The transformation begins.......

You never think you’ll get attached to inanimate objects do you? But watching the guts being ripped out of our lovely  Georgian Howies Waterloo restaurant has made us realise otherwise. Even though the décor was tired and the chairs and tables dark and imposing it was with a teary eye we watched everything being shipped out.  Yup  End of an era. And the great redesign has begun. And without Kevin McCloud. 

Shutting a busy restaurant for 10 days to refurb is a clench to be honest.  Every minute we're closed costs money. But there is never a good time so we thought lets bite the bullet and get on with it. It needed it. And we wanted to show our commitment to bringing Howies back to where it was a few years ago. Lets be honest we love the bones of it. If it has bones. Heres a few photos to give you a taste of our dramatic days.....

Above a man squats on the bar and strips off the wallpaper - can you imagine how much lighter the room will be once this has gone. Goodbye feature wall hello lovely bow ended room and light. (The guy in the yellow t shirt is very fashion forward - yellow is the colour for this summer apparently). 

Like a man happy in his job. As long as he doesn't take a heider off the bar. 

This photo looks up towards the other end of the room - yes the scaffolding is in - the platoon of decorators are honed and ready. And whilst they work up high on the walls and cupola, down on the floor......well it's coming out completely and a lovely new one is going in soon.

Yup - it has the makings of a Laurel & Hardy slapstick special. Buckets, holes in the floor and planks of wood. 

                           Tired and emotional. Or did he see me without my make-up on?

Still, as you well know the main thing with a beautiful building such as this, are the proportions and features speak for themselves. So rather than gild the lily with fancy paint effects and dramatic eye watering wallpaper we have decided on a subtle palette of colours relevant to Scotland. Heathery, creams, tweed, plaid, chunky Scottish wood, mirror and light walls with the mix of our quirky wee bits and pieces that make sure Howies Waterloo looks like what it is a local restaurant not a roll out of a chain. Your local restaurant. 

Shutting a busy restaurant for 10 days to refurb is a clench to be honest.  Every minute we're closed costs money. But there is never a good time so we thought lets bite the bullet and get on with it. It needed it. And we wanted to show our commitment to bringing Howies back to where it was a few years ago. Lets be honest we love the bones of it. If it has bones. 

So I will update as the week progesses – and 23^rd May looms – it’s not long to do all the things schedule to be done.

So we have made a start but still to come floor ripped out, walls stripped, kitchen stripped, lovely new central heating put it, paint, paper, new upholstered chairs, tables, banquette seating, lighting. ITs very exciting and  we are absolutely sure it’s going to be a bobby dazzler….but you can see from todays photos ..GULP….we have a long way to go……and only one week to do it. 

Stars In Our Eyes & Our Restaurant.

So.....quietly getting on with it....as we  do...you know the sort of thing...bubbling up the Cullen Skink, chasing haggis and flopping up a banoffee or three ,  when suddenly KAPOW right there in our Victoria Street restaurant was the lovely Derren Brown.

Derren has just been in Edinburgh and played to a rather jaw dropping 18000 people over the course of the week. Did you say 18,000?  Yes I  did. I know! Wowza.

Derren was taking time out from his busy Edinburgh schedule which was playing The Edinburgh Playhouse - only the biggest theatre in Europe with 4500 seats - impressive and a tad stressful I would think. If it were me I would be in a dark room chatting and inhaling lavendar and doing calming things but Derren was out and about enjoying his time in Scotlands Capital. So from 4500 seats to a mere 40 he came in to see us and he was an absolute charmer as you can see here.

Mandy  our lovely smiling member of staff was apoplectic with joy as she had seen him on stage the night before and there he was larger and smilier in the flesh. She is clenched with happiness. Eventually she unclamped the poor man and let him get on with his day.

What a joy to see him and we wish him well for the rest of his tour and hope next time in town he's he'll be back to say hello!

Of course the Edinburgh film Festival is just round the corner too - so I wonder who'll be our next celebrity visitor?  Maybe you?

You can follow Derren on Twitter @DerrenBrown
You can follow us too on @HowiesScotland

Anyway must away today - Sunday 12th May we are closing Howies Waterloo Place for 10 days  for a complete overhaul..details to follow......Phew....it's ever dull round here......I will give full updates on how it's going and also give you details of any things that are looking for a good home -

Cheers!

Sustainable local produce - you know it makes sense.

This photograph was not taken in or near our restaurant but this dog was pictured panicking as she spotted a supermarket lorry and a man with a net. She called the K9 Protection League and was uplifted safely.

Just in case there is any doubt- you will not be eating horse in our restaurant.

Unless we bill it as such. Which we won't. 

All our produce comes from local sustainable producers. After all how can you call yourself a local restaurant if you import peoples ex-pets from the other side of the world, broil them and sell them off as something else. Yes the day of the multi-national may not be numbered but the faith we had in them certainly is.

To that end here's an article I wrote in todays paper about such things...
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUTCHER

You could say I was on my high horse. Which is infinitely better than eating it.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Happy New Year to you and yours!

We are back to work today 3rd of January after a wild and wonderful festive season.  It's never dull and as we pack away the sparkles, drag the droopy tree out for recycling and gather our thoughts at the beginning of another year we just wanted to wish you and yours a great 2013.

On a more sober note.

It's aye sad to see a restaurant close and sadly the last twelve months has seen the closure of some cracking restaurants in Scotland. Some perhaps weren't up to the mark but equally some of them were excellent, the fact is the combination of high rates, taxes and supplies make it damn hard to keep your head above water. Such losses just serves as a reminder that local restaurants need your support now more than ever.

There are some great chains, don't get me wrong, but it's that wee guy on the corner it's easy to forget about especially when it's blowing horizontal rain and you rush past wrapped in your woolies and waterproofs without so much as a backward glance on your way home to the couch for your beans on toast. I urge you to spare a moment to think about that guy. Chances are he is in there right now, paying for his heating to keep his place cosy for you his potential customer to come in out of the cold and enjoy a meal. Yeh if it's bad value, badly run or Basil Fawltys at the helm I don't blame you I wouldn't darken the dorostep either but on the other hand, if it is a great local spot - go go go.

In January a lot of food selling emporiums can get a touch of the blues.

LUNCH & LAUGH ON REGARDLESS

It's certainly a time when customer is King and to coax you out of your thermals - well not in a Carry On Up The Restaurant way but in a drop the cosy coats at the door and come on in for a relaxing scoff sort of way. At Howies we have dropped our lunch 2 course prices to £7.95 for all of January and February this year. I know, I know -  it is less than a large coffee and a panini at an international coffee shop and is as far from being mass produced, cellophane wrapped as is possible. Howies food is aye fresh, seasonal, traceable, Scottish produce. You choose from the whole menu too none of this
'Here's the menu Sir, but to get the deal you must order the dry stick and the sludge pie or pay a £45 supplement' sort of nonsense.

Are you suspicious?
Well please don't be.
At this time of year these deals are not a profit making exercise but we simply have to offer incredible value at this time of year because:

A) That's what we look for when we go out
B) We want to tempt you over the threshold to remember why we have been here for 21 years.
C) It really wouldn't be the same without you.

So despite the wintery weather we are still working incredibly hard at it, sourcing local food and cooking and presenting it to you with minimum fuss and maximum taste with a big smile as are many others.  I understand if you can't check Howies out but this is a plea for you to just consider the idea and to urge you - support your local restaurant! I will guarantee you will be welcomed warmly and may even make a friend for life. After all this time next year you don't want to turn up and find out that it's gone or even worse become another Sainsbury's/Tescos' local.

Here's our Edinburgh  lunch voucher and if you pop in you can grab a dinner one too £14.95 for 2 courses Sunday - Thursday. Pop into Aberdeen too prices differ slightly.

We wish it could be Christmas every day!

Howies Advent Calendar - count down to Christmas!

It is exactly one year. 365 days. that we bought Howies back. We are in shock. Did someone press fast forward on 2012.  Being back in the restaurant business has been madness since day 1 but really are we here jangling and spangling for Xmas fizz and parties already?! Yup.

Of course we aye know Christmas is looming when 2 months ahead you have to plan your menus and order up your festive deliciousness. The butchers face when you order lamb shank by the hundred is a sight to see - I would describe his cheeky wee face as registering sheer delight - unlike any of the sheep family who for obvious reasons have an entirely different opinion of  us cooking and serving their relatives.

Turkey caught running into Howies as no turkey on our  Xmas menu.

This year we have done away with turkey as part of the Christmas offering for the sake of your Mum, Granny or friend who we have no doubt will be beavering away to produce that particularly magnificent bird with all the trimmings for the big day so we don't want you to be  bored of it by the time you roll up with your sack full of presents for a brussel sprout and turkey lurky frenzy.

There are three jolly Howies and each one is decorated individually by the teams there.

Howies Waterloo tree in the entrance hall. Thank you Shereen.

Shereen who was probably one of Santas Elves in a past life loves the baubling and bangling of the festive sparkles.

Looking into Howies Victoria - a sparkly delight. Thank you Jaimmie.

Jaimmie who has turned Victoria Street in a grotto of lights and glittery doo dahs and Angela in Aberdeen who has an altogether more subtle approach with her tinselling but still manages to give us that feeling of a merry christmas ahead.

Sitting back and exhaling briefly as the jingle jangle of Christmas tunes from Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra tinkle gently in the background, the aroma of mulled wine permeates the air and the excited chatter of the staff and customers build it is with a real rosy cheeked feeling of bonhomie that we raise our collective hot toddys to you and yours for your support of Howies and this Diary of A Scottish Restaurant.

 It means a lot that you makes the effort to support your local restaurant during what is undoubtedly a tough economy as lets be honest it really wouldn't be the same without you. So as a wee thank you and to cheer up your wee chops grab a voucher for January when you're in and you can have a 2 course lunch for £7.95 or 2 course dinner for £14.95 to chase away the apres winter blues.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Fabulous food review for Howies Aberdeen! 6th October

Being a restaurant anywhere in the world these days it’s hard. No matter which way you look at it. 5 years in to a recession every day has it's challenges but add to that Trip Advisor, Twitter,  Facebook and all the other viral media that surrounds us and phew it is tough and time consuming to stay on top of it all to say the least.

So it was with great excitement word come through early this morning that Howies in Aberdeen had a review in the Press & Journal and they gave us a knicker wettingly good 29/30.  No that is not a misprint 29/30!! 

Well talk about happy smiling faces all round. 

Thrilled. 

To the Howies Aberdeen team a massive congratulations!

Flowers. Chocolates. Champagne. Jubilations and most important of all an endorsement that the incredibly hard work they have been putting in both in terms of food sourcing, cooking and the front of house in fact every single person who is part of this impressive and happy team has been worth every bead of sweat, every sleepless night, aching leg and moments of doubt!

Happy days at Howies!!

PS A column is being published in Edinburgh Evening News this Monday about this very thing written by myself which I will post here too - the important of supporting your local restaurants. 

Cullen Skink - not an animal - a sublime, Scottish soup!

Ardenlea - on of my families old trawlers.

We are a hardy lot us Scots.

Hairy legged, kilt wearing, roughy toughies – and that’s just the women.

Born in a land that is cold, hilly, covered in heather and tufty brackens you’d think we’d love the cold.  Of course some do but most don’t. So to keep the cold at bay, and to stoke up our boilers (tummies) in order to get up and out into that driving wind and rain  hundreds of years ago we learnt to make the absolute best of the food available to us. 365 days a year.

On paper to list these ingredients you might think….talk about bland and unexciting but the fact is the right recipe and seasoning can turn something that looks rather pedestrian into something that is lipsmackingly delicious and easy to whip up.

Cullen - a few years ago - och aye

Cullen Skink is a prime example of that.

600 years ago there is evidence we were snorkelling into the smoked fish.

This particular dish comes from a town called Cullen a small fishing community it is a creamy, satisfying fish chowder which is a perennial favourite at Howies and one you must try. If you are over 5 you can make it. And if you are over a few months old you can eat and enjoy it until you are 110.

My background is fish. For literally hundreds of years the Craig family tree shows we were fishermen, trawler skippers, lone fishermen with boats all born with sea legs (sadly short ones too but that’s another story) so for generations fishing has been a way of life.  And not an easy one.  As my dad used to say 'see The Perfect Storm with George Clooney? –that's just a rose tinted spectacled view of life  as a trawlerman on the North Sea.' Yikes.

So you can be assured this cracking wee recipe is worth a try. It will warm you from the inside out. If you are cold, red cheeked and shivering a bowl of this feels like God himself has rubbed your belly.

Try it.

It’s a meal in itself

It’s the history of the NE of Scotland in a bowl

It is frankly delicious.

Undyed smoked haddock - perfect.

Cullen Skink

Potatoes – but of course. (Tatties as we call them in these parts)

Onions

Butter

Milk.

Yellow fish – is what what we used to call it – but to the more discerning eye and vocabulary – a lightly smoked fish. Undyed filleted haddock are just the job,  Or a Finan Haddie as they are known in these parts.  If you can’t get haddock then any smoked white fish should do it. Not salmon or trout but a white meatier offering.

Sounds unexciting but try following the recipe and you will end up with this......

Cullen Skink - thick, creamy, smokey with fresh warm bread and unsalted Scottish butter.

RECIPE!

Peel and boil potatoes - til al dente not squishy.

Put fish into a pan, pour over enough milk to cover it. 

Heat gently and poach for 3 minutes til just cooked. Drain - but keep milk. 

Separate fish into flakes - remove any residual bones.

Chop onions sautéed in butter, til soft not caramelised.

Add milk and fish to the oniony buttery mix.

 When potatoes cooked chop roughly and add to milky mixture....em...hey presto!

You can put a piece of parsley on it if you like. 

Our chef sometimes puts a cheesy crouton on top.

Some people even mash their potato - radical!

The recipe above is Howies Cullen Skink direct from Pat Craig - and now it's over to you.

As easy as that.

As tasty as anything.

Now off you go and give it a shotty - and report back.