Places to Eat in Perthshire

The Bothy

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Restaurant | "Relaxing Bothy"

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The Bothy sits in the centre of Perth, within short walking distance of the theatre, concert hall and the Playhouse cinema. It has a restaurant, a function suite and a bar and (due to its reasonable size and mid-range prices) is a popular venue for group meals and celebrations. Housed on the corner of Kinnoull street, in a red-sandstone corner building, a previous wine merchants, the interior (I am reviewing the main restaurant part, but the style applies to the whole lot) is comfortable and inoffensive. The décor and stylisation reminds me most of a fairly up-to-date Highland Perthshire hotel/gastro-pub, with a mixture of chintz, blond wood and leather; armchairs, banquettes and upright d...Read More

The Bothy sits in the centre of Perth, within short walking distance of the theatre, concert hall and the Playhouse cinema. It has a restaurant, a function suite and a bar and (due to its reasonable size and mid-range prices) is a popular venue for group meals and celebrations.

Housed on the corner of Kinnoull street, in a red-sandstone corner building, a previous wine merchants, the interior (I am reviewing the main restaurant part, but the style applies to the whole lot) is comfortable and inoffensive. The décor and stylisation reminds me most of a fairly up-to-date Highland Perthshire hotel/gastro-pub, with a mixture of chintz, blond wood and leather; armchairs, banquettes and upright dining chairs; wine shelves, porridge packets and stuffed deer head on the walls and the staff wearing kilts but not full-on Scottish formal dress.

I brought my daughter with her four friends for her 11th birthday lunch, following a film at the Playhouse. We arrived quite late for a lunch which was a relief as I didn't want to have to dampen the spirits of a gaggle of giggling 11 year olds. I had booked a table over the phone (with a very pleasant person called Marlena) and brought the cake prior to our arrival so it was stored in the fridge (though I do believe they will provide a cake too).

The girls were offered ''Little Rascals'' children menu and all decided to order from that which made me very happy as it's a pretty good value at 4.95 GBP per main and ice-cream. I ordered a main of Shetland mussels. The food arrived after a reasonable time, just enough for us to settle in and have a chat and look at all the presents but not too long to get impatient.

The children's meals were rather small and fairly basic. It was a lunch on a hot day and we had a cake as well as ice-cream to follow, but I would say that the ''Little Rascal'' name is a good clue to the age at which the menu is aimed; more appropriate as a main meal of the day for a 5 year old than a 10 year old. S. had haggis, which was presented in a very pretty – and extremely dainty – tower of haggis and neep, topped with a flourish of tattie. It was very pretty and apparently very tasty, but in amount that even a 5 year old would find lacking. K. and L. had sausages and mash, with gravy, which were pronounced very tasty and appeared in reasonable quantity, though some vegetable matter, be it peas or even salad garnish would have been nice. R. had roast chicken that came in a slice served on a few new potatoes and with a small dish of green peas, but no gravy or any other sauce at all. When we requested it, however, it was delivered promptly and without any quibbles.

All in all, although The Bothy didn't quite stoop to serving chicken dinosaurs or other horrors associated with ''children's food'' in the UK, its children's menu felt a bit stingy and you might be better sharing an adult portion.

If my mussels were the benchmark to go by, adult dishes are anything but stingy. I received a massive bowl of exceedingly plump, juicy, flavoursome mussels cooked simply in a broth consisting of tomato, herbs (including fennel), and some traces of white wine. They came with some bread (which could be fresher). It was simple, friendly food well done and I enjoyed it very much. The ice-creams were pretty standard, though came with real berry and chocolate sauces rather than those strange syrups.

We were served by an attentive waiter who did seem a tiny bit flustered by the bunch of 11 year olds, but still managed OK and did a great job of delivering to the table our cake with candles all lit; while the gentleman behind the bar was indulgently welcoming and put up with our party – and later on, a couple of noisy runs across the whole room - very well.

The bill came to about 50 GBP with a tip which was pretty good value for what we got and for the great time we had. I am tempted to go back and test more adult food next time I am in Perth, but I would also happily visit for a coffee or a drink.

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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on June 6, 2012

The Bothy
33 Kinnoull Street
Perth, Scotland 1 5
01738449792

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Perth's Finer Dining

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Perth is the first place in Scotland to have embraced the Cittaslow Charter, which requires attention to detail, use of local and seasonal ingredients and embodies the slow-food ethos diametrically opposite to the industrialised fast-food, chain franchises. This focus on quality is reflected in what the town's chefs offer. In the more expensive price bracket, Perth has several establishments worth recommending. Perhaps the best all-around is the Opus One restaurant at the New County Hotel (22-30 County Place) draws consistently high praise from pretty much all reviewers. 63 Tay Street (at exactly that address) is probably the most famous Perth restaurant, and although there ar...Read More

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Culdees Tea Room

Restaurant | "Quaint Tea Room by the Round Tower"

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The Culdees tea room is located just by the Round Tower in Abernethy (in fact, the key to the tower is kept at the tearoom). It's a cosy, smallish space with exposed beams and a open fire (lovely in the winter), tables covered in bright oilcloth and a selection of local art and craft for sale as well as hot and cold drinks, cakes, soup and sandwiches. I had a well-baked potato with prawns in mayo and a piece of excellent carrot cake, mysteriously and unfortunately covered with what seemed to be Philadelphia cream cheese. It was a good value lunch, reasonably priced and served with a smile.Nothing special, but perfectly OK for a quick bite to eat if you happen to be in Aberneth...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on February 4, 2010

Culdees Tea Room
School Wynd, Abernethy
Perthshire, Scotland PH2 9JJ
+44 (0)1738 850455

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The Famous Bein Inn

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Restaurant | "Will be Back for More"

The sign and the building Photo - The Famous Bein Inn, Perthshire, Scotland

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The Bein Inn (or the Famous Bein Inn) is, indeed, a well known and well regarded Perthshire pub, an old inn placed on what was the road between Perth and Edinburgh. In addition to the pub known for its music sessions and the provision of accommodation, the Bein Inn is probably best know for its food. It has a proper restaurant (Balvaird Restaurant, named after a local castle) as well as serving pub food all day.I had lunch at the Bein Inn on a February weekday, around 3pm. The place was pretty quiet then, with only two other tables occupied, but I was welcomed by a very pleasant, cheery but not overtly familiar member of staff who led me through a pleasant lobby/lounge with an open fire to...Read More

The Bein Inn (or the Famous Bein Inn) is, indeed, a well known and well regarded Perthshire pub, an old inn placed on what was the road between Perth and Edinburgh. In addition to the pub known for its music sessions and the provision of accommodation, the Bein Inn is probably best know for its food. It has a proper restaurant (Balvaird Restaurant, named after a local castle) as well as serving pub food all day.

I had lunch at the Bein Inn on a February weekday, around 3pm. The place was pretty quiet then, with only two other tables occupied, but I was welcomed by a very pleasant, cheery but not overtly familiar member of staff who led me through a pleasant lobby/lounge with an open fire to the dining room (not the restaurant but in the bar area).

I felt very comfortable sitting in my corner to the side of the bar, possibly because the room was pretty quiet, but it was a pleasant space, not too big, with a slightly twee but not too garish tartan carpet and plain, blonde wood furniture and bottle green banquettes, with walls decorated with old black and white pictures of the Inn itself and its visitors and workers.

I ordered coffee and a lunch combo of a soup and a sandwich. The coffee was served immediately and with a smile, but it was not a particularly great coffee, not terrible but definitely this side of passable: I had another one so it must have been reasonable.

The soup of the day was tomato, and it was a fine soup, with a very noticeable, rich tomato taste, quite pleasant, little rough texture and hints of herbs and spices. However, it was slightly too salty - it would be perfect if it wasn't for that.

The sandwich I had was an open, hot beef sandwich (so not really a sandwich at all), with gravy, served on toasted bread. The roast beef was excellent: sliced to just the right thickness, tender, full of flavour and neither too chewy nor too feeble. It could have maybe been less well done, but it was very good as it was, and a dollop of gravy that came with it enhanced the taste.

The bread seemed home-made, possibly a rye mixture, generously sliced and toasted to nice crispiness. The sandwich was garnished with a few leaves of various lettuces, as it's often the case, but the salad was sprinkled with some very flavoursome oil or dressing. The accompanying corn chips were unnecessary, but inoffensive.

The meal-deal cost less than 6 GBP, and I think it was pretty good deal, as this is how much you would pay in most places for a similar deal, and the Bein Inn sandwich was definitely cut above the average (and so would have been the soup had it not been over salted).

I will certainly be coming back to Bein Inn for a more developed meal! Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on February 4, 2010

The Famous Bein Inn
Glenfarg
Perthshire, Scotland PH2 9PY
+44 (o) 1577 830216

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Brig Farm Shop

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Restaurant | "Highland Cows and Yummy Sandwiches"

The goat paddock and view of playpark Photo - Brig Farm Shop , Perthshire, Scotland

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Brig Farm Shop is located between Perth and the Perthshire village of Bridge of Earn, on a farm by the river Earn and within a mile of the M90 motorway. The farm is known for its Highland Cattle beef which is sold in the shop. Additionally, the shop sells a selection of other organic, free range and locally grown produce from Scotland, including Puddledub buffalo and pork products as well as wild boar products from a nearby Perth farm. Frozen, chilled and preserved foods are available.The cafe at the Brig offers breakfast, lunch, High Tea and outside catering. It's possible to purchase the cafe products as fresh deli items from the shop. The outside area has a small...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on February 1, 2010

Brig Farm Shop
Gateside Home Farm
Bridge of Earn PH2 8QR
+44 1738 813571

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Kirkstyle Inn

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Restaurant | "Pictish Grub"

Outside view Photo - Kirkstyle Inn, Perthshire, Scotland

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I suppose Kirkstyle Inn is my local (though it's still a 5 miles and 7 minutes drive away in the next village of Dunning). It sits in the very middle of the village, and is one of the three pubs in Dunning and definitely the best (the only, really, apart from a paltry and daytime-only tea-shop-cum-bakery) to eat in Dunning. It considers itself a gastropub, and it's in this capacity that I have always visited it, so I won't be able to comment here on the beers or really on any tipples. The building is about 200 years old (almost the whole of the village was destroyed an then rebuilt after the Jacobite uprising). The inside always seems quite complicated and mysterious to me, alt...Read More

I suppose Kirkstyle Inn is my local (though it's still a 5 miles and 7 minutes drive away in the next village of Dunning).

It sits in the very middle of the village, and is one of the three pubs in Dunning and definitely the best (the only, really, apart from a paltry and daytime-only tea-shop-cum-bakery) to eat in Dunning. It considers itself a gastropub, and it's in this capacity that I have always visited it, so I won't be able to comment here on the beers or really on any tipples.

The building is about 200 years old (almost the whole of the village was destroyed an then rebuilt after the Jacobite uprising). The inside always seems quite complicated and mysterious to me, although in reality it comprises of the bar, the dining room and the snug: this is just by the door, and is the area where children are admitted - there is even a (dusty) box of toys for use by desperate toddlers. The Kirkstyle has an outdoor garden by a very pleasant brook, but considering Scottish weather, I wouldn't be too hopeful about sitting outside.

The inside décor is something I have great difficulties recalling - despite the fact that I have been at least 8 times in the last three years, and most of those times remained resolutely sober. I will cheat then and quote another review "the dining room at the back of the pub is equally unstuffy, with its flagstone floors and bare stone walls" ... it sounds vaguely right, so let it be. I am not strong at detecting ambiance of places, unless they make a particular point or jar. The dining chairs are leather-covered and comfortable.

But to the food. The Inn boasts an Egon Ronay award (in the 2006 Guide to the Best Restaurants and Gastropubs in the UK) and although it does nothing flashy or sophisticated, I would happily recommend it to anybody looking for a good value, decent pub food.

I ate there several times now, both with friends and family (lunchtime) and in a larger group (evening) and the food was always very good. They tend to source local ingredients where possible, and the menu has a strong Scottish element to it.

The menu isn't particularly large, but has a nice selection of dishes. From Cajun style chicken to brilliant steak pie, from mussels (starter but big enough for a lunch dish) to pate, all was fresh, tasty, in decent sized portions and good value for money. Both times I had children with me, they shared a steak pie between them. It is a large portion, even to share between a seven and a two year old and it disappeared at an astonishing speed. There is some sort of children's menu, but it looks like typical British "special children's food not fit for adults to eat", so I would stay away and just order normal foods for the young ones.

On my last visit (easiest to recall) I had venison steak on black pudding and the venison was really good bordering on perfect: just pink enough inside, with a well sealed, slightly seared outside, tender and juicy. Some vegetables, as it's almost always the case in pub meals, were slightly undercooked (I suspect it's an over-compensation for old-style British overcooked cabbage). The black pudding was absolutely lovely: spicy and flavoursome without being too salty. I also had the Eton Mess which was perfectly satisfactory without being anything special, with a proper non-floury meringue and real (as expected) cream.

Starters cost from around £3 to £6, mains from £8 to £16 with the 8oz fillet steak with sauce being the most expensive at £19. deserts around £5.

The public includes locals as well visitors to the area, nothing exciting but not too off-putting though you might encounter visitors to Gleneagles who occasionally slum it in Dunning too, but otherwise it's pretty inoffensive mix (barring occasional boisterous middle-aged fishing or shooting parties): from farmers to golfers; passing tourists to local mother-and-toddler group sans toddlers (that's me covered). I am not certain, however, whether I would go to the Kirkstyle by myself, either to eat or to drink. Maybe at lunchtime.

All in all, it's a good value village gastropub.

http://kirkstyle-dunning.co.uk/ Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on September 10, 2009

Kirkstyle Inn
Kirkstyle Square
Perthshire, Scotland PH2 0RR
+44(0)1764 684248

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