A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR

The Mystery Diner heads west to visit Sugar Boat, a remarkable little restaurant in the coastal town of Helensburgh

Our mystery diner heads to Helensburgh and uncovers a coastal gem

There are a whole host of rather well-to-do little towns in Scotland which are mysteriously poorly served when it comes to eating out.

There is no better example of this than Helensburgh. This rather douce West Coast town boasts an armada of substantial Victorian villas which are lived in by sober and prosperous types who spend their evenings and weekends by the sea before commuting into Glasgow each day.

Yachties are ten-a-penny here and in nearby Rhu, certainly there’s no shortage of cash.

So it is a pity that it has taken so long for a genuinely impressive restaurant to take root here. But in Sugar Boat – named after the rusting hulk in the Firth of Clyde, the remains of the MV Captayannis which sank in high winds in 1974 – the town finally has the restaurant it deserves.

Located just off its seafront on Colquhoun Square, Sugar Boat opened in May 2017 and won a Bib Gourmand in 2018. In September 2019, owner Will Smith (formerly of Arbutus, Wild Honey and Les Deux Salons in London) and head chef Scott Smith were in London to collect a gong as Sugar Boat was named Scotland’s restaurant of the year at the prestigious AA Awards.

A contemporary bistro done out in natural colours to reflect the land and sea, you enter through Sugar Boat’s noisy bar, which is built around a huge marble-topped bar, and go past the viewable kitchen to the dining area at the rear. Light and modern, the decor is stylish and the atmosphere is relaxed. It is immediately apparent that a high proportion of diners are regulars.

The food is on trend too: fresh, local, unfussy contemporary Scottish fare produced with a quiet confidence. The menu is well constructed, with seven starters, eight mains, and seven puddings, with some excellent vegetarian options. We eschewed those as we kicked off with a disappointingly bland confit sea trout with caper and anchovy dressing and an absolutely stonking comfort dish of trotters and bacon on beef dripping toast that I’d travel hours to eat again.

If our starters were a mixed bag our mains were outstanding. The braised pig cheek with crisp head terrine, salt-baked celeriac and green sauce pomme mousseline was a revelation, the dark, succulent, almost gamey pork as good as any I’ve ever eaten. In any other company the excellent grilled beef with an ox shin boulangère of deep rich notes, accompanied by confit shallot and garlic, hispi cabbage, would have been the star of the show, but here it played second fiddle.

I’m a pudding devotee, and could have happily eaten all seven options. I cast my gluttonous eye enviously over the sea salt creme caramel, clafoutis with salted caramel ice cream, pistachio cake with white chocolate cream and raspberry, warm almond rice pudding with raspberry jam, and banana loaf with burnt orange. Eventually we opted for the Ecclefechan tart with clotted cream (good, but not excellent) and the warm chocolate mousse with pralines (transcendently good).

This was a meal of rare stature which was accompanied by a small, beautifully balanced and commendably affordable wine list (both house wines cost £20, and most wines come by the glass or in 250ml carafes). With unfussy but attentive service and an environment that wouldn’t look out of place in any major city, Sugar Boat deserves all of the accolades that have come its way. This is exactly the sort of restaurant I’d like to live near, and you couldn’t wish for any more than that.