Ahoy me hearties. Did I ever tell you how much I love boats (I LOVE boats) And how relaxing I find the noise of the waves, the salty smell of the ocean and that pure sea breeze? Perhaps enough to convince myself I was probably a sailor in a past life, and definitely enough to get a captain, ship and lighthouse tattooed on my hands. So as you can imagine, I was pretty excited when Scotts of Largs and Beattie invited me down for a day on the water, to sample some highlights of their menu while cruising the open seas.
Scotts is a gorgeous marina based venue down at Largs Yacht Haven, brought to you by Buzzworks Holdings, who have a portfolio of award winning restaurants and bars across Ayrshire. I'd heard so many good things about them, but with Largs being an hours drive away I'd never had the chance to visit. To be honest it's really nice to venture out of the city every once in a while for a delicious scran and a change of scenery. A longer than usual journey, to try somewhere extra special for food is something I definitely need to do more often (and justifying to Pete with "BUT BABY NEEDS DIS FOOD" is totally reasonable fyi)
We boarded the lovely Lexus Lady and set off on our travels. Seeing the (small but perfectly formed) size of the kitchen, I thought our chef Craig would be preparing some canapes and little nibbles for the duration of the trip. Oh boy, I was wrong - he actually managed to make us the full sized plates from Scotts (to share, obvs) Just in case you look at these pictures and think no way did they eat this food on a boat - we really did. Here are some of my personal favourites:
Cumbrae Oysters with vinaigrette and lemon
Crispy slow braised ox cheek, with celeriac puree, virgina bacon crumb and a micro herb salad
Whipped goats cheese with beetroot, candied walnuts, apple and celery cress
Scottish Tapas Platter, containing haggis croquette, black pudding and chorizo bon bons, scottish charcuterie selection, pate and ham hough terrine
Simply Seafood Platter, containing mini prawn cocktail, garlic cream mussels, king prawn tempure, thai spiced crab balls and smoked salmon
Signature Seafood, containing a whole lobster, 6 langoustines, king scallops, garlic prawns, and a selection of locally sourced seafood
Slow cooked beef ragu with tagliatelle pasta and pangritata
Home smoked lobster with pink grapefruit butter sauce
The Grand Plate, containing a selection of desserts from the Buzzworks Bakehouse
You guys, as far as food reviews go, I genuinely don't know what to say about all of the above apart from the fact that every single plate Craig put in front of us was downright delicious. Totally stellar food, cooked to perfection with an abundance of locally sourced ingredients. There wasn't one thing I didn't enjoy. Apart from the fact that while preggo certain foods and ingredients are off limits - including the Cloudy Bay wine which Scotts brand manager Peter was pairing with each course (gad damn it!) Most seafood and shellfish are completely safe for women to consume during pregnancy - you should have a read at this articleif you have any concerns.
The biggest question from me was how much would these dishes set you back in the restaurant. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that their starters average at around £6/7, main meals about £12, and desserts £6. The Seafood and Scottish Tapas platters are around £15 each. So all in all I think that's extremely reasonable considering the high standard of food. If you want a fancy steak as your main of course you're gonna pay a bit more, but even £30 for a full lobster ain't too shabby! I absolutely loved sampling all the food on board our boat, and the actual Scotts restaurant interior is very sleek and modern and would no doubt make a lovely setting for any special occasion, while still casual enough for sunday afternoon lunch.
Btw, I know I'm biased, but how beautiful is Scotland. So, do I plan on retiring from the TV & Film industry and retraining as a skipper? No (well, maybe, yolo!) Do I want to eat at Scotts again and try out the other Buzzworks venues? Hells yes! Now it's time to go home and see what's for dinner while my own photographs are giving me food envy. Have a great weekend everyone!
