Despite my allergies, I’m totally in the market for a pup.
Blame Stockbridge. Or, Dogbridge, as it should be called. On any given day, you can meet the entire cast of Best in Show.
I have made acquaintance with a dachshund, Walnut, cairn terrier, Freud, and a pair of lab crosses, all regulars at cafe Artisan Roast, and I’m familiar with the scruffy white Maltese whose human gets him/her a vanilla ice-cream from Soderberg.
I’ve watched a cavapoo suck artisan donut crumbs off the floor at Cowan & Sons, and there’s an elderly snaggletoothed chihuahua that lives in the tailors on Raeburn Place.
Recently, I patted a bulldog puppy that looked like a cross between a turtle and a choux bun.
And...voila... here’s another newly opened canine friendly joint, complete with a jar of gratis bone-shaped biscuits; “For our doggy friends”.
It looks a bit pristine for clarty pawed visitors, but they certainly didn’t seem to mind as gangly weimaraner Marvin’s paws clicked across the parquet floor.
Thankfully, the counter of food is presented just above Irish wolfhound height. This surface is covered in dishes and cake stands, with their daily protein dish, sausage rolls, frittata, various salads, cakes, sweet and savoury scones, protein balls and other bits and pieces. As you order up at the counter, it mainly involves pointing at whatever looks appealing.
Generally, the grub is pretty healthy, with lunchtime fare similar to that at Edinburgh’s Broughton Deli or Cafe Modern One.
Today’s frittata?
An aubergine, feta and mint number (£4.50), which looked a bit grey, but was our best thing – squashy, feral and like a slab of crazy paving thanks to generous wads of that purple fruit and cheese, plus a minty hit.
We liked the sound of the daily quiche – broccoli, apple and Anster (£4.50) – but more fromage than a token crumble on the top would’ve been nice, even if this slice also boasted good nutty pastry and loads of cruciferous green stuff to keep our chest wigs merrily sprouting.
Weightlifters might be interested in their daily Protein option.
On our visit it was a poached chicken breast (£4.50) with (undetectable) “lemongrass and star anise”, as well as a gently zingy pickled ginger and carrot salsa on the side.
According to what’s scratched onto the blackboard, if you want a side salad, it’ll add about £3 to your frittata/quiche/protein option.
Or, you can get a portion on its own for £6.50, which can include a mixture of whatever is on rotation that day.
Maybe they liked the look of us, since, according to my receipt, we were only charged £6 for three mini portions of salad.
We chose all that was left vegetation-wise on counter, including a crisp and fresh mixture which mainly consisted of vibrant green broccoli, but also sugar snaps, spring onions, tomatoes and sesame dressing.
We preferred the cubes of roasted butternut squash, with gratings of coconut, mint and ginger, as well as green lentils, sweetcorn nibs and chopped red peppers.
Although the chickpeas in our last veggie jumble were a bit bullet like, we enjoyed the smoky tomato dressing and spinach leaves.
They could probably have been a bit punchier with all of the dressings, but I guess they don’t want to scare the horses (or doggies).
It may sound like we’d ordered a huge amount of food, but portions are neat, so we were up for the magnificent icing-sugar-dusted Victoria sponge (£3.20), with a thick layer of buttercream and passion fruit jam in the middle. Oh my.
We also ordered a “love bar” (£2.80), which may or may not be a rip-off of the one Pret A Manger sells.
Anyway, it was a decadent take, with a shortbread base, then a gooey layer of caramel to embed dark chocolate drops, toasted almonds and pumpkin seeds.
Lovely, and the coffee here is decent too (£2.50 for a flat white).
Marvin has something to say about it all.
What is it, doggo?
“Sausages”.
No, I’m afraid it’s just the biscuits in the jar for you.
74 Raeburn Place, Edinburgh, www.gandpdelico.co.uk
