Bass Rock Bistro

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.

Recently extended, but retaining the same friendly seaside charm, the Bass Rock Bistro between the High Street and harbour in North Berwick is now a restaurant of two halves. One serves seasonal dishes from a regularly changing à la carte menu, while the other offers lighter meals of mussels and Spanish-style tapas. Wherever you choose to sit, ordering the signature half-kilo pot of fresh Scottish mussels is a must. You'll need plenty of bread to mop up the perfect marinière sauce, but don't ignore the zingy north African option of tomatoes, garlic and ginger, finished with fresh lime and coriander. Owner and chef Ian Watson ensures the hearty à la carte mains always include locally landed fish and quality meat sourced from Anderson's butchers in North Berwick. A generous portion of juicy monkfish and fat prawns arrives smothered in rich tomato, caper and olive sauce, while every morsel of the slow-roasted belly of pork melts in the mouth, except for the deafeningly crispy crackling. Accompanying buttery mashed potato and freshly cooked local vegetables top things off in simple, seasonal style. Gooey, sweet and light, the much-hyped sticky toffee pudding doesn't disappoint either. Thank goodness they're thinking of opening seven days a week for summer.

• High point: Hearty portions of fine seasonal produce
• Low point: Limited vegetarian options