On Sunday we went for yet another lunch, I’m starting to forget what Sunday’s are like without going out for lunch, although certainly not complaining! On this occasion we headed down the coast to the lovely village of Aberlady in East Lothian to sample the offerings of Ducks Kilspindie House, or more precisely Donald’s Bistro which is Ducks sister restaurant. It’s a nice drive down from Edinburgh and only takes a half hour.
We found Kilspindie House just at the start of the village and parked in the handy car park at the rear. We were greeted with a warm welcome and shown to our seats in the bistro. Kilspindie House has a nice traditional feel to it which fits in well with it’s location and they also offer overnight rooms if you have had one too many from the excellent cocktail menu (good work Alan).
Once seated Miss Edinburger was straight to work on the cocktail list as I had inexplicably offered to be on driving duty. We were then greeted by a familiar face, Alan Walker (mentioned above) of Rascals fame. Alan talked us through the new cocktail menu and even kindly offered to make me an alcohol free “mocktail” which to be honest I didn’t know was a thing. Miss Edinburger went for the Gin Smash, an excellent choice, and I ended up opting for a small glass of red.
We were both very impressed with the food menu and had a difficult time choosing our dishes. To start I went for the Wild Pigeon Breast, seasonal berries, granola, spinach. As a pigeon virgin I thought this was an ideal opportunity to try it out rather than opting for my standard Cullen Skink which was also on offer. It ended up being a good choice, the pigeon breast was delicious, it had a very pork spare rib type taste and the berries and granola worked amazingly well with it. I’ll be honest and say I don’t know how pigeon is usually served and the granola seemed like an odd choice to me initially but I was certainly proved wrong as it was very tasty.
Miss Edinburger decided on the Salmon Gravadlax with orange gel and wholegrain mustard. The salmon was wonderfully presented and I can confirm very tasty and fresh having sampled it myself. Miss Edinburger was also suitably impressed and we were off to a great start!
For the main event after much deliberation (steak was on the menu) I went for the fantastic sounding Aberlady Beef Burger with pulled duck (oh yes), guacamole, chips and a poached egg. The other half went for the Steak & Ale Pie, creamed potatoes and seasonal veg. My beef burger arrived and I was delighted to see there was in fact two burgers! Result. At first glance I thought the burgers were perhaps a little overdone however my fears were quickly extinguished after the first bite, the burger was very succulent and juicy. The pulled duck was also very well cooked and worked well with the beef. The burger, guacamole, duck and the poached egg all went together really well and as an added bonus also included gherkins. The burger bun was nicely toasted and the fries were light and crispy. This had certainly raised the bar for lunch time dining.
The steak and ale pie was also very tasty. The meat, which I sampled, crumbled and melted in the mouth. Miss Edinburger also said the creamy mash was indeed lovely and creamy and very smooth. The pastry was light and flaky and all in all about as good as it gets for a steak and ale pie. (the below photo it has to be said is slightly deceiving, the generous portion of mash disguising the fact that there was plenty of meat in the dish).
After we had done with the mains we of course decided we should really have a look at the desserts. Miss Edinburger went for the Chocolate Delice, hazelnut and salted caramel and I went for my new favourite Sticky Toffee Pudding (I wondered if it would be as good as the sticky toffee pudding at The Magnum). The Chocolate Delice was gorgeous, very rich and the salted caramel ice cream was delicious. The sticky toffee pudding was also lovely and moist, nice and warm with just the right amount of caramel sauce, set off nicely with the vanilla ice cream and the tasty strawberry slices. As great as the sticky toffee pudding was it wasn’t quite up there with the one on offer at The Magnum but with a saltier caramel sauce it would be, although that’s really a matter of personal preference.
I finished off with a cappuccino and then we were well and truly done! A very enjoyable meal with amazing food, great service and a great venue. We were told there are plans in place for further improvements so we will certainly be back when we get the chance. If you are looking for ideas for a Sunday lunch (or any lunch) then you won’t go far wrong here.
Twitter: @duckskilspindie
Website: Ducks – Donald’s Bistro
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