Dine in style with your furry friend at the best dog-friendly restaurants in Edinburgh. The Scottish capital is home to some exceptional restaurants, pubs and cafes – including a handful that won't mind a well-behaved pooch in tow. Here are our favourites.
While we strive to provide the most up-to-date information, we recommend checking with the restaurant before making plans, as policies can change.
For years, dogs were welcomed only in traditional country pubs. But attitudes have relaxed and today it’s not unusual for even the most upmarket restaurants to have an area set aside for canine companions.
Visiting Edinburgh during August is a contradiction, existing simultaneously as the best and worst time to experience the Scottish capital. First and foremost, and before the clatter of pitchforks becomes overwhelming, it’s important to acknowledge thus: The Festival – a sprawling amalgamation of seven distinct events – is an incredible thing. While many locals love to moan, it is a joy and a privilege to live in a city that explodes with its creativity every summer, especially after a few largely fallow years of Covid-induced silence. That said, if you’re coming to Auld Reekie next month, just knowing the town a little better will make your visit much more mellow.
For the last ten years, Edinburgh behaved like Glasgow’s highfalutin sibling when it came to food – the East did fine and fancy; the West did cool and casual. But more recently, the Clydesiders have been busy grabbing stars, and things in the Capital have started to mellow. Photographer James Porteous, an Edinburgh resident, gives us a personal tour.
