A Week of Treats from Nick Nairn

I usually try and release posts twice a week, but with work and wedding plans getting busier, it’s difficult to find any time to sit down. Last week was particularly bad as I was away with work for our annual residential summer school, which just happened to be at our wedding venue – Dunblane Hydro. Now I didn’t plan on doing a review of the hotel, I thought I would save that for a later date, but the food was absolutely fantastic and definitely deserved a mention!

 

 

Upon arrival at the hotel, you are greeted with the tastiest cookie you could ever imagine. Due to the size of our group, we had a huge batch delivered to one of the function suites for us to enjoy at tea break, and there were even some left over for seconds. I’d stayed at the hotel before with Paul, so I knew all about the glorious, soft, gooey, chocolaty delight that was offered to every guest at check-in, and I made sure all my friends left room after lunch!

The restaurant at Dunblane Hydro is a little different from other hotels, in that it is run by celebrity chef Nick Nairn. We had the pleasure of dining in The Kailyard (his signature restaurant) for breakfast, lunch and dinner all week, and although it was a set menu, everything was delicious!

Given our large numbers, we were asked to specify dietary requirements before arrival. I’m not a vegetarian, but I’m also not a fan of beef or fish particularly, so opted for the veggie option to be safe. Breakfast and lunch were both buffet style spreads, but dinner was always a sit down meal from a set menu, which varied every night. Monday was by far my favourite meal of the week – I was so excited that I forgot to take pictures! It arrived a little later than all those eating meat, but I was not disappointed – a starter of couscous, followed by a main of creamy gnocchi and finished off with a devilishly delicious chocolate cake!

 

Tuesday was potato and leek soup, followed by risotto (I couldn’t tell whether it was beetroot or red cabbage) with a pudding of a caramel tart accompanied with ginger ice-cream. The soup was not my favourite, but the bread roll was one of the best I’d ever tasted and still warm from the oven. Despite its likeness to brains, the risotto was very tasty and I was disappointed I couldn’t finish it all, but you’ve got to leave room for pudding! The caramel tart was delicious and paired perfectly with the ice-cream. It was like eating ginger nut biscuits in ice-cream form – delicious!

 

 

 

Wednesday was burger night and was welcomed by everyone. The starter was my favourite starter of all time – goat’s cheese! The only thing that would have made it better was if I could have had it as a starter all week! I wasn’t sure what kind of veggie burger I would receive, but when a falafel burger was placed in front of me, I let out a little squeal of excitement! Falafel burgers are amazballs and are definitely not given enough credit for how yummy they are!

 

 

 

Thursday was our big annual work dinner and the only night when we ate in a separate function suite. Our food was still delivered by the restaurant, but we got to dress up posh and eat at fancy tables, hidden away from the rest of the hotel. The starter was carrot and chilli soup, followed by a leafy bean salad for the main course. Neither of these compared to the wonder of goat’s cheese or gnocchi, but I wasn’t bothered as we had plenty of the delicious bread rolls on the table. Our last dessert of the week was a bitter chocolate tart with cream and strawberries, again, not as good as other nights, but still tasty!

 

 

 

I know I’ve rambled on for long enough about how great the food was (my Instagram has been full of ‘food porn’ since the start of my visit), but a special mention is needed for the wonderful breakfast muffin I had on my last morning. I love muffins and I also love Nutella – this had both! The wonderfully fluffy, spongy exterior was surrounded a huge daud of rich, chocolaty Nutella and I was in heaven – I can’t wait to stay again in the run up to the wedding!

 

 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin