CORROUR
unique. I think it’s reasonable to say that Lizzie MacKenzie (front of house and rooms) and Ollie Bennett (kitchen) have risen to the chal- lenge. Their project, now in its third summer, remains a work in progress but is already far enough advanced to leave all but the most hopelessly picky visitors amply satisfied. Sensibly, the menu eschews fashion and
con cen trates on hearty, honest, country cook ing. I fancy Bennett’s cooking will become more refined with experience but that’s not to suggest it is clumsy or cluttered now. Like his partner, he is only 24 and still learning. Venison, supplied by the Corrour Estate,
dominates the menu, and quite right too. It would be distressing if it did not. I began with a venison scotch egg served on a bed of haggis and accompanied by a whisky sauce (£8.95). While tasty, this was in truth the kind of dish better suited to brunch than dinner. Elsewhere a surf-and-turf platter of smoked venison and West Highland trout (£13.95 for two) was more successful. I thought the venison over-smoked but this was a minority opinion; the trout, all agreed, was perfect. I opted for venison for my main course too
and was amply rewarded for doing so. My ballo- tine of deer served with black pudding, bacon and potatoes (£19.95) was a delight, the venison pink and tender and just right, splendidly offset by the richness of the black pudding and the saltiness of the bacon. My only complaint: for some reason baby corn had crept onto the plate, adding nothing in taste and detracting from the idea that the menu should largely be inspired by the food eaten by workers and residents on the Corrour estate in its Victorian heyday. Across the table a pan-fried fillet of hake
served with lemon and parsley risotto, aspara- gus and a balsamic glaze (£14.95) was equally well received. If my supper sang a song of autumn, this was a hymn to the sweet promise of early summer: fresh and full of joy. Everyone seems to be serving rhubarb these
FIELD FACTS
PRICE £70 for two, not including drinks. RATING
Corrour Station House Hotel and Restaurant, by Fort William, Inverness-shire Tel: 01397 732236
www.corrour- station-house-
restaurant.co.uk
days, which – like the increasing popularity of venison – is a trend of which I approve. Bennett’s chocolate torte with poached rhubarb (£4.95) is the sort of thing that is hard to go wrong with and, happily, his went right. The same could be said of a semifreddo of Corrour whisky cream served with honey, raspberries and a dusting of oatmeal (£5.95). The wine list is short and would not require much attention to be made more interesting, but then this is not the sort of place where the wine list is very important. Our party of four arrived at Corrour full of
hope and expectation, which – as you know – is often dangerous. We left delighted and promi- sing to return. What more can you want than that? Go to Corrour. You will love it.
CHEF’SCHOICE Carla Lamont, chef at Ninth Wave Restaurant on Mull, picks six of her favourite restaurants
THE HANOI BIKE SHOP, GLASGOW The food here has such intense Vietnamese flavours, which I just love. They make all the dips that other restaurants just take out of jars. I particularly enjoyed the
crunchy coconut pancakes and spiced monkfish fillet. 0141 334 7165;
www.thehanoibikeshop.co.uk
TIRORAN HOUSE HOTEL, MULL The hotel has an organic garden, like we do, and grows a lot of its produce. On my last visit, I enjoyed an amuse-bouche that was a play on Cullen Skink, with a smoked
haddock foam and an intense asparagus soup below. 01681 705232;
www.tiroran.com
BARLEY BREE, MUTHILL, PERTHSHIRE We stumbled across Barley Bree on a detour while driving to see my husband John’s mother. Fabrice Bouteloup, the chef here, uses lots of classic French techniques but
with some surprising ingredients. I remember his saffron-infused swede mash being very good. 01764 681451;
www.barleybree.com
MITHAS, EDINBURGH I’ve only been here once but I remember how good it was. I really liked the fact that it isn’t your stereotypical Indian restaurant – it has a very modern approach, with
crisp, fresh flavours. The decor was also very tasteful, a nice calming green rather than an in-your-face bright red, which a lot of places seem to have these days. 0131 554 0008;
www.mithas.co.uk
THE BIRCH TREE, NR INVERGORDON This is a really good steakhouse. The food is just so tasty, and they serve the best hand-cut chips. I had a crab boudin with a seafood cream – it was really refreshing to
see that kind of different use of Scottish ingredients. 01349 853549;
www.the-birch-tree.com
DUSIT, EDINBURGH Dusit is very inventive with Thai food. We went to Thailand for a month and I do quite a bit of Thai-inspired food myself so it’s always a treat to go there and try
their take on things. The ‘tom kha’, a coconut cream and lemongrass soup, with chicken, is great. 0131 220 6846;
www.dusit.co.uk
YOURSAY
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF CARLA’S CHOICES? LET US KNOW AT
WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK
WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK 131
PHOTOS: HOLLY MAY WESLEY,
WWW.HOLLYMAY.CO
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