Restaurant

Anna Stephenson visits East Pier Smokehouse, St Monans

Ihave never felt anxious about doing a review before. But when it came to checking out the East Pier Smokehouse at St Monans (of Jay Rayner fame) on a hot, busy July weekend, I have to admit I was feeling the pressure.

Not only does this East Neuk gem have a wealth of outstanding feedback from some of the top restaurant critics already in the bag, but with dinner only available on Friday and Saturday nights, no reservations allowed, and time of the essence due to an impending trip to Budapest on my part, I was left with just one day in which to secure a table and deliver my own judgement.

As we joined the queue for an early lunch, which as I had feared stretched out the door and into the street, I let my mind race through all the other poor unsuspecting Fife eateries that I could substitute for this one at short notice. Fortunately the menu, posted on the outside wall, was enough to have us salivating at the prospect of alder-smoked tempura prawns, freshly made crab cakes, pan-fried sardines with pickled rhubarb, and all manner of other delicacies delivered fresh from the nets at the harbour just metres away.

We resolved to stay put, shuffling gradually towards the counter, where a display of all things smoked had us wondering why smoked gin isn’t produced more widely, and what smoked chocolate might taste like. Could this be the new salted caramel?

Once inside, we found the East Pier Smokehouse to be a restaurant like no other I have visited. The setup is completely unique and I instantly fell in love.

After ordering starters and mains from the specials board, which changes multiple times during the day depending on demand and availability (a sure sign of a fresh catch), we were directed, drinks in hand, upstairs, where diners can seat themselves either inside or out.

With a strong wind outside, we settled for a sheltered indoor table, still with amazing sea views, where a blackboard instructs customers to help themselves to cutlery, condiments and cups. This was certainly a bit different, but, as it happens, there is something wonderfully relaxing about not being waited on hand and foot.

If you can eat it, they will smoke it, and my smoked goats cheese soufflé to start was faultless. Fluffy, flavoursome, surrounded by an intense cheesy sauce and with the top edges bronzed to just the right shade, I could have eaten it twice over, and not because the portion was small.

Mike’s Cullen skink, served with a hunk of bread, was rich, creamy and full of chunks of wonderful fish and potato, which had me sneaking spoonfuls every time he turned to look out the window at a passing boat.

Mains were slow in coming and we waited patiently for an hour as other tables came and went before our next course arrived, but considering how busy the place was with tourists and locals, it’s no wonder the chefs had a bit of a backlog to contend with.

Mine was certainly worth the wait, and five fat alder-smoked scallops complete with roe, which is so often mistakenly removed, nestled between God (a pile of healthy salad leaves) and the devil (a mountain of chunky chips soaking up lashings of smoked garlic butter).

Both were equally tempting, and the sweet homemade slaw was good, although not so good as to overshadow the main event, and the scallops…oh those scallops. Smoky, garlicky, sweet, and caramelised on the outside – perfect.

In terms of flavour, the mackerel main was every bit as delicious, if a terrible fiddle. Billed on the board as filleted, there were bones galore, and each mouthful was an slow and tiresome exercise in trying not to swallow any. I was nearly finished by the time Mike’s accompanying potato salad and pot of pickled fennel even got a look in. The joy of this style of joint, we found, was that there was no waiting around for the bill at the end. With eager diners still queuing outside, we were able to clear our own table and vacate to let others settle down for a taste of the East Neuk.

That said, as we made our way back out, we did overhear staff announcing to a disappointed crowd that the kitchen was closing for half an hour – too many orders, chefs needed time to catch up.

I just hope they stayed around for it to reopen – it’s worth the wait.