Food Review: Brasserie Ecosse, Dundee

Steaking a claim to best restaurant in Dundee

Looking out towards the Tay and the brand new V&A Dundee, Brasserie Ecosse is right at the centre of the new developments in the city. Their website states that it's a modern brasserie focused on Scottish food complimented by a mix of French and Asian inspired cooking styles. We were told that Chef Scott Campbell brings experience to the kitchen from time spent working in Hong Kong, one of Mr Foodie's favourite cities with many incredible restaurants so we were prepared for something special!

But Brasserie Ecosse is not just for food, but also somewhere to indulge in champagne and cocktails. You could come here for a business lunch, date night or cocktails with the girls. Its interior is Scandinavian-minimal, stripped back hipster, with just a hint of decadence - we approve wholeheartedly!

Menu (click for bigger)

Brunch menu

Drinks Menu

Drinks

The beer selection contains a number of local beers from 71 Brewing in Dundee and Six Degrees North in Aberdeen. Here we ordered a Peloton pilsner (330ml, 4.1% £4.95). Pils isn't our favourite beer style but this is an excellent example with lots of flavour and life (look at the size of that head!).

We mentioned cocktails earlier so how about a Pink Margarita (£9.50) served in a Patron bottle! This sweet but boozy concoction is a mix of Patron tequila reposado, Aperol, fresh lemon juice, blood orange juice and agave syrup. Mmm.

Food

Starters

71 Beer Soup (£5.50)
We thought it was a joke at first, seeing soup of the day being listed as beer on the board outside, but no in fact the the soup actually was "beer soup" and made using local beer from Dundee's 71 Brewing.
It tasted like moules marienere sauce...substituting the white wine for lager with cream, onion, herbs, some oil, and a cheese crouton. Quite a strong bitter flavour, recommended to anyone who enjoys Belgian mussels!

The prettiest dish of the day was the Lady Mary, Pomelo, Tomato and Beetroot salad (£6.95)
Lady Mary is a cows' milk cheese but tastes a bit goaty. Served with fresh tomatoes, pomelo and dehydrated beetroot with the texture of meringue, which sort of dissolved when you ate it! An unusual mix of flavours!

Main courses

Barbary duck breast, confit leg pithivier, spiced pear, creamed savoy (£17.95).
Full of earthy colours, again this looked the part. The duck was perfect, moist and meaty but with a crisp skin, a little duck confit pie, delectable cabbage and ripe sweet pear. A filling portion of beautifully cooked meat with excellent sides.

Steak frites, 8oz flat iron steak, fries (£17.50)
Look at that colour - perfection! The steak came medium-rare and had a beautifully chargrilled exterior but was still pink inside. It didn't necessarily need the sauce as it was moist and flavoursome on its own but the sauce, heavy on tarragon with the unexpected twist of coconut was very good too - we enquired and were advised that coconut oil was used as a healthier alternative to butter, and that opening sentence on their website hinted at Scottish food with Asian inspiration! For £17.50 this was excellent value for such a perfect steak.

But let's not laud all the credit on the steak as the chips were A+. Salty and addictive!
We also ordered a side of glazed green beans & sugar snap peas (£4.00) to help us towards our 5 a day.

By this point, the buckles were nearly coming off so we had to share dessert and settled on this Chocolate tofu ganache, coconut purée, praline, lemon sorbet (vegan) (£7). Described by Nikos, the manager, as the best vegan dessert you've ever tasted and we couldn't disagree. Thick, rich chocolate ganache in a crisp chocolate shell with the zing of lemon.

Verdict

We can't disagree with the reviews elsewhere, the food was amazing, the service was spot on, drinks were great too. Relaxed, fine food with a good mixture of clientele. We heard positive feedback from other diners while we were there. Lots of space between tables, which were cleared promptly. The only criticism we could think of is that the restaurant is quite large and open, a bit like a warehouse, so maybe not intimate enough for some. Music was downtempo background acid jazz. Toilets clean and smart.