The Long Dog Café and Boutique

Few cafes have completely captured my heart in the same way that The Long Dog Café has. Whilst Edinburgh may have a vast collection of coffee shops with aesthetics I adore, when I am home in Aberdeen, I make my way to the west end and treat myself to a freakshake.

My love of milkshakes has been mentioned in a few of my previous posts but my obsession could perhaps be traced back to the Long Dog Café. Their Instagram page is filled with mouthwatering shakes and the most adorable dogs, two of my uttermost favourite things. It’s not like Maison de Moggy where pets reside in the café but the owners often bring in their pooches and guests are encouraged to do so too. Gavin and Linda are their dachshunds, hence the name of the cafe and they have a new recruit, Jose who is a rescued Podenco.

I have been to the café a few times now but I haven’t written a blog post about it until now because I felt that to write about it properly, I needed to have ordered something that wasn’t just a freakshake. I went for lunch yesterday and was delighted to see that they had a favourite of mine, a ham and cheese croissant, available. They had a wide selection and I was tempted by one of their ciabatta sandwiches but I’m glad I didn’t because my croissant was delicious. That being said I’m positive that if I had chosen anything else, it would have been just as tasty.

I also ordered an Oreo freakshake which could have easily have filled me up without the help of the croissant because there are so many toppings on it. I feel like I ate half a jar of Nutella in half an hour, not that I’m complaining now. Dan also had one but I ate most of his toppings too as it was too sweet for him. As you will read in my next Progress Update, I’m still not eating particularly healthily.

The Oreo freakshake had been added since I was last there which is why I chose it on this particular occasion. However, on previous visits, I have also had a Kinder Bueno freakshake and a Chocolate Brownie one. Next on my list to try is the Jammie Dodger but I’m usually craving chocolate every time I go which is why it has not happened yet. There are many more flavours that I haven’t mentioned, which all come with the bells and whistles that make for great photos.

A little side note to say that The Long Dog Café have loyalty cards for every time you have a freakshake. I know that in the past if you uploaded a picture with it and tagged them on Instagram you had the opportunity to win something at the café but I am unsure if this is still the case.

As I sat down at a table yesterday afternoon to wait for Dan, three wire-haired dachshunds that came in all sat up next to me on the bench and I went to heaven. There was a relaxed atmosphere in the café as more dogs came in but when the sixth arrived one of the dachshunds leapt from where they were sitting and started barking like made which consequently set the rest of them off. They left straight after which was upsetting because I was just working up the courage to ask their owners if I could take a picture of them, my social skills don’t go that far yet.

Last year The Long Dog branched out and opened a boutique filled with toys, food and accessories all for your K-9 friends. It was originally on Great Western Road in Aberdeen but has just moved next door to the café on Claremont Street. Penny, a Spanish rescue dog was in the Boutique with her human picking put goodies that she wanted after having a doggy ice cream in the café. She was allowed to wander around and sniff at things and a couple of items that she seemed to take an interest in were purchased. When I get a dog of my own, I’m going to do something similar but will probably have no restraint and completely spoil my pampered pooch.

Dan and I popped through to browse and came very close to buying some treats for Poppy and Charlie, Dan’s poodles. Our friend Kayla works there so we had a wee chat and catch-up whilst the shop was quiet and we perused the shelves. I spent half my time admiring the parrot-patterned wallpaper and the doggy cupcakes.

Every wallpaper picked for the Long Dog locations is spot on. My personal favourite was this art-deco style in the boutique next to the counter, followed but the leaf print in the café which is similar to the bedding that I had at uni (to be seen in an upcoming post). Overall the aesthetic is right up my street, with plants covering the walls of the café and an array of cushions, including a few that were personalised. The layout of the café has been slightly different each time I have visited but the counter is always set against a backdrop of gorgeous dark tiles.

As I am back home for the Summer I’m sure I will have plenty more visits to The Long Dog Café in the next few months. It will be the perfect place to sit and create more blog posts as I sip my milkshake and get constantly distracted by all the dogs coming and going.