FOOD & DRINK NEWS & REVIEWS
BORDER REVIVAL A farm steading near Jedburgh is a focal point for a regional reawakening in food and drink, as Donald Reid discovers
B eyond its utility as a commuter option and a novelty route for trippers, the new Borders Railway is also a big flashing arrow aimed at Central Belters mostly ignorant of what the region to the south has to offer.
Some excellent Borders’ food and drink might front up at various stalls on Castle Terrace of an Edinburgh Saturday morning, but there’s a good deal more than that happening in situ. Take Born in the Borders, a converted farm steading on the banks of the River Teviot that started life in 2011 as a brewery using barley grown on its surrounding Chesters estate. Alongside, there’s now also a tasteful gift shop, a farm shop / deli well-stocked with local artisan produce (which here extends, naturally, into northern England) and an assured café which on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings converts into a restaurant dining space with serious intentions. It’s an artful duality only a few places pull off successfully. Solid and smart by day, by night the predominant chic is of stone and chunky wood, tree branches entwined in the rafters and lunar globes of light. Dinner can be two or three courses (£25/30) or a six-course tasting menu (£50), the latter an effective, but not over-bearing, showcase of both the local larder and the talents of chef David Malcolm’s kitchen.
BORN IN THE BORDERS
Served on pottery dishes and as pleasantly paired with beer from the brewery as something from a brief but sparky wine list, pearly white halibut from Eyemouth has some earthy jerusalem artichoke purée alongside, while venison is given rustic richness with some salsify, toasted grains of wheat and roast chestnut. Elsewhere, rabbit pie with prunes or a granita of clementine, honey and NB gin confirm this as cooking sophisticated for its setting but by no means out of its depth. Indeed, the thoroughly contemporary blend of unaffectedly sound technique using seasonally inspired ingredients is something many ambitious city kitchens fumble.
BitB are highlighting all this with a Railway package, a local taxi firm completing the final 20 minutes from the railhead at Tweedbank to the restaurant. For an impressive introduction to what’s blossoming in the Borders, heed the flashing arrow, jump on a train or simply accept any means of transport you can to get there.
+ Vivid watercress soup flooding around a precisely poached duck egg yolk
- For a city slicker, it will feel remote
Lanton Mill, by Jedburgh TD8 6ST, 01835 830495, bornintheborders.com
Ave. price two-course meal: £16 (lunch); £25 (dinner) 42 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016
DRINKS NEWS
In Edinburgh’s West End, Carters Tap is a spruced-up reincarnation of Carters, the Morrison Street shrine to cult crime flick Get Carter. A signed photo of Michael Caine remains, but otherwise it’s draught ales (Stewart Brewing, Barney’s and Pilot are prominent), local spirits, and lots of wood and leather. Win a voucher at list.co.uk/offers North Hop, the craft beer, gin, food and music festival born in Inverness in 2014, is jumping off to new locations in 2016, with plans for events in Aberdeen, Glasgow, the Highlands and, first-up, the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh on Sat 5 Mar. More at northhop.co.uk
RECOMMENDS . . .
LA LANTERNA GLASGOW
Glasgow’s oldest established
independent Italian restaurant has stood the test of time producing award-winning authentic Italian dishes for many
generations, and proud to sell Birra Moretti on draught. lalanterna-glasgow.co.uk