Seadogs – MAGICALLY RESURRECTED, ROUND THE CORNER

Today was an incredibly exciting day, for three reasons. Firstly, MJ was soon to be back in the country, after her trip home to the Alabamian homestead for the holidays. Secondly, I was meeting Phil for lunch, of which more exciting details, later. And thirdly, I got to visit Seadogs, the seafood restaurant from “” kennel. We visited Amore Dogs, last year, and enjoyed it muchly, so was looking forward to sampling from Seadogs’ fishy selection.

Exterior

Over the past few months, the “what we wore” section of our reviews have attracted considerable interest, for one reason or another. My friend Phil, a popular local entrepreneur, suggested a few days ago, that there might be an opportunity to further capture the imagination of these devoted sartorialists, by showcasing some ties from his range, available from http://www.tieclub.co.uk/ This struck me as an excellent idea, so it was with a joyous gait that I strode along Rose Street, towards the place.

Fish Wallpaper

Upon arrival, I was shown to a nice table in their airy upper section, by one of the cheery and helpful waiting staff. One wall is made up of large windows, so the room is beautifully bright. Some white walls are set against others covered in fishy wallpaper. It’s a really clean, simple setting.

Butternut Squash Soup

Upon Phil’s arrival, and after my lovely new ties had been presented, we turned our attention to the menu. We settled upon each sampling one of the soups, with Phil going for the butternut squash, while I opted for cullen skink. Phil chose mussels to follow, and I continued the smoked fish theme opting for beer battered smoked hake and chips.

Cullen Skink

Our soups arrived promptly, and looked really quite bonnie. Phil was happy with his choice, saying it was light and delicious, with the toasted almonds providing a welcome crunch. My skink, a Scottish smoked fish and potato classic, was really good. It was full of good chunky bits, of both potato and fish, with the sweet smokiness permeating every corner of the dish.

Mussels

Main courses were of similarly high quality. Phil’s mussels looked good. He’d ordered the large portion, and it truly was a generous amount. I’d ordered the small smoked hake. I was very happy with the amount. The fish was beautifully cooked, the batter loudly crunchy, the tartare sauce pleasingly piquant, and the mushy peas very tasty. The chips had the right mix of crunchy outside and soft, squidgy inside, as well.

Smoked Hake and Chips

Overall, I was every bit as impressed by Seadogs as I had been with Amore Dogs. They serve really well-executed dishes, in smart settings, with relaxed, helpful, cheery service. As I’d said with Amore Dogs, this is just the kind of place that I’d bring friends and family visiting from out of town, as it’s a sure-fire crowd pleaser. I look forward to visiting again, soon.
Next time, I’ll be wearing one of my new ties, of course!

Scores

Phil scores Seadogs
4/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
4/5 for service
3/5 for setting
giving an overall 14/20

Blythe scores Seadogs
4/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
4/5 for service
4/5 for setting
giving an overall 15.5/20

Today’s lunch questers were: Phil, Blythe

We ate: butternut squash and rosemary soup with toasted almonds, cullen skink, mussels with shallots, garlic and parsley (and chips), smoked hake in beer batter and chips

We drank: water

We wore: http://www.tieclub.co.uk/ tie, brown-buttoned waistcoat

Total bill: £25.80