Howies Victoria Street

Howie's was our first dinner stop on our first day in Scotland. I wanted a nice restaurant that had a vegetarian version of haggis (so I could dive right in...), and we had made a reservation weeks in advance of our trip. All good! This Howie's location is on Victoria Street (one of the most photographed streets in the world and the visual influence for Harry Potter's Diagon Alley...it's a few minutes' walk from the center of the Royal Mile, so the location is fantastic. Our reservation was on the early side, and the host made a point of telling us a couple of times that they'd need the table back after a certain period of time. We don't really dwell for hours in restaurants, so that note is not something we really needed, and after seeing it in the reservation confirmation, as well as being told twice by the host, there was a little bit of a feeling that the entire purpose of us being at Howie's was to get out as soon as possible so they can have the table back. Besides that tone-setter, the service and food were fantastic. Our server took a lot of time going through the options with us...she gave me a good perspective on the vegetarian haggis I was getting to help me contextualize its flavor and texture with the real thing, and was very nice! The asparagus and pea risotto I had was also beautiful and had good flavor. As a vegetarian, I appreciated that the menu had everything labeled with dietary restrictions. (which seems to be more of a standard in the U.K. than in the U.S., but this was our first dinner stop in the country, so it's worth noting.) Howie's gave us a good introduction to Scottish cuisine. Its location couldn't have been better, and our server was aces. I hope we gave the table back in time to not cause a panic. ;)

We had the lunch menu. The cod was good, and the tofu pudding was great too. However, the ribeye we ordered medium-rare was overcooked.