Review from The Scotsman - Autumn 2008
Can I recommend
Fine food across Edinburgh and the Lothians with Sandra English
Great Dining at The Grange, North Berwick
By road or rail, it probably takes less time to travel from Edinburgh to the pretty coastal town of North Berwick than it does to find a parking space in the crowded capital's city centre.
From seashore walks to a spot of golf, there's plenty to do once you get there. But North Berwick isn't just a great place to visit, it's a great place in which to dine out too - especially if you call in to The Grange Restaurant and Steakhouse, that is.
Situated on North Berwick's quaint old High Street, The Grange has been in the hands of owners Matt and Joanne Sandison for the past 10 years - that's a decade of serving high quality, principally locally-sourced dishes to locals, tourists and daytrippers alike.
Fully refurbished at the end of last year, The Grange has an easygoing ambience about it, the kind of place where you know you're in for a warm and friendly welcome as soon as you pass through the doors. What you're also in for is a dining experience to remember.
Take lunchtime, for instance. The price -£8.95 for two courses or £9.95 for three -doesn't change, but the menu regularly does. You can expect a choice of four starters and the same number of main courses, with favourites such as The Grange's homemade chicken and liver pate regularly figuring in the starter list and a delicious grilled Scottish salmon escalope in a rich herb oil usually to be found among the mains. Don't expect any extra charges for potatoes and vegetables either - that just won't happen here.
Where The Grange really comes into its own, though, is in the steak and dinner menus. It was only at the end of 2007, at the time of refurbishment in fact, that 'Steakhouse' was added to the name over the door - and just a glance at the selection tells you just why. You'd expect a fillet steak, you'd expect a sirloin, but The Grange offers rib eye and rump too, as well as a quite superb Fillet Rossini that features another appearance of that homemade pate, this time atop a succulent eight-ounce fillet steak.
Steak prices are from £12.95, and unlike other restaurants that think nothing of slapping on a couple of pounds extra for a sauce, The Grange offers a range including herb and garlic butter, peppercorn, Bordelaise and mushroom at no extra charge.
By the way, everyone wants to know just where their beef came from, and The Grange won't disappoint in this regard. Truth is, it rarely will have travelled far, being from by far the most part from grass-fed Aberdeen Angus cattle reared in East Lothian and the Scottish Borders.
Like the lunch menu, the evening a la carte selection regularly changes - with the seasons, with whatever's come in fresh from the sea, or just because Matt has a new dish to show off. Expect such delights as North Berwick lobster and tuna loin chowder for instance, a chargrilled swordfish fillet, or roasted Scottish lamb cutlet on a haggis gateaux. Dinner starters are from around £3.95, while main courses tend to be around the £14 or £15 mark. Desserts, such as The Grange's own recipe banoffee pie, are from £4.95.
A word you'll often see on each of the menus, by the way, is homemade. From the pate to the chips, the banoffee pie to - how could we have missed it? - The Grange's own recipe burger, you'll find very little here you can find anywhere else.
Incidentally, too often a fine restaurant is let down by a poorly thought-out wine list. That's certainly not the case here. Careful consideration has been given to the selection available, from full-bodied reds to accompany steak dishes to more delicate whites to sip along with seafood. And at prices that won't break the bank either.
All this doesn't happen by accident, of course. Chef/proprietor Matt spent a long career in some of Edinburgh's finest restaurants, both training under top chefs and in charge on his own at places such as the Vintner's Rooms and Cafe St Honore. Edinburgh's loss, though, is North Berwick's gain, and the love and care Matt and Joanne have put in to The Grange just shines through.
North Berwick locals are lucky, they've got The Grange tight on their doorstep. They can just wander in for lunch, dinner or on a Sunday afternoon for The Grange's excellent carvery, with a choice of four different roasts served from 12.30 to Spin. Everyone else might have a little travelling to do to get there, but like North Berwick itself, The Grange is well worth a few hours of anyone's time. Call ahead, book a table - make a day of it... time of refurbishment in fact, that 'Steakhouse' was added to the name over the door - and just a glance at the selection tells you just why. You'd expect a fillet steak, you'd expect a sirloin, but The Grange offers rib eye and rump too, as well as a quite superb Fillet Rossini that features another appearance of that homemade pate, this time atop a succulent eight-ounce fillet steak.