A picture really is worth a thousand words. You’ll know that just by looking at the photos our photographer captured of the food at Deans in Perth that lie within this review.
It was their pictures on their website and Instagram page that first sold the restaurant to me. I was browsing Google for somewhere to eat in the city when I saw some terrific looking food.
The kind that makes you stop in your tracks and assess every tiny detail.
Finesse, elegance and creativity. I could tell these dishes boasted that.
What Google failed to show me though, was how very different the interior is. I believe the new head chef Jamie Deans has something to do with that.
Stepping into his father’s shoes, Jamie has taken his family’s first venture on Kinnoull Street to the next level.
Deans Restaurant
It was a miserable Sunday when I visited. I had booked online the night before and made a reservation for noon, just as the venue opened.
My boyfriend and I were headed home from a trip to Dunkeld and their Sunday brunch menu, two courses for £22.50 and three courses for £28.50, had caught my eye.
I phoned ahead to let them know we were running 10 minutes late which didn’t seem a problem. When we did arrive, we were greeted by an energetic and charismatic character who I later found out was barman Zack.
He grabbed some menus and guided us through the beautiful restaurant. There are a lot of deep rich pinks, peach and reds, with faux greenery, black and white pictures, mirrored detailing and Scottish artwork lining the walls.
Calum and I were seated away from the entrance where the bar area was and were the second table in.
The menu was different to what was printed online and outside the venue, but there was still plenty, if maybe too many, dishes we were keen to try.
We ordered two soft drinks and some tap water for the table as we made our way through the options.
Calum had the two baked cheese soufflé on his mind while I couldn’t see past the pan-fried king scallops, although the saffron and chicken arancini and the smoked fish and pink prawn cocktail sounded sublime.
For mains, I surprised myself and ordered the Orkney beef roast (something I wouldn’t usually have as I’m not a big roast lover) and Calum went for the fish dish – pan-fried fillet of cod.
After receiving our drinks and placing our order we had time to observe the surroundings, as well as find a mural which lies behind the bathroom door. Inside the ladies is also a sight to behold, with glitter ball mirror detailing and dried flowers all playing their part in the aesthetic.
The food
We were treated to some complimentary breads. Madras sourdough and a white fennel number. Both came served with a lightly whipped salted butter that was silky smooth. They were warm and the white was especially milky. Soon after our starters arrived.
Both artworks in themselves, our server poured a whisky cream over Calum’s soufflé with MacSween’s haggis and potato puree and a dashi broth over my daikon radish noodles.
The soufflé was very light but the cheese flavour was sharp and very indulgent. It sat on top of haggis round which was perfectly peppery and the mound of mash was salty, but smooth, and melted in his mouth.
As for the sauce, it was sweet and had small chunks of onion in it. Tried together, the elements sang in harmony.
My scallops, which were an added £6 supplement, also came with mussels and arenkha caviar. The umami flavours went beautifully with the sweet, delectable scallops and every mouthful was as good as the last. I could have licked the bowl clean.
I was intrigued by the dry ice cocktails that Deans is well-known for and ordered the Love of is in The Air – a Bombay Gin-based drink with orange juice, grenadine, lime juice, Chambord and candy floss.
Priced at £12.50 it was more expensive than the others. It didn’t come with the candy floss from what I could see, but that didn’t make it any less impressive as the dry ice bubbled and smoked away in a flask in front of me. The barman had served a non-alcoholic version to a child on the neighbouring table who loved the theatrics.
The grenadine in it was quite poignant and overpowering which killed off any flavour of booze in my opinion. To finish, it was garnished with strawberries, edible flowers, lemon slice and a passion fruit half.
Mains followed a little while after the cocktail has stopped smoking and both looked just as appealing as the starters.
Calum immediately dived into his cod with pesto crushed potato, shaved fennel, kafir lime oil and sun blush tomato veloute.
The fish was moist and flaked away as he cut into it. The bed of potatoes were soft while the fennel was pickled, and the kale leaves added a little crunch. The tomato-based sauce was lightly creamy with a sweetness and tang.
My three slices of beef were cooked just right. Rare in the middle and medium on the outskirts. Around the edges was crisp beef crackling which I adored the crunchiness of.
Supporting local is something Jamie is very passionate about, so it was good to see good quality produce grace every plate.
The two pieces of cauliflower cheese were topped with the most gorgeous truffle crumb and there was plenty of the red wine sauce.
One big Yorkshire pudding, which was crispy round the edges and light and fluffy, sat on the plate, as did broccoli, roast tatties, mashed potato and small pieces of chopped boiled carrot.
We should have stopped ourselves here, but the desserts sounded all too tempting.
I knew Calum would love the banoffee parfait so ordered that for him and a coffee, and I took the server’s suggestion of Perthshire strawberries over the chocolate chip and Cointreau bread and butter pudding.
One big scoop of salted caramel ice cream sat on top of parfait which has been sprinkled with a white chocolate crumb. Four pieces of toffee popcorn and honeycomb were placed around it and brought a crunchy chewiness into the mix.
My dish was incredibly fresh with a pistachio meringue nest and basil and lime sorbet. It was more savoury than sweet, and while the ice cream could easily have overpowered, the strawberry coulis combated that, as did the berries.
Small basil leaves were dotted around the sweet meringue and it was only while indulging in the dessert that I realised how busy the restaurant had now become.
We couldn’t stomach another thing so paid our dues and took the tablet that was served with the coffee to-go.
The verdict
You can tell just by the dishes that Jamie and his team are constantly pushing gastronomic boundaries. His creative mindset is beautifully captured on each plate, and the balancing of flavours is a dance you won’t want to miss.
While there is some mystery to this place with out-of-date menus online, real magic takes place here in both the kitchen and front of house.
I can’t praise our servers enough for their level of service, and it was great to see a restaurant focused more on fine dining also offer colouring-in activities to those children who graced their venue.
I also think their two and three-course offer on a Sunday is exceptionally great value and I would highly encourage you to try the roast – it is very photogenic that’s for sure.
Information
Address: 77-79 Kinnoull Street, Perth PH1 5EZ
T: 01738 643377
Price: £87.50
Scores:
- Food: 5/5
- Service: 5/5
- Surroundings: 5/5
Conversation