There was a real sense of anticipation surrounding this meal
as we rolled up though the leafy gardens towards the stunning 18th
century Balbirnie House building. I have
often visited this stunning country house hotel but had not dined in its Orangery
restaurant, and the grand surroundings
only added to the intrigue.
We sipped cocktails in the rather exquisite (and busy)
Library bar, where we perused the menu whilst munching on canapés of smoked
salmon mousse on oatcakes, which were a little bit soggy but tasted fine along
with a cluster of beautiful plump olives
from the bar.
The young waiter chatted away as I flicked through a very
substantial and reasonably priced wine list, selecting my favoured Rioja to
accompany my chosen dishes. The menu
itself had a great range of dishes, especially for vegetarians, although I
perhaps felt it maybe lacked fireworks.
Then again, and I mean this with great respect, it probably caters for
the majority of Fifers’ food tastes these days.
We were ushered through by our bubbly waitress and took our
seat in the spacious dining room under the grand chandeliers.
I really wanted to order the delicious home-smoked mackerel
dish but having had it at the Bistro the previous week, thought I’d be
different and order the ham hough terrine with pickled vegetables.
The terrine itself tasted fine. However, it looked a bit dry
and I suspect pre-sliced. The lovely pickled vegetables went well with the
terrine, cutting through it nicely and still with a good crunch to them. I’ll
have the mackerel next time, one thinks!
Our intermediate of wild mushroom soup came and although it
was delicious, I was a little wary of polishing off the extremely generous
portion knowing I had another two courses to go… better unbuckle the belt. I never really favour intermediate courses as
so many places charge through the nose for it and you end up with basically an
amuse bouche sized portion, so well done Balbirnie.
On to the main event… given The Orangery has a great
reputation for its steaks; I thought I would indulge with a lovely Rib-Eye from
the chargrill and I was not disappointed.
The 28 day aged beef came wonderfully rare, as requested, and was
accompanied by nice crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside hand cut
chips. Well worth the £3.50 supplement
for beef of that quality.
Unfortunately, the kitchen had run out of my first choice of
dessert – vanilla panna cotta with Blacketyside strawberries. Fair enough, it
was a busy evening and we had a late booking so I opted for the trusty old
cheese board. A fine selection came well
presented along with my favourite quince jelly and some Scottish oatcakes,
which I just about managed to polish off along with the remaining mouthfuls of
my delightful Rioja.
I know Executive chef Mark Lyndsey is trying to shift from
fine dining to a more brasserie-style menu to cater for the areas food tastes
and I think this transition has been very successful. The menu has a great variety to it and is put
together with thought whilst using fresh ingredients and top execution.
I like the layout of The Orangery too; they could easily
cram a few more tables in but afford you the space and privacy to enjoy your
meal in the comfort of the beautiful dining space.
Special praise must be reserved for the Front of House staff
for their professional nature and consistency in the quality of the service,
whether it is the Bistro or The Orangery.
The restaurant was extremely busy but the staff all looked like they enjoyed their jobs and were not flustered by the volume of
diners on that particular Friday evening.
The quality of the service and the value for money are what
impressed me most here. The most
important things for me when dining out are value, service, and
atmosphere. So many places charge
similar prices but fall well short in some or even all of these factors–this is
not the case with The Orangery.
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