Art Deco Carron Restaurant
Food in Scotland
Art Deco Carron Restaurant
Cameron Street
Stonehaven
01569 760460
Stepping through the gates at the Carron Restaurant in Stonehaven is like taking a step back in time to the gentile 1930s when the restaurant was first opened.
The striking art deco design of the building with its semi-circular glazed frontage and verandah reached through a sunken garden complete with crazy paving caused quite a stir when it opened in 1937 and it is just as spectacular looking today.
The story of the Carron is an interesting and chequered one from its bustling heyday as the place to be seen through to the 1980s when it was languishing as a supermarket storeroom with a leaky roof and potholed floor.
The Northern Co-operative Society opened the Carron in June 1937 after extending their premises in Evan Street to create a butcher's, baker's and grocer's and adding the new restaurant to the rear, which could also be accessed from Cameron Street.
It soon became very popular with the locals and despite being requisitioned by the Army during World War II the restaurant re-opened for its original use in 1947 and was a favourite venue for dances, parties and wedding receptions in the north east.
Unfortunately the restaurant was closed in 1968 and subsequently used as a storeroom when the three shops on Evan Street were turned into a supermarket and its fine art deco features were neglected and damaged with years of wear and tear.
It was not until the late 1980s that the buildings were given Grade B listed status and when the supermarket and restaurant were put on the market an ambitious project to restore them to their former glory was born.
The new owner bought the buildings in 1999 and has spent �1million restoring and renovating the restaurant to recreate the stunning building with as many of the original 1930s fixtures as possible retained and others sympathetically restored or replaced.
If you are a fan of the 1930s and art deco style then a visit to the Carron is a must to view the d�cor alone and of course with snacks, lunches and high teas served on the premises from 10am - 7pm each day the food is well worth trying out too!
We decided to take high tea in the restaurant, which at �9.50 each for a main course, tea, scones and cakes is reasonably priced and available from 4.30pm-6.30pm.
The menu is basic with the usual high tea offerings of haddock, scampi, gammon, mixed grill, steak pie or steak garni (�2 extra) and all the dishes are served with chips and vegetables or salad.
We all plumped for the haddock which although very tasty and pleasantly served with chips, peas, salad and coleslaw was a bit disappointing as Stonehaven is a harbour town and it was frozen not fresh.
The choice of fancies afterwards was good with cherry or cheese scones, pancakes, gingerbread and several other colourful cakes and the selection was also generous with as many as three each for anyone who had that much room left.
For me eating at the Carron was as much about admiring the d�cor and the ambience of days gone by as it was enjoying the food and the new owner deserves every success for saving this amazing building.
The Carron Restaurant fronts onto Cameron Street and the "little lounge" corridor connects it to the Carron tea room on Evan Street.
~ Lorraine Wakefield
(2/8/01)
