We buy almost all of our fish from Murray at the Fencebay fish stall at the Partick and Queen’s Park Farmers’ Markets. So, when we took Rene and Bert down the Clyde Coast, we jumped at the opportunity to go the restaurant at Fencebay, Fins.
The restaurant is located just off the busy A78, in an old farm steading not far from the village of Fairlie. Also on site are the smokery, the farm shop and a cookery shop. Fins restaurant occupies the old byre and a more recent conservatory, and is warm and welcoming.
The food lives up to the farmers’ market reputation. It had that taste that you only get when the fish is really fresh and has been cooked with a light touch.
Mussels in a white wine sauce – the mussels were small and sweet, and the sauce really garlicky. (For some reason, I was the only person who had a starter!)
Pan-fried mackerel coated in oatmeal, onion marmalade.
Langoustines in garlic butter. Simple, classic, and around 200g of garlic butter for the whole table to dip our bread in!
Seared scallops, white wine, cream and salmon sauce. Sweet scallops, good caramelised flavour.
Cold seafood platter – hot smoked salmon, langoustines, crab claw, gravadlax, pickled herring, mussels, smoked salmon pate and oatcakes. A really well-packed, very Scottish platter.
This is the sort of seafood that Scotland exports every day to Spain and France, and is only just becoming common here.
The service was friendly, passing both stage 1 and 2 of the water test! The staff even offered more bread with the main course saying “you’ll need something to mop up the garlic butter”!
But don’t take my word for it. Support these guys in the UKTV Food Local Hero 2007 awards.
