oxtail with celeriac and spinach £12.95 for my main course. This was never going to be a light dish. But oh my god it was good, how I wish I could have eaten it all, although Ade did his best to help me out. Tender oxtail in a rich meaty gravy, the flesh fell off the pile of bones on my plate. Ade went large – Lamb Barnsley chop, haggis hash, cabbage, and tarragon gravy £13.95 – an incredibly juicy slab of lamb, tender and moist. The haggis hash was a stroke of genius and was a lot lighter in texture than Ade had imagined.

No matter what the situation, I will never turn down a posset. After a little breather and the discreet removal of my belt I ate a delicious Lemon posset, oat and ginger biscuit £4.25. Oh so tangy and creamy, the crumbly biscuit packed with oats was great also, I’d have bought a box if only they sold them. Ade’s Fruit cake mess with drunken apricot, prunes and cranberries £4.95 must have been invented with him in mind. It may have looked a mess but it tasted incredible. Plump, juicy, alcohol soaked fruit with crumbly cake stirred into what looked like a bucket of cream. It was too rich for me but that didn’t stop Ade from polishing off the whole bowl, he would have licked it clean if I’d let him! What a lovely place, this is a no frills relaxed restaurant, just good simple food. If a restaurant could give hugs then The Dogs would give the warmest hugs ever.

thedogsonline.co.uk
110 Hanover Street
Edinburgh EH2 1DR
Telephone: 0131 220 1208
Email: info@thedogsonline.co.uk

Opening hours: Monday to Sunday 12:00–4:00 pm, 5:00–10:00 pm
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Nearest station: Edinburgh

A shrine? Who knows…