Maki & Ramen first launched in Scotland’s capital around eight years ago and have grown from their first restaurant on West Richmond Street to having four others in Edinburgh.
But never ones for resting on their laurels, the business is continually evolving to try to meet the needs of their customers. With that in mind they have tried to branch out to the dog loving residents of Auld Reekie to create a space where both you and your four legged buddy can enjoy a bite to eat together.
Their unit in the St James Quarter has a seating area outside of the main restaurant on the ground floor which is dog friendly. In the past they had launched a woof menu alongside the famous Edinburgh pet store Dofos.
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But in the name of innovation they have relaunched this service with a range of tasty new treats that give your pooch a selection of snacks to devour as you slurp away at your ramen bowl. Of course this all sounds fantastic, but in order to be certain of this, I thought it would be rude not to pop down in person with my trusted border collie companion by my side to see what all the fuss was about.
Ché, who is my noble five-year-old steed, strapped on his harness and headed down to the St James Quarter with my partner, baby son and I. The doggo was greeted with a lot of smiles and pets from the staff who commented on how beautiful he was - Ché was unsure if this was a tactic for him to go easy on them with the review but he was unable to resist their advances.
After being sat down with plenty of room for a buggy, a dog and two adults our order was taken and arrived within ten minutes. Ché was offered a bowl of water and a selection of chicken and beef treats to try out whilst we halved some pork gyozas as well as the chicken karage and the black garlic tonkotsu ramen.
The dishes were absolutely delicious. The chicken is so crispy and light and the brother for the tonkotsu was so yummy that you could have it on its own.
Ché was equally impressed with his treats. After sitting nicely for a few photos to help sell the experience he devoured a chicken foot and a beef strip.
All in all he relayed to me that the experience was a four paw review from him. The meal was ideal after a long day shopping for a young family and their pooch as you can be in and out within half an hour.
The staff were super friendly and accommodating and all seemed to be genuine dog lovers who fussed over every little furry creature that accompanied their owner for a bite to eat.
On their new menu, Effie the marketing director said: “It started from observing a lot of customers and from the demand we were getting through our email and social media asking if we are pet friendly. St James Quarter is full of people with their dogs and we thought it is a shame if you are enjoying your ramen and there is nothing for your puppy.
“That is why we designed this menu so you have something for your furry friend. Edinburgh is one of the cities in the UK with the highest percentage of pet owners so it made sense.
“I have to say that when a dog comes to visit us the whole staff love making a fuss over them. All the pets we have are so well behaved and have great manners.
“The response has been amazing from dog owners. They seem to love the natural element to the treats. When we had dog bloggers down, the owners, and more importantly the pets, absolutely loved it.”
Becca, who is the digital marketing coordinator added: “We have collaborated in the past with Dofos but this is a refreshed woof menu for the dogs visiting our restaurant. All of the treats are 100 per cent natural chicken, duck or beef and are suitable for all dogs.
“There was a large demand when we did our first team up and so we wanted to build on that. Dofos have great values and are the oldest pet shop in Edinburgh.
“Since we both launched in the capital we thought it would make sense to partner with them. The new woof menu will just be rolled out in our dog friendly space at the St James Quarter restaurant.
“So far the feedback has been amazing. The new menu offers more of a mixed selection than before with three different treats for our furry friends.”
As well as having the dog friendly St James Quarter restaurant, Maki & Ramen also have a store at Fountainbridge with live sushi prepared in front of you, a cosy Tokyo style ramen bar on West Richmond Street as well as other units in Leith and on Nicolson Street. Each venue is said to be a completely new experience.
You can visit their website here for more information on all of their restaurants and to see what they offer.
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