We drove up to the Highlands to spend a few days away from the hustle and bustle of London this Christmas and decided to break our journey with an overnight stop in Perth. We got a very cheap room at the local Travelodge so we thought we would treat ourselves to a tasty supper in the town. After sounding out B's pal who lives in Perth about good places to eat locally, and a bit of research from me on the internet, we decided that 63 Tay Street looked like it would tick all the right boxes. Although by no means the cheapest place to eat in town the a la carte menu looked like good value, perhaps that's the London perspective, and from the website I could see that 63 Tay Street boasted a fine selection of keenly priced wine. We had a quick drink in the lovely Greyfriars pub, just round the corner from the restaurant, and arrived at 7.30. I was a bit surprised to find that there was only one other table taken in the beautifully restored room which had been given a modern, elegant make over. No matter, it meant we had the full attention of the two lovely waitresses and we were soon sitting in a widow table with a glass of sherry and dealing with dilemma of what to order from the short but very sexy menu. It was most definitely one of those situations where you could have easily picked any of the dishes on offer and been happy but care was needed to ensure that you did not end up with a bad case of the food envy. First up was an amuse bouche which was a small cup of parsnip and whiskey soup with a dash of cream and a tiny haggis; just delightful and very tasty. It was then on to a really stunning plate which consisted of a leek and potato velouté topped with hot smoked salmon. I was calling this salmon 4 ways and it was a lovely taste sensation which showcased all that it best about this fine fish. Next was a palate cleanser of orange grenata which came with spiced oranges and dates. Unusual, but it was tasty and worked very well. It was then onto the main event; B had a very festive looking roast guinea fowl while I had the fillet of pollack with roast scallops. Both dishes looked as pretty as a picture on the plate and tasted even better. I don't think I have ever had scallops that had been cooked this well and much credit should go to the skill of the chef.
We were both beginning to feel a little bit like stuffed turkeys by this point in the proceedings so we decided to share a delicious dessert of chocolate souffle, marmalade ice cream and whiskey custard. We washed all this food down with a lovely, very reasonably priced, bottle of Pouilly Fume which was every bit as good as the blurb on the beautifully constructed wine list suggested. In addition to the many interesting and well priced wines on the list it was good to see some local craft beers had been included along with suggestions for teaming them up with various dishes very forward thinking. We left around 10pm well fed and in high spirits, ready for a good nights sleep before pushing on up the East coast to our journeys end. I look foward to a return visit to 63 Tay Street when I am next in town. read more