Ostlers Close Restaurant

Ostlers Close is one of those restaurants that makes you glad you are part of the reviewing process. A real pleasure to write about, the restaurant embraces so much that others might be well advised to emulate. There is a lack of cleverness and an abundance of wholesome common sense. James and Amanda Graham run this family-owned enterprise in such a way that its obscure location becomes an advantage and the regulars will frequently outnumber the rest.

Emphasis is on cottage industry supplies, so expect to encounter delicacies such as pickled samphire, home-grown herbs and chilli chutney. James, as well as being Chef, has a great love for his garden, only exceeded by his passion for mushrooms. No mushroom for miles around is safe from his questing and the results, which inevitably end up on the right side of a plate, are a tribute to his knowledge and skill.

A starter might be the a pot roast breast of wood pigeon with a butternut squash gratin and red cabbage, or the local seafood saffron broth, harvested from a coast rich in the fruits of the sea. A daily changing handwritten menu could include a roast breast of free range farm duck with Bombay potatoes on a plum sauce, and this is free range as in the real thing, not a hut left with the door opening on to a few square feet of mud. The seafood selection from nearby Pittenweem market takes advantage of the best of the catch, served on a champagne butter sauce.

The steamed apricot and syrup sponge on a cream custard with raspberry ripple ice cream could be effective enough to talk you out of the wonderful and well-kept array of Scottish cheeses. For those wishing for something a touch lighter in the evenings you can order supper, a scaled down version of the full works.

The brilliance extends to the cellar with a wine list that contains rewarding surprises and a strong French inclination, many at under £20, and sound house wines from Chile starting at £13 or £3.50 a glass. Prices range from £18.50 to £32.50. Here, as in all else, the successful experience of over twenty years clearly shows through. Smoking in the dining room, musak and mobile phones are banned.

No children under 6 years at dinner.