| hotels | restaurants | recipes | wines | travel | small print | latest news | malessere | feedback | products | ordering |
| blog | about us | privacy | sitemap | home | © Bacchus and Comus, and Croque-en-Bouche Site problem? Tell us please |
| blog | about us | privacy | sitemap | home | © Bacchus and Comus, and Croque-en-Bouche Site problem? Tell us please |
GLENEAGLES has always conjured up for us, the epitome of Grand Baronial Living, where one would creep about, hardly daring to raise your voice above whispers in sepulchral tones, being one of the last bastions of formal dining. Well, we were pleased to discover, that you could go to the ANDREW FAIRIE RESTAURANT, within those hallowed halls without wearing a jacket and tie and the friendly, informal (but well-informed) service adds to the meltdown of pre-conceived barriers.
The restaurant is not large. It seats less than 40 covers at well spaced tables in a beautifully designed square room - a perfect setting to an enjoyably relaxed evening dining. There are two menus. One is a menu dégustation of six courses which has to be taken by all at the same table and the other is an ‘à la carte’ menu, which you can play with.
In the ‘á la carte’ menu, you could start off with a terrine of foie gras and pig's cheek - the foie gras element being as smooth as you would find anywhere - a dish of real finesse, or you could try the velouté of cèpes with a poached truffled duck's egg on top; a masterly combination of intense flavours. One of Fairlie's signature dishes, home-smoked lobster with a warm herb and lime butter sauce was perfect in execution with intriguing flavours.
Main courses include roast fillet of John Dory with braised Swiss chard, again perfectly cooked, the flesh being neither too dry nor too cold. It is a fairly plain dish and you could really tell that a great deal of skill was applied in producing it. Slow-cooked tronçon of turbot, however, was less of a success - the gratin of clams that accompanied it was a little too overpowering for the rest of the dish. Twice cooked Anjou squab with ravioli of kohl rabi, precisely showed that you need to cook the thighs a bit longer than the breast and once again, the skills in doing so were amply demonstrated.
A good selection cheeseboard could be well accompanied by the good selection of wines by the glass. Whilst the desserts are also well in keeping- waffles with warm exotic fruits and coconut ice cream had excellent contrasts of flavours, whilst the textures of chocolate dessert had great intensity of flavour. Only the assiette de pommes disappointed slightly.
There is, of course, a price to pay for all these goodies. The menu dégustation at £80.00 and three courses ‘à la carte’ at £60.00 are not out of keeping with the quality of food (note: net prices - no indication that "service is not included", nor to add a service charge, 'optional' or otherwise). On the other hand, extras such as cheese for £12.00 and coffee for £5.00 will push the bill up, bearing in mind there is no cheese course on the dégustation menu.
The restaurant is not large. It seats less than 40 covers at well spaced tables in a beautifully designed square room - a perfect setting to an enjoyably relaxed evening dining. There are two menus. One is a menu dégustation of six courses which has to be taken by all at the same table and the other is an ‘à la carte’ menu, which you can play with.
In the ‘á la carte’ menu, you could start off with a terrine of foie gras and pig's cheek - the foie gras element being as smooth as you would find anywhere - a dish of real finesse, or you could try the velouté of cèpes with a poached truffled duck's egg on top; a masterly combination of intense flavours. One of Fairlie's signature dishes, home-smoked lobster with a warm herb and lime butter sauce was perfect in execution with intriguing flavours.
Main courses include roast fillet of John Dory with braised Swiss chard, again perfectly cooked, the flesh being neither too dry nor too cold. It is a fairly plain dish and you could really tell that a great deal of skill was applied in producing it. Slow-cooked tronçon of turbot, however, was less of a success - the gratin of clams that accompanied it was a little too overpowering for the rest of the dish. Twice cooked Anjou squab with ravioli of kohl rabi, precisely showed that you need to cook the thighs a bit longer than the breast and once again, the skills in doing so were amply demonstrated.
A good selection cheeseboard could be well accompanied by the good selection of wines by the glass. Whilst the desserts are also well in keeping- waffles with warm exotic fruits and coconut ice cream had excellent contrasts of flavours, whilst the textures of chocolate dessert had great intensity of flavour. Only the assiette de pommes disappointed slightly.
There is, of course, a price to pay for all these goodies. The menu dégustation at £80.00 and three courses ‘à la carte’ at £60.00 are not out of keeping with the quality of food (note: net prices - no indication that "service is not included", nor to add a service charge, 'optional' or otherwise). On the other hand, extras such as cheese for £12.00 and coffee for £5.00 will push the bill up, bearing in mind there is no cheese course on the dégustation menu.
...The wine list is manageable - closely typed on two pages, but without any tasting notes. There are sommelliers around, so we suppose you can get advice. There are some good producers on the list and some not so good, either, but since the prices are pretty stiff all round, careful selection needs to be made if you are going to find anything remotely near value-drinking. We found only one wine on the list that met our price/quality ratio, the 3 star Isabel Dry Riesling 2005, from New Zealand at £28.00. Above that, the 3 star Fiano di Avellino 2003 from Feudi di San Gregorio at £35.00 and the 5 star Alión 1999 from Bodegas Alvarez (not Alvares as stared on the list) at £53.00, are probably worth looking at.
There is hardly anything on the list under £30.00, but if you stick to known "value" areas, such as the Languedoc, the Loire Valley, South America and Western Australia, you will probably be OK. Some of the prices of older vintages of Clarets and Burgundies are pretty outrageous, but we are led to understand that the wine prices at this restaurant have to be around the same level of the wine prices of the other restaurants in the Gleneagles complex. A pity, because we are sure that there is scope for more high quality wines at more reasonable prices. There is a fair selection of wines by the glass, but nothing of merit under £10.00.
You will be experiencing some of the best food in Britain in a relaxed and informal setting - well worth seeking out, especially if you can go easy on the wines!
Restaurant Ratings...
Food 48
Winelist 13
Service 9
Ambience 5
Value for money 11
Total 86
Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, Auchterarder, Perthshire PH3 1NF. Tel: 01764 694267 Fax 01764 694163.
www.andrewfairlie.com
Open for dinner only Monday to Saturday. Closed, 24 and 25 December, 3 weeks in January.
Credit cards: Visa Mastercard, Diners, Amex
Fixed-price menus: £60 for three courses, £80 for 6 course menu dégustation. Additional: cheese course £12, coffee £5. No children under 12. No smoking.
There is hardly anything on the list under £30.00, but if you stick to known "value" areas, such as the Languedoc, the Loire Valley, South America and Western Australia, you will probably be OK. Some of the prices of older vintages of Clarets and Burgundies are pretty outrageous, but we are led to understand that the wine prices at this restaurant have to be around the same level of the wine prices of the other restaurants in the Gleneagles complex. A pity, because we are sure that there is scope for more high quality wines at more reasonable prices. There is a fair selection of wines by the glass, but nothing of merit under £10.00.
You will be experiencing some of the best food in Britain in a relaxed and informal setting - well worth seeking out, especially if you can go easy on the wines!
Restaurant Ratings...
Food 48
Winelist 13
Service 9
Ambience 5
Value for money 11
Total 86
Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, Auchterarder, Perthshire PH3 1NF. Tel: 01764 694267 Fax 01764 694163.
www.andrewfairlie.com
Open for dinner only Monday to Saturday. Closed, 24 and 25 December, 3 weeks in January.
Credit cards: Visa Mastercard, Diners, Amex
Fixed-price menus: £60 for three courses, £80 for 6 course menu dégustation. Additional: cheese course £12, coffee £5. No children under 12. No smoking.
