The Doric Tavern is a 17th-century bistro situated upstairs in Market Street of the Old Town of Edinburgh. Although I lived in Edinburgh for many years, I had never been there until my sister invited my husband and I to join a group of her friends for dinner there recently.
The surroundings are lovely, the atmosphere fun and the staff were very helpful and courteous. The building is old, I would guess 17th Century, so the ceilings are low and the windows are
quite small. The dining room heats up quickly when the bistro is full. I recommend a jug of tap water for the table. However, access is up a staircase and, in the old building, there are no lifts so access for the disabled or with mobility issues is unrealisitc.
The menu features many traditional Scottish dishes including the fish soup, cullen skink, haggis and cranachan. The food is delicious, but some of the portions are extraordinarily tiny. My wild mushroom open ravioli was amazing, but my main cousre portion consisted of two pieces of ravioli and a few mushrooms. The mixed side salad was bigger.
My husband’s cullen skink was very tasty, but an extremely small bowl of soup. His fish and chips was not warm and there were only four chips on his plate. When we left, my husband was unsatisfied because his main course had not been hot, and I was still very hungry.
There were 10 of us in her party, 4 of us are vegetarian. There were only four vegetarian choices on the menu. Even when asked in advance, The Doric Tavern declined to offer additional choices for their vegetarian guests. Had any of us been vegan there would have been no choices at all, unless you count a side salad!
In conclusion, we enjoyed the evening because the company was fun and the atmosphere was good. However, one of the biggest offences a restaurant can commit is to have their guest leaving hungry. So, although the food is good, because of poor access and the lack of a satisfactory number of vegetarian options, I cannot recommend The Doric Tavern in Edinburgh.
Valerie Penny
Val Penny's Hotel and Restaurant Reviews 