Room with a view - Aberdour

VisitScotland's Fiona Stewart visits Room with a view in Aberdour.

Saturday mornings are always slow in our house, after a busy week of work and commuting, so the thought of heading into the city once again for a fine lunch or bar meal requires a bit of effort. We are urbanites during the week - country-dwellers at the weekend. Our nearest village Ecclesmachan has no pub or restaurant so we have to look ever so slightly further afield.

Over the years we have eaten many great pub meals in the Four Mary’s in Linlithgow and our favourite local restaurants are Marynka’s also on Linlithgow High Street and Bruntonside, Torphichen. South Queensferry, too, has a wealth of restaurants and bistros to choose from along the main thoroughfare but we are always looking for something new but not too far away as there is always shopping and gardening to be done.

On a friendly foody recommendation, we added “Room with a View” in Aberdour for our next free weekend without friends and family - so this weekend it was time to explore. It is a surprisingly quick journey from West Lothian to Fife to the Forth View Hotel – about 25 minutes –with a view of the bridge from a different perspective. In fact – a view of the bridge from a “Room with a View” at Hawkcraig Point.

We had a quick pit stop on Aberdour high street and had a quick look at the gift shops and gallery but next time will also visit Aberdour Castle and St Fillans Church.

Room with A View is not far from the high street but definitely follow the instructions from the web-site and don’t be thrown off guard if the car park attendant walks towards you – the road splits just as you enter the car park. He is obviously used to it and very kindly pointed us in the right direction of the hotel and said it was further on. So continue on until the road narrows and twists a bit then you have a choice of parking up and walking down the steep lane to the hotel or driving to the front door of the hotel right at the water’s edge.

Off-shore there is a dramatic mix of islands – Inchcolm and Inchkeith with the presence of Arthur’s Seat in the middle distance. Just outside the front door of the hotel is the old wooden pier, at least in part, once a drop off point for visitors from the Edinburgh Steamer. It is a reminder of elegant times gone by and in the nearby seafood restaurant that elegant feeling has definitely been recaptured.

The seafood restaurant Room with a View – namesake of the Merchant Ivory classic - is one year old and is run with the magical touch of Hannah Norman and Tim Robson, known for his freshly cooked fish and seafood. Her family home for many, many years, she welcomes all her guests at the front door as though they were an old family friend. After kicking off our walking boots, we settled at our table with views of the sea and setting vanity apart I popped my specs on to boat watch before we started our meal.

I love my food but sometimes struggle over the menu when it is complicated or has lots of rich sauces. The menu was fantastic and was frustrating for my partner as he waited for me to make up my mind.

Arran Cheddar & Sun-dried tomato parcels with a Basil dip went down easily followed by seared Tuna Steak with a Maple Syrup and Sweet Chilli Drizzle (I asked for my tuna to be cooked through - no problem at all was the reply) and pan-fried Halibut with whole grain mustard & brandy sauce. Not all for me of course – and to finish off we tried to share the chocolate fudge pudding with vanilla ice-cream but it was too good to share. Hannah had kindly pre-empted the request for more cutlery – I did allow a couple of morsels off my plate but next time I am having the entire portion for myself.

One of the things I liked most was the slate table settings and the little touches of tiny ceramic pots for dips. The busy atmosphere was easy going with lots of chattering from nearby tables clearly at ease with themselves.

As we left the restaurant we took some photos of the coastline and made our way round to Silver Sands beach and sat on an old log and digested our meal. This restaurant is a real treat and easy to reach from West Lothian and Edinburgh. Word of mouth is the best endorsement and we will definitely be spreading the word about Room With A View and encourage people to make a day of it in Aberdour.

http://www.roomwithaviewrestaurant.co.uk/
Tel: 01383 860 402

Opening hours: Lunches: Weds – Sunday 12 – 2.30pm
Dinner: Weds – Saturday
Closed: Monday and Tuesday
Menus reflect weekly fish market

Fiona Stewart 15 July 07

50 places to eat in the great outdoors

The Times newspaper recently produced a list of 50 places to eat in the great outdoors throughout the UK. The Scottish element of this list is replicated below. There are some great recommendations here, go ahead and spoil yourselves!

46. The Seafood Restaurant at St Monans and St Andrews - These modern restaurants have about 30 seats outside each. The St Monans terrace overlooks the Firth of Forth, while the St Andrews branch is a spectacular glass cube overlooking the bay. 16 West End, St Monans, Fife (01333 730327). The Scores, St Andrews, Fife (01324 479475)

47. Royal Botanic Garden Café - Good, fresh food — cakes, salads, stews, pies, and the Spanish chef's special tortillas — is served at this family-friendly café in the lovely Botanic Gardens a mile to the north of Edinburgh city centre. Entrances on Inverleith Row and Arboretum Place, Edinburgh (0131 5527171; www.rbge.org.uk)

48. The Seafood Cabin - For 20 years this shack has sold simple seafood near the sandy beach on Skipness Castle Estate. With a beautiful view of Arran, you eat crab rolls on wheaten bread, home-made cakes or a £15 seafood platter (langoustines, scallops, crab, four kinds of salmon). The cabin is part of a seafood trail around this part of the west coast of Scotland. Skipness Estate, Tarbert, Argyll (01880 760207; www.theseafoodtrail.com)

49. Anstruther Fish Bar - Organic farmed cod, monkfish, lemon sole, dressed crab and lobster are among the unusual options at this award-winning quayside fish-and-chips shop, declared the Best in Scotland in the latest Seafish Industry Authority awards. Everything is fresh and cooked from scratch. 43-44 Shore Street, Anstruther, Fife (01333 310518; www.anstrutherfishbar.co.uk)

50. Fisherman's Pier Fish and Chip Van -This fish and chip van on the pier at Tobermory on the Isle of Mull is famous for its scallops and chips, as well as haddock and cod. Everything is cooked to order and people sit by the Victorian clock tower and creels and look out at the sea as they eat. Fisherman's Pier, Tobermory, Isle of Mull (www.silverswift.co.uk)

Readers choice: The Ship Inn, The Toft, Elie, Fife (01333 330246; www.ship-elie.com) Outdoor beachside beer garden with large round tables which encourage gregariousness among locals and visitors. Watch the pub's beach cricket team on Sundays from April to September. Enjoy a hearty lunch, seafood barbecue, or just a drink with friends. Anne Brobbel

A full list of UK recommendations can be found here: http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/best_of_britain/article1866613.ece

If anyone has any recommendations of their own, please post them here!

Dine Around Aberdeen - Fixed price dining for £15!

Are you going to be in Aberdeenshire during the month of June?

If so, you should be aware of VisitScotland's Dine Around festival, taking place at various restaurants from 2nd June to the 1st July. Dine Around offers £15 fixed price meals at some fantastic restaurants. It's a great excuse to sample the great restaurant scene in Aberdeen city and shire...as if you needed an excuse!

For more information, check out EatScotland.com's dedicated Dinearound section: Dine Around Aberdeen.

We will, for the first time, be running a dine around blog. Please drop us a line and let us know about the best venues.

M.

Kevin MacGillivray leaves "heat" of the kitchen for SFQC

Award winning chef Kevin Macgillivray has left the “heat” of the kitchen at Ballathie House Hotel, Perthshire and accepted a role with SFQC (Scottish Food Quality Certification), to become EatScotland Director today (Wednesday 13 September 2006) - in a move that is seen as a real step change in the development of EatScotland.

As a hugely respected professional with over 25 years of experience garnered from the British Transport Hotel, Gleddoch House and Ballathie House Hotel, Kevin throughout his career, has endeavoured to put Scotland on the map as a first class culinary destination. He has worked with the Scottish Culinary Team and its participation at competitions worldwide, demonstrated his culinary skills in the Vanderbuilt Hall in New York during Tartan Week and won several awards including Scottish Chef of the Year, the Flavour of Scotland Awards and the Macallan Taste of Scotland Country House Hotel of the Year Award to name just a few.

As a new director of EatScotland, the quality assurance “where to eat” scheme owned by VisitScotland and run by SFQC, Kevin will “develop and progress the EatScotland scheme on a truly national level”. Fiercely passionate about Scottish cuisine and produce Kevin’s impetus in accepting the role was to “to do something to improve people’s perceptions at home and abroad of the quality of Scottish food and eating establishments”

Since its launch last year SFQC and the EatScotland scheme has now over 400 participants within the scheme with the aim to secure another 1,000 members to provide consumers with “a real guide of where to eat.”

The EatScotland scheme run by the SFQC is to help Scots and visitors easily find places to eat in Scotland and to continue to raise standards. Managing director Peter Brown commented: “It’s through the process of competent, professional certification, essentially helping consumers know more about the food they ea,t and in doing so, helping the food industry illustrate the depth of skill, care and enthusiasm that goes into producing food.”

Initially Kevin will be managing the SFQC team of assessors who carry out reviews of participating businesses evaluating characteristics such as quality, service, ambiance and of course hygiene. Long term there are plans for the scheme to launch an awards scheme, a training scheme and an advice package in order to help businesses grow and develop.
SFQC directors Margaret Seaton, David Whiteford and Peter Brown are hugely enthusiastic about the arrival of such a key, credible individual joining the team to help pioneer the scheme through a time of development and innovation.

Kevin who will work closely with SFQC Managing Director, Peter Brown commented “We’ve had a great response to EatScotland in the first year and the next couple of years promises to be a hugely exciting time of us at SFQC in developing the scheme to raise standards through Scotland on a national scale as well as providing businesses with the opportunity to gain first class advice and direction from someone as highly respected and passionate about Scottish produce and cuisine as Kevin.”