Hotel Reviews
Today's Lunch extravaganza came in the form of The Cellar in Anstruther . Anstruther is located in the heart of the East Neuk. For those of you not familiar with this area , its in the kingdom of Fife . Anstruther is only 10 miles from St Andrews and boasts many a reason to visit , none less than being one of the biggest and prettiest fishing villages on the East coast . It also has Award winning beaches ( If you are brave enough to face the biting east cold wind) . Surprisingly us scots are hardy, as there are more ice-cream shops here than some sunny tourist destinations !
Anyhow as usual I am sidetracked by this lovely little seaside village which is extraordinarily well kept, clean , peaceful and proud. I loved everything about Anstruther.
The Cellar is a Michelin Star Restaurant which has been around for about 40 years as a leading restaurant in the East Neuk , but in 2014 a local Anstruther man -Billy Boyter and his family took over ownership .
Billy has a 15 year history of working in some of Scotland's best Restuarant's and now has achieved Michelin Star status with his own, and more importantly back to where he is from – Anstruther.
On entering through tiny brick lined cobbled arch ways it was not unlike dining on the Amalfi coast in Italy – Tiny little nooks and crannies packed with Scottish artifacts adorning all the maze like entrance . A roaring fire was awaiting me where I sat and waited to be seated in the main dining room. The dining room is brick , candlelit , and felt just like a Cellar but warm and tastefully decorated . I absolutely loved everything about the décor , ambience and temperature of this room, not tightly packed together like sardines either.
The lunch menu consisted of 5 courses and was very reasonably priced , again not pretentious .
I started with a mouth watering Smoked Haddock and potato Mousse which was wrapped in the lightest crisp , like a spring roll shape only a thousand times better to taste .
The second course was an old favourite of mine – A Venison Haggis bon bon with a slither of pickled pear .
The main was simply exquisite and made my taste buds dance around madly – Pollock with a brown butter sauce which was served with pea puree and crispy kale ,Kelp and soft leeks – I loved the fact that all the different components on the plate were all easily recognisable and not drowned out by one another – brilliance no less!
The dessert was not my idea of a dessert ,but I simply can not fault all the ingredients that married together expertly on the plate . There was Chocolate cream as a base Jerusalem artichoke ice cream and calamansi ( Small citrus fruit similar to a lime/Lemon ) , lovely white chocolate aero type pieces and crisp wafers to decorate. A Very Michelin dessert , light and refreshing for a lunch menu .
All in all an excellent lunch and one restaurant I will definitely return too when I am off duty !
The Gannet Restaurant is located in Finnieston , Glasgow . This area of Glasgow is chock a block with eateries and you are spoilt for choice if dining out, living, or working around here . It's almost become the dining destination of the West and quite rightly so .
The Gannet looks very trendy and inviting from the outside , but this wasn't always the way it looked pre 2012 . This was an old tenement building badly needing some TLC until the two peters and Ivan took over the reigns and transformed it onto one of Glasgow's thriving “Best places to eat List “
A very warm welcome awaits you at this Urban style Restaurant ,with dull ,moody lighting and stone walls .
I was curious about the name – The Gannet ,and never found out the reason behind the name if any but its on my to do list .
I was sat at a table overlooking the barman expertly shaking every cocktail and pouring every real ale known to man before our very informative waiter overheard my cries for help . ( Forgot my reading glasses ) He promptly produced a large wicker basket full of reading glasses for me to choose from , now that's service !
I loved how the menu simply stated exactly what they were offering without any pretentious additions of the English language ,that many may be unsure of .
I also loved the fact that absolutely all the beers offered were Scottish real ales in Bottle form (No draught lager/beer here . The Scottish Artisan Beers and lagers are absolutely brilliant and not shouted about as they should be – Truly loved the waiters knowledge and enthusiasm for these beers too.
I started with Scottish seared Scallops with housemade Haggis and celeriac puree . The scallops tasted like they had just been hauled out the sea and the haggis was exceptionally light and not too strong flavoured ( As can be with homemade haggis) – Wonderful !
My main was described as slow cooked Border lamb and the shoulder which was perfectly crispy , had a beautiful succulent flavour . It was served with a wild garlic cannelloni,fennel puree and a cockle salsify.The Chefs here certainly know how to make a plate look attractive and as I always say – You eat with the eye !
The main attraction for me, and what I was actually here to review was the desert course .
I chose the milk chocolate feuilletine with orange and whisky ice-cream .Not exactly what I was expecting in a feuilletine but it was quite simply one of the best desserts I have had so far in this process . The textures , flavours and crunchy nuts and pralines built into a dense chocolate brick were absolutely right up my street . The whisky and orange ice-cream did not have a strong flavour of either whisky or orange but in fact went very well with the feuilletine .I have ranked it top score in my journey so far. It was a well executed dessert which I would go back tomorrow for in a heartbeat .
Great Chefs , Service , surroundings , atmosphere and price – What's not to like ?
The Peat Inn is a charming little Restaurant with rooms located about 6 miles from the golfing town of St Andrews on the east coast of Scotland. The capital city,Edinburgh is about an hours drive and Dundee about 30 minutes . Its a great location for exploring all of the above in Michelin style. The village of Peat Inn actually derives its name from the Inn itself which has stood in its present spot for about 250 years . The Peat Inn has always had a great reputation for hospitality and the town growing up around the Inn itself is a lovely historical story . Anyhow I digress as usual , nowadays the Inn is owned and run by husband and wife team Geoffrey and Katherine Smeddle. Geoffrey is the Award winning Michelin Star Chef/Patron at the heart of the Kitchen.
I had eaten at The Peat Inn around 10 years ago and its one of the Restaurant's I talk about to this day,so the anticipation was high .
I was welcomed in to the cozy reception room with a welcoming roaring log fire before stunning looking little hors d'oevres were served .
Next i was taken to my table passing a further two unique dining rooms ,to be seated at a lovely open bright dining room with a stunning view over the Fife countryside . Alpacas were grazing moodily in the background on this very foggy cold winters day.
Amuse Bouche was simply sublime – A venison haggis with neeps and the creamiest tatties , oh my !!. There was a huge basket of simply brilliant sourdough breads and raisin malted bread and this was before my starter …..
My starter plate was Home smoked monkfish with avocado cream and ginger soya , almost like a tartar but more creative – refreshingly light and you could taste the sea.
My second course was the 12 hour slow braised beef with Mousseline potato,parsnips,pearl onions and a red wine jus. Can I just begin by saying,anything I write about this main course will not do it justice,not even close. The beef was blackened and fell from the fork like butter , the taste ,flavour and texture the like of which I have never tasted before . I honestly will now talk about this dish for the rest of my life – pure genius.
But I was here for the dessert course and what was to follow did not let the rest of the meal down ,Hot mandarin souffle with dark chocolate and rum sauce .
The souffle was as light as a feather and as perfectly formed and risen as I have ever seen. The theatre was provided by the lovely waitress who opened the souffle expertly without deflating and pouring in the most decadent hot chocolate. Simply brilliant execution of a difficult dessert to pull of to perfection .I finished with handmade chocolates which again were the best I have tasted to date . I simply cant recommend this Restaurant highly enough . A thoroughly deserving Michelin Star to a Chef who creates and makes absolutely everything you see and taste by hand . Long may you reign.
Friday night and the 2nd of our Michelin and Bib Gourmand reviews in Scotland, was Stravaigin in Glasgow . Stravaigin is located in Glasgow's trendy West end near Kelvinbridge . Dont be fooled by the surroundings or nearby eateries that this is just another pub/come diner - You would be very very wrong !
Stravaigin means to roam or wander about and derives from the Ulster /Scot generation of settlers. The Chefs here utilise their namesake in creating their imaginative menus using only the best and very freshest of Scotland's Larder. They even have their own small holding farm in Lochlibo , south west Glasgow where they grow and nurture some of their most unusual ingredients .
Stravaigin is a sister Restaurant to the well known "Ubiquitous Chip" in Ashton Lane dating back to the days of Ronnie Clydesdale in the seventies. They are still a famiy run affair with Chef Colin Clydesdale at the helm.
Anyhow i digress as usual , i was here for the food and i was not disappointed . You are led downstairs into a rustic dining setting passing the Chefs pass as you enter the Restaurant . I absolutely loved the decor and informal dress code was a must , no pretentiousness here .
Every single waiter and waitress that we met was charming , informative and eager to stress the love of working at Stravaigin.
I started with quite possibly one of the best first courses i have had in a long time - Smoked Salmon Tartare . It had a very subtle horseradish mousse with hints of orange and crunchy pomegranate. I actually cant express how delicate and beautifuly balanced all the flavours were - bursting with individuality . Superb. My main course was a snobs disdain with another fish course ( But its January -think of my diet ) and it was Sea Bream in a bean cassoulet . It was also excellent but the photographs would not have done it justice . The dessert course was separated with the most amazing lemon sorbet . Dessert was a caramel tart with all components on the plate handmade ( As you would expect but dont always recieve ) The apple and cinnamon ice cream was inspired . I have to say i am not surprised that a Bib Gourmand rating has been given to this eaterie every year since 2012.
What i actually loved the most, as a confirmed foodaholic, was the absolute relaxation to be able to enjoy food at this standard in a relaxed , unpretentious way and not overcharged for the privilege either . Absolutely brilliant from start to finish!