The Jacobite Restaurant
The Jacobite Restaurant
The Jacobite Restaurant
Cliffburn Hotel
Cliffburn Road
Arbroath
01241 873432
Although a little off the beaten track the Cliffburn Hotel is situated near the town's popular Victoria Park and cliffs nature trail making it an ideal location for visitors and locals alike.
The hotel is a long established venue for weddings and high teas but a new chef has led to the creation of The Jacobite Restaurant to offer diners something a little bit more special.
The menu is not huge with a choice of five starters (�3-�5), seven main courses (�7-�9) and four desserts (�4) but even in a party of five we just about all managed to pick something different to try.
Starting off the dishes at our table were roast red pepper and plum tomato soup, wild duck salad with hazelnut dressing, tomato and parmesan gratinee tart and Smokie gratin, the local fish speciality served in a creamy sauce.
The main courses all have grand titles like the Bonnie Prince Charlie (salmon steak, saut�ed potatoes, cabbage cream with fresh lettuce leaves), The Wallace (pan fried fillet of Scottish beef with a herb crust placed on chive mash with a red wine and caramel sauce topped with game chips) and the Burns Supper (pan fried fillet of beef, potato rose, flavoured with Madeira sauce).
We decided to sample Rob Roy's Favourite (magret of duck breast, ginger saut�ed vegetables with a honey glaze), The Bruce (medallion of Scottish fillet, creamed leeks, garlic potatoes, dressed with a green peppercorn jus), St Andrews Choice (seared monkfish tails, crispy pancetta, flavoured with a sweet curry cream) and The Jacobian (roast breast of chicken, fennel mash, with a creamy dijan sauce).
The monkfish tails were a generous portion with two big chunks of fresh and tasty fish served with crispy bacon on a bed of green beans and the sweet curry sauce, served cold round the side, was a perfect accompaniment.
Both the ginger saut�ed vegetables served with the duck and the fennel mash served with the chicken could have been more flavoursome for my fellow diners but overall the combination of flavours went down well.
The simple steak fillet was also voted a great choice with the tasty and tender meat making the dish and the accompaniments complementing it nicely.
Not everyone had room for dessert but those who did were rewarded with dishes that were not only lovely tasting but also nice to look at leaving some wishing they had room for seconds.
The strawberry shortcake was a delight with two light crisp shortcake biscuits served with fresh strawberries in the middle and topped with icing sugar, cr�me fraiche and strawberry sauce.
The poached vanilla pears served with caramlised biscuits flavoured with cherry syrup were also popular and were soon polished off and the chocolate tart was a big hit with the youngsters.
All in all The Jacobite offers good food at a reasonable price (less than �20 a head for three courses) and although it may not have the most sumptious of surroundings it is still well worth a visit.
~ Lorraine Wakefield
(21/6/01)
