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The dark painted front of DogStar on Portland Place in the evening, its name on the lit window.
Edinburgh

DogStar

A small restaurant in a former pub on Portland Place in Leith, from chef James Murray and the Nauticus team, with sharing plates that change daily.

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Welcome

DogStar is a small restaurant in a former pub on Portland Place in Leith, from chef James Murray and the people behind Nauticus.

It calls itself made in Leith, and it's in the Michelin Guide, whose inspectors single out the local surf clams and the cooking over coals. The menus change daily and weekly and are made for sharing. Begin with focaccia and a few snacks, like pickles with whipped cod's roe, then move on to razor clams, mussels in cider butter and bigger plates of duck or the day's fish with whatever is in season. You can sit at the counter and watch the kitchen at work, and the wine list is well chosen. It opens on Thursday evenings and for lunch and dinner from Friday to Sunday, so book through its own site. It's a place for grown-ups: the restaurant can't take dogs or children.

Close byThe KeelsonA pub on the Shore at Leith from the team behind DogStar and Nauticus, with rotisserie chicken, oysters and classic cocktails, open every day.4 min by roadSee itThe Keelson's stone building on the Shore at Leith, seen across the Water of Leith on a sunny day, with gulls on the river.
Before you go

Open on Thursday evening and for lunch and dinner from Friday to Sunday.

Book through its own site; it cannot take dogs or children.

Where
17 Portland Place, Leith, EH6 6LA.
Open
Thursday 5.30pm to 9pm; Friday to Sunday 12pm to 2pm and 5.30pm to 9pm. Closed Monday to Wednesday.
Booking
Through its own site; note any dietary needs in the booking.
Children and dogs
Neither can be accommodated.
Phone
0131 563 2776

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
Closed
Tuesday
Closed
Wednesday
Closed
Thursday
5.30pm–9pm
Friday
noon–2pm, 5.30pm–9pm
Saturday
noon–2pm, 5.30pm–9pm
Sunday
noon–2pm, 5.30pm–9pm

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Where it is

On Portland Place in North Leith, EH6 6LA.

Close byLeith and the Shore.
  1. Water of Leith winding through Dean Village's stone tenements and old mill buildingsWater of LeithEdinburgh's river, followed by a 12-mile walkway from Balerno through Colinton, the Dean Village and Stockbridge to the sea at Leith.Under a mile 2 min by road
  2. The Scotch Malt Whisky Society - The VaultsThe Scotch Malt Whisky Society - The VaultsThe members' rooms of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in Leith, in a wine merchants' bonded warehouse of 1787 that has been its home since 1983.Under a mile 2 min by road
  3. Royal Yacht BritanniaRoyal Yacht BritanniaThe royal family's floating home for 44 years, launched on the Clyde in 1953 and berthed at Leith since 1998, from the bridge to the engine room.Under a mile 3 min by road
  4. The dining room at The Kitchin, with grey stone walls, dark beams and blue-green chairs at tables laid for dinner.The KitchinA restaurant with a Michelin star in a converted whisky bond on Commercial Quay in Leith, opened by Tom and Michaela Kitchin in 2006.Under a mile 5 min by road
  5. Stepped gable buildings and the Toast shopfront reflected in Leith's still waterLeith ShoreThe old quayside of Leith along the mouth of the Water of Leith, where Mary Queen of Scots and George IV came ashore, now lined with bars and restaurants.Under a mile 3 min by road
  6. The Forth from Newhaven, the hills of Fife beyond.NewhavenThe old fishing harbour between Leith and Granton, once James IV's royal dockyard, with its cast-iron lighthouse of 1869 on the breakwater.1 mile 4 min by road
Directions
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Tartan and check wool scarves hang on a white shop railShoppingTBCo0.2 miles
Chefs work a pizza oven at the back of a tiled restaurantRestaurantsRazzo0.2 miles
Buns and bakes on the window counter at Krema Bakehouse, looking out over Leith Walk with a bus passing on the far side.CafeKrema Bakehouse0.3 miles
Black hanging sign reading "Bitter Sweet" on a sandstone buildingRestaurantsBittersweet Leith0.3 miles
The coffee counter at Carter Coffee, with a grinder and a brewer on the back bench and a plant by the window.CafeCarter Coffee0.4 miles
The counter at Sloe Lane Bakery, full of pastries, loaf cakes topped with cream and chalked labels.CafeSloe Lane Bakery0.4 miles
A bowl of tonkotsu ramen at Gulp Ramen, with slices of pork belly, duck, an onsen egg and spring onion in a creamy broth, on a wooden counter.RestaurantsGulp Ramen0.4 miles

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