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Howie’s Bistro, Dunkeld (38/50)

By Kerry Moores

November 18 2017, 9:17am

Apparently, we should never judge a book by its cover. Why then do publishers pay people large sums of money to design them? Why aren’t all book covers just plain with the title printed in Times New Roman?

Anyway, my point is, we all like to browse the covers and we all make a judgement on something just by looking at it, whether we are supposed to or not.

Last weekend, Mr Kerry and I went on a Sunday jaunt. We picked on Dunkeld as a place where we had never really spent any time and so we set off. I didn’t research places to eat, I didn’t consult TripAdvisor and I didn’t have any pre-conceptions of what we would have for lunch. The plan was to wander, browse and settle on somewhere we liked the look of.

Dunkeld is such a cute little place with hidden alleyways and communal gardens, upmarket delis, an award-winning smoke house and even a brand new bakery, a venture from Flora Shedden, Scotland’s very own Bake-Off star. There is a lot packed in to such a small town.

There are various choices of lunch stops but we walked past Howies a couple of times and just loved the look of it. It’s a little independent bistro on the high street which looked cosy and welcoming. The people sitting in the large window seemed to be having a lovely time, so we ventured in. We were instantly glad we did as we were greeted by the warmest, smiliest waitress. A decent welcome makes such a different to the overall experience and this one was a dazzler.

The lunchtime menu is comprised of sandwich and baked-potato-style options as well as a small selection of more substantial main courses and burgers. Mr Kerry and I decided to share a halloumi salad to start. The halloumi was hot, although not crispy on the outside, which was a shame, and was served with a very nice roasted vegetable salad complete with fresh frisee lettuce with a nice bitter bite.

I then chose the vegetable moussaka with sweet potato fries. The moussaka arrived in a little oven dish and was piping hot. The slices of aubergine and pepper were layered with a nice herb-flecked tomato sauce but I couldn’t taste any of the lovely rich cinnamon spices that a moussaka should contain. It was also lacking the traditional thick topping of fluffy béchamel, which had been replaced with lid of melted cheese. The dish was pleasant but not quite the moussaka I had been expecting. The sweet potato fries were delicious though, hot and fluffy with a lovely crunchy coating.

Mr Kerry chose the fish and chips, which was an absolute winner. The fresh, white, flaky fish had been lightly battered and fried until perfectly crisp. The mushy peas were certainly not the generic tinned variety (which I also love) but garden peas that had been blitzed with a dash of cream. They were lovely, and this overall dish was the best of our meal choices. It was not a giant pub portion focusing on quantity over quality, but a rather a dainty plate full of great ingredients cooked really well.

I had been unbelievably excited about ordering dessert as I had spotted, almost as soon as we had arrived, a blackboard suggesting freshly made doughnuts. Oh my goodness. I wouldn’t ever buy the supermarket variety as I would just feel too guilty but I find it so, so difficult to walk past a doughnut vendor at a funfair or event as the smell draws me in like a moth to a flame. I was asked if I wanted clotted cream or jam with them but declined, as I just wanted them plain and simple.

The balls of deliciousness arrived and looked exactly as I had hoped. They were nicely golden and had been rolled in snowy white sugar. They were still hot from the fryer and I dived in. I have to say that the insides were fairly dense and not as cakey as they could have been but still, what a naughty treat.

Howies was a bustle of people coming in for lunch. Families with young children were sitting alongside couples, and everyone was given the same welcome and quality of service. The menu does have something for everyone at lunchtime, whether the little one fancies soup and a cake, or Mummy wants to devour a burger. The evening menu has a more extensive list of starters and main courses as well as gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options.

I really liked Howies; the dining room is attractive and, I can imagine, really pretty in the evenings.

The staff are lovely and the food is really good home cooking aimed at everyone. It’s lovely to stumble across a little gem to add to the list, and if I get the urge for doughnuts in the future, I’ll know exactly where to go.