Promising modern Scottish dining with five-star rooms to reside in, The Peat Inn, near St. Andrews, serves up delectable delights across a selection of contemporary dining rooms.
Gourmet cuisine is provided by Michelin starred chef, Geoff Smeddle, who runs the ‘restaurant with rooms’ alongside wife, Katherine. I had heard a lot of good things about the inn before I made the trip from Glasgow to Cupar and was intrigued to see if Geoff could live up to the big reputation he had garnered.
On arrival with my friend in tow for the night, we quickly spotted that the car park was packed. It’s always a good sign when a place is so busy, and it transpired that the majority of the diners were locals, who frequently popped in for lunch and dinner.
We were greeted in the reception area, with a lovely glass of chilled Champagne, which was perfect after our long and scenic drive and we sank into a couple of armchairs to enjoy the open log fire, while sipping our fizz and perusing the menu. It was a great start to what promised to be a wonderful meal.
You can choose from three-course set menus as well as the a la carte offerings at lunch and dinner as well as the chef’s six course tasting menu at dinnertime, with wine pairings if required. The a la carte menu is split into first dishes, second dishes and to follow.
Unable to decide on which two dishes to start with, we ordered three starters. The marinated sea bream was accompanied by dressed white crab and a dollop of lemon crème fraiche, while the scallop tartare was served with radish, young coriander, all in crisp basil langoustines with curry oil. Our favourite by far though was the fine tart of young heritage beetroots, figs served with Lucky Ewe cheese and finished with a balsamic dressing – this dish was too delicious for words! It looked delectable – summer on a plate is the description that came to mind – and was most definitely the highlight of the starters.
For our mains, I chose the brill roasted on the bone in seaweed butter, served with purple cauliflower, Jerusalem artichoke fricassee and lemon thyme velouté. My dining companion, Sonia opted for the 12-hour braised daube of Scotch beef served with potato puree, winter vegetables and a red wine jus, finished with shaved truffles. The mains were also delicious, with wonderful combinations and fresh ingredients direct from our fabulous Scottish larder.
And for what came next, we blame our dining neighbours, who were always one course ahead of us and who recommended three different desserts. We ordered the delice of Scottish ‘bean to bar’ – dark chocolate served with white chocolate cremeux and yoghurt and lime sorbet, and Sonia found the hot Grand Marnier soufflé, served with a gingerbread ice cream, too hard to resist. And no meal would be complete without sampling the fabulous Scottish farmhouse cheeses. Geoff also headed out to chat with all diners, which I thought was a lovely, personal touch.
All washed down with a bottle of fizz, we were two happy gals and, most definitely, no longer famished we headed to the room, where we had a lovely suite with a dining and living area upstairs and a twin bedroom at ground level. The rooms at the inn have had a recent refurbishment and are all stocked with Noble Isle toiletries. Katherine was responsible for the redecoration and took great care to create a combination of a homely, welcoming ambience with a modern twist to this Scottish inn.
The Peat Inn will no doubt become a firm favourite of ours and we are looking forward to returning in the near future. Geoff had a big reputation to live up to, and he did not disappoint.
Factbox
Address: Peat Inn, Near St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland KY15 5LH
Phone: +44 (0)1334 840206
Email: stay@thepeatinn.co.uk
Website: thepeatinn.co.uk
