Peat Inn Reviews

I had the pleasure to visit The Peat Inn twice during August, once as a family group celebrating our son's wedding and the second time with my wife. On both occasions the whole experience was outstanding. We received a very warm welcome and made to feel as if the staff really cared that we should have a great experience. On both occasions the food was outstanding in terms of quality and taste. But what contributed immensely to the pleasurable experience was the staff, by which I mean all the staff. They were able to achieve a fine balance of friendliness with the highest level of professionalism. The service was faultless. Granted, it is not a cheap establishment, but one is aware of this from the outset. I believe the wine list, while exceptionally good, does seem to be skewed too heavily in the direction of higher priced wines. I am sure the owners could add a few lower priced wines without adversely affecting their image or their margins.

Six of us ate there in November 2008. We opted for the taster menu and had to do some menu juggling as we had one veggie in our party. I can honestly say that every one of us enjoyed the experience and even more so, the food. My favourite was the daub of beef, melt in your mouth stuff. The veggie declared a soup, I think broccoli but don’t quote me, with a soft boiled quail’s egg, wonderful. All of us would happily return.

As a regular customer throughout David Wilson's era, I was somewhat nervous about what would happen when he handed over the reins. These fears have proven groundless as the Smeddles have managed to preserve all the ingredients that made this place so successful and also add their own touches to our local favourite. The philosophy of The Peat Inn was always based on the classic French country inn with rooms and that continues today. Our latest meal was as good as any we have enjoyed over the last thirty years - the highlight being the pork main course with fillet, daube of cheek and black pudding, which would have enhanced the menu of its best French cousins. The wine list, although reduced, is just as exciting as ever with some real value if you look. East Fife is blessed with a real treasure trove of really good restaurants and The Peat Inn is still a jewel in the crown. The only problem is who's going to drive home!

This is one of the only restaurants my wife and I constantly return to year after year. I can think of nothing better than spending a long evening enjoying the tasting menu. It is the whole experience that does it for me, starting with the aperitif and amuses-bouche by the log-fire, followed by the tasting menu then back to the room with a small whisky. I would definitely recommend staying in one of the rooms which enables you to fully enjoy the wine and of course stay for lunch the next day.

My wife and I stayed at The Peat Inn to mark our tenth wedding anniversary at the start of June. We went on a recommendation of some friends who had spent two nights earlier in the spring. They absolutely loved it and we in turn could not resist trying it. We were treated to a very comfortable suite which overlooked charming gardens. The service was professional and friendly. But what sticks in the memory above all is the outstanding cooking. We would definitely return - a class act.

My husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary on the 20th April. We had wanted to go to The Peat Inn for a long time. We booked a luxury break, which was room plus dinner with champagne and flowers. The rooms were comfortable and the breakfast served in the room was exactly what we wanted after a large meal. For our dinner, we decide to take the tasting menu, which was marinated mackerel, delicious scallops, wood pigeon with butternut squash puree and the daube of beef for main, which was beautifully balanced. A large choice from the cheese trolley and the value was really good at £275 for two. Beautiful and cosy restaurant, with very friendly staff. We enjoyed every minute of our stay, we will be back soon. Thank you.

I've wanted to eat at Peat Inn for ages. As a special treat, my husband took me for lunch there for my birthday recently. The set three course lunch was £22 per head - a reasonable price for what promised to be very good food. The chef there now is Geoffrey Smeddle, he of étain and Sunday Herald fame.

The food was indeed delicious. My starter was a goat's cheese and pancetta salad with a butternut squash dressing, which came as a sort of velvety smear around the sides of the plate. My main was guinea fowl on a bed of puy lentils in a balsamic reduction. The guinea fowl was both tender and flavoursome, and the lentils were spectacular - the reduction sweet and mellow, the whole combination absolutely mouth-watering. My pudding was a very light banana parfait with a hazelnut/chocolate sauce. The service was impeccable - attentive without being intrusive.

The negatives: the dining room is oppressively small. But there were two other tables of diners so a pleasant hubbub of conversation meant we didn't feel we had to whisper. The food might have been delicious but there was hardly any of it. The portions are ludicrously small. My husband's red mullet rested on a "bed" of precisely 6 - six - leaves of spinach, arranged in a flower shape. It took me four bites to finish the salad that was my starter - and I was being restrained. The goat's cheese came in two microscopic, near transparent slivers, the salad was topped with a single tiny shred of over-crisp pancetta. The broccoli that accompanied my guinea fowl was arranged in 5 tiny florets around the plate. It's a good job that the waiting staff were so generous with the (delightful) warm bread rolls, otherwise I would have had to eat a second lunch at home afterwards.

We booked a table for nine on Saturday night for a birthday dinner with high expectations due to the local reputation. The smell of crackling logs and cosy atmosphere were very welcoming as we walked in through the door, however when we were taken through to our table the room was a stark contrast with bare, picture free, tired magnolia walls without even the comfort of some soft background music.

The starters ranged from decidedly average to poor. My lobster starter was a small claw of meat served with a peculiar limey gelatine loaded jelly. My partner ordered the venison. The meat was delicious however served with a barley sauce just didn't work. The cannelloni was small, stodgy and relatively tasteless, supposedly served with a chestnut velouté, this offered no improvement to the bland taste.

At £50 per person we were disappointed and felt the waiting staff were so busy trying to be over-efficient they lacked the friendly Scottish service which would have made the evening much more enjoyable.

All in all, I’m afraid only two out of nine enjoyed their meal. It was poor value for money and we're disappointed to say we just wouldn't recommend it.

Stunning food served with amazing flair and creativity. I'd highly recommend this restaurant. We will definitely be visiting again.

Paid a visit to this restaurant a few months ago with high expectations. I was disappointed. The scallop starter was very overcooked, main course was mediocre and dessert looked nicer than it tasted. The restaurant itself is pleasant, but staff seemed uninterested and at no point asked if we had enjoyed our meal. I could not recommend it.