The problem with BYOB restaurants is that you turn up on your own with a case of claret, only for the management to look at you like you’re an alcoholic.
It is the perennial nightmare the one downside of the place where, in theory, you should be able to quaff quality booze at trade prices.
From the Bombay bistros of Brick Lane to the pop-up pretension of Edinburgh, there has never been a satisfactory solution.
In strategic theory, it is best to decide what you’re eating before nipping out to a friendly, probably French, vineur who then matches your food to your wine.
The tactical reality, of course, is that you have to dash around to an almost-shuttered corner shop in the pouring rain and begrudgingly grab their selection of Hardy’s and Blossom Hill. You return sodden, your date unimpressed, to waiters who think you must’ve decided to do a runner, before changing your mind.
Hardly an ideal position.
But before even stepping into Broughty Ferry’s newest dining and BYOB addition, the Beach Hut, I was in for a shock.
Usually once you’ve booked a table at a restaurant, that’s the final interaction with the management you will have but not here.
Head chef and proprietor, Catherine Rae, called up two days before the booking to ask if there was anything special we’d like from the fishmonger. Lobster, langoustine, scallops and a plethora of other shellfish and fish rolled off her tongue like a gastronomic tsunami.
This was exciting. Not only did it appear we were in for a cracking meal in every sense but we could pick the wine before we dined.
So, with a careful selection tucked under arm, we made our way to the very top of Brook Street.
The Hut as it should probably be known, given it isn’t actually on a beach is, with just 32 covers, small and intimate. It suffers from the typical teething problems including some rather nasty looking wires hanging off a wall but is otherwise tastefully decorated in pleasant yellow hues, broken up with local artwork.
Despite having effectively ordered in advance, the service was very, very slow. It took half an hour to produce a menu, even though there was only one other table seated, and another half an hour to produce a starter. The meal, all in, took about three hours.
But somehow that did not matter. Eating at the Beach Hut is more like supping at a friend’s house, rather than dining out. And the food, when it eventually arrived, was unusually good.
A stilton pate with roasted pears was tasty and filling but not as rich as you might expect. The roasted peppers stuffed with fennel were equally good.
The delay or more accurately, gap in service left us with plenty of time to get stuck into our drink, which flowed with generous ease.
By the time the pre-ordered lobster thermidor arrived, complete with green salad and enough chips to satisfy the most voracious of gluttons, we were pleasantly tight.
My friend’s 10oz ribeye steak looked and tasted delicious. It arrived showered in homemade onion rings with a rich, peppercorn sauce on the side. It was a tad rare deep down, but it didn’t matter.
The thermidor was everything you would expect and more.
Fleshy lobster meat swam around in the creamy, mustardy, cognac-laced sauce. The gruyere top provided the perfect, crunchy antithesis.
There are no desserts at the Beach Hut, but in all honesty, there was little room left anyway.
We left very much later than we had expected but greatly satisfied. The Beach Hut not only serves great food, but it has turned the BYOB nightmare into the most pleasant of dreams.
Rating: 39/50
Price: Starters all £8.50, mains from £18.50 to £28.50
Info: Beach Hut 594 Brook Street Dundee DD5 2EA t: 07526 897842 w: www.facebook.com/BroughtyFerryBeachHut