Culter Mill Restaurant

The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 is now in the shops. This review is taken from the 2007 edition.

You'd think more city folk would venture south for the same skillful cooking you might seek in the metropolis, but at a fraction of the price, particularly as this place is hardly a laborious drive down the A702 past the Pentland Hills and through a scattering of sleepy towns in the Scottish Borders. Hard to miss as you enter Coulter Village, Culter Mill Restaurant stands proud on the roadside. Chef Ashley Gallant, who has received quite a few accolades, seems determined to raise the reputation of this old converted grain mill and put little Coulter Village on the Scottish food map. To start, expect light and contemporary dishes such as gruyère and crab tart, which is nursed in crispy, wavy layers of filo pastry, or a slab of goat's cheese coated in dusty-fine breadcrumbs and served with toasted pine nuts and fresh salad leaves. For mains, halibut is served in a creamy mussel and leek sauce, complete with a cluster of steaming mussel clams. For a sweet finish, the dark chocolate terrine is cocoa-rich and silky smooth, while the tall ice-cream sundae comes with a toffee lattice garnish stabbed in the top to added effect.

• High point: Food with dedication in a Scottish village setting
• Low point: Order is taken from the lounge, so no pre-starter table talk