Strathearn at The Gleneagles

Should you be so unfortunate as to be unable to book in to Andrew Fairlies at The Gleneagles, there is a very creditable alternative in the form of The Strathearn Restaurant. Indeed you may well wish to dine there anyway since it is open for breakfast, dinner and Sunday lunch. The room is constructed on heroic lines, Edwardian in scale, but never ponderous. Dress code is flexible.

The menus pay ample service to the excellence of Scottish ingredients and style and an aura of tartan well-being surrounds the culinary disciplines. So it comes as no surprise to find eleven starters, of which no less than five are of the country. Arbroath smokie brandade with a poached duck egg and a sauce mousseline leads the charge for the starters, closely followed by pan seared Crinan scallops with Clonakilty white pudding and apple, or a classic Caesar salad of great integrity.

Main courses of baked Stonehaven halibut with Jerusalem artichoke barigoule, grilled rib-eye of veal, and that King of dishes, roast Highland venison with sauce grand veneur serve to confirm the style.

Desserts raise the flag for the now-rare savoury in the form of devils on horseback or a croque monsieur, as well rhubarb tipsy laird, or a warm cloutie dumpling with cranachan ice cream.

A pleasant little afterthought is the six malt whisky truffles served with the coffee or tea, the latter being very much a Scots inclination. There are no less than seven sommeliers, with a wine cellar and list to match, and service is professional.