Cardoon Restaurant

Keavil House is part of the Best Western Group, but retains its independence as a privately owned hotel. It stands in extensive wooded grounds two miles west of Dunfermline, a gracious and very traditional looking house.

Most of the dining is done in the conservatory, with a cuisine that draws from a wide church, but is essentially European in spirit. Service is as crisp as the linen, but more friendly. For those with a taste for the unusual an interesting starter might be mackerel saltimbocca which comes with a pleasantly crisp watercress salad. More conventionally try the smoked goose breast with a caramelised apple and sauternes jelly, a combination of flavours that works for most.

One of the more imaginative vegetarian dishes I have seen recently is the open lasagne of sweet potato, artichoke and haricot beans, accompanied by an avocado salad. In case you are not convinced (though I think you might well be) there's monkfish Wellington, served with excellent homemade chips and garlic creamed spinach. For puddings consider the blueberry bakewell, served warm and topped with honeycomb ice cream, but for sheer indulgence the filo envelope (referred to rather sinisterly as 'casket') filled with mango chiffon cream and exotic fruit takes the edge.

At £25 a head I think this is very fair value - it would be even more so if they had the grace to include coffee as well. The wine list rewards study though some of the prices are slightly hair-raising, particularly at the top end, with house wine at £15.50. Keavil House is big on the wedding trade, so it's not a bad idea to carry out a reccy before making weekend bookings in particular.