Food Review: Sail Away with Scotts at Largs

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Full steam ahead with seafood at Scotts

A trip on the Lexus Lady to try out some appetising food from Scotts was a real treat. But first a bit of background. Scotts bars and restaurants are a firm favourite amongst weekend sailors. They operate in both Largs and Troon marinas, and will soon be opening another venue at South Queensferry (yes, you will be able to see the bridge!). Well worth a visit with or without a yacht. This "Sail Away Day" was all about sampling Scotts new menu.

Luxury motor yacht

For the nautical minded it's 52 foot long with twin 425hp engines that can scoot along at 17 knots. You can get faster, but unless you're into Volvo class this is more than enough. Beautifully fitted out with galley, bar and accommodation for eight, it comes with a crew of three. The Lexus Lady is licensed for 12, but space on the two decks and generous saloon could easily seat over 20. So no shortage of room. If you want to impress, a trip up the Kyles of Minogue* on the Lexus Lady will certainly do the trick. For more details visit the Clyde Charters website.

*not a real place!

So what do you eat in such sumptuous surroundings? Our luck was in: Scotts' Executive Chef was on hand to provide a selection of treats from their menu.

Cumbrae oysters in vinaigrette and lemon. Superb, and found right on our doorstep. Perfectly paired with Cloudy Bay Pelorus, a lovely fresh wine from New Zealand, combining the citrus and pear of Chardonnay with the savoury tones of Pinot Noir.

Grilled king prawns with pickled cucumber, chilli and avocado mousse (£7.25) equals a prawn cocktail for grown ups! The chilli and avocado mouse made a refreshing replacement to seafood sauce, the prawns were freshly cooked and still warm.

Crispy slow-cooked ox cheek with celeriac puree, Virginia bacon crumb and micro herb salad. Moist and melting, the celeriac puree did it justice.

Whipped goats cheese with textures of beetroot, candied walnuts, apple, celery cress (£5.95). Two kinds of beetroot and some creamy goats cheese is nice, but the candied walnuts are to die for!

Platters

Scotts do amazing sharing platters, both meat and seafood platters. They came out thick and fast and were wonderfully tasty. Ok, so maybe the Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc (which gently segued into their delightful Chardonnay) was having its effect. But who can complain about mountains of langoustine, lobster thermidor and much much more? The Simply Seafood platter (£15.95) includes mini prawn cocktail, garlic & cream mussels, king prawn tempura, Thai-spiced crab balls and smoked salmon.

While the Scottish Tapas platter (£14.95) included haggis croquette, black pudding & chorizo bon bons, a Scottish charcuterie selection, pâté and ham hough terrine.

The chef's planning was immaculate. There were slow-cooked pulled meat dishes, terrines and other tasty treats. They were quite rightly prepared in advance (ever tried doing 24-hour brisket on a boat - don't!) So it was full (literally) steam ahead with the seafood. Rather than boil the lobster and langoustine, they were steamed. And what a difference that makes. The subtle flavours are preserved and the meat is sweet and juicy. Scotts really do Scottish seafood proud. This is the way it should always be.

The sharing platters are a real bargain for anyone looking to enjoy some quality nibbles with a glass or two of wine. For us, the match was made with Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc gently segueing into their delightful Chardonnay. You would be hard pushed to pick a favourite between them.

I was ready for a lie-down... but there was more to come.

Scotts excellent pasta dishes were represented by slow cooked Beef Ragu with Tagliatelle and pangritata AKA "poor man's parmesan" (£13.95) together with roast pumpkin ravioli with confit tomatoes, herb butter, goats cheese crumb and crisp basil leaves (£12.95) matched with a red this time. Both were filled with flavour and clearly of their own making - and again, a perfect match for the red wine, which no one really expects from New Zealand. But this was good. Light yet spicy with good berry notes. Well worth trying, and a great match for the pasta.

Dessert anyone?

The Buzzworks group have enough outlets to support their own bakery. So apart from lovely bread, they are able to offer bespoke desserts. We tried The Grande Plate - a selection of some of the best. The Treacle Tart (£6.50) was good, the Vanilla Panna Cotta (£6.25) light and cream, but my favourite was the Lemon Meringue Pie (£6.95) spied earlier in Scotts Largs restaurant earlier. Just lovely. And because Buzzworks have their own bakery the desserts are constantly evolving, so we can look forward to better and better puddings!

It was all too soon time to return to land and back to the swish surroundings of Scotts where as well as eating, you can relax over a coffee or some fizz.