Restaurant review: The Oystercatcher

Published on Wednesday 8 October 2008 14:51

What makes a pub child-friendly? Thirty years ago, the way my generation recalls it, an establishment was considered family-oriented if it had a car park where carefree parents could leave the kids inside their vehicle equipped only with a bag of crisps and a can of lemonade while their elders caroused inside.

Such an approach doesn't seem to suit today's child-centric parents or our spoiled offspring, but anyone who has suffered the awful experience of lunch in a "family friendly" chain pub complete with ball pit smelling of wee, must agree that the pendulum has swung too far the other way.

To be child friendly, all a pub needs is an outdoor area so the children don't have to be inside spilling pints for too long, and to serve tasty food.

In which case The Oystercatcher surpasses the basic standard by so much to be in a class of its own. It is set in a heart-breakingly lovely spot on Loch Fyne overlooking Kintyre. There is no purpose-built play area but the pub is on the beach, there are few cars and kids can run around to their hearts' content until it is time to eat.

The menu isn't particularly geared towards children either, but that's no bad thing; there is a good range of high-quality, simple dishes. As you would expect, the menu relies heavily on seafood brought in by boat each day but specialities also include lamb and beef from the Isle of Bute.

The newish owners (they've been here for less than a year) have taken it upmarket from a basic pub and made the focus on the local ingredients. The oysters and pork come from the Ballimore Estate next door, the scallops are hand-dived in the loch in front. Catering for tourists, yachties and locals, they've retained a relaxed pub atmosphere. Various dogs wander in and out or sit by the blazing fire on the flagstone floor and plenty of customers just come for a drink.

But we were in to eat. And we were starving. While there is the offer of half portions of the main courses for kids, our children, aged ten and seven, have gargantuan appetites and were having none of it. So we mostly plumped for adult portions, even though it does make a meal for a family of two children and two adults expensive.

In a pathetic nod towards economy, we shared three starters between us. Both the black pudding, bacon and mushroom served in a filo pastry (6.30) and the haggis and mushrooms ciabatta croque monsieurs (5.75) were excellent, light and toothsome, but perhaps a little too similar in balance of meat and mushroom to both deserve a place on a short menu.

We all knew the Loch Fyne langoustines and crayfish (6.50) was going to be the star among the starters; so much so that my ten-year-old had also ordered it for her main course, which made it a little galling to see her tucking in so doggedly to her quarter share of the starter. The crayfish particularly were small and sweet and the sauce was a dense reduction of garlic and shellfish reminiscent of an intense bouillabaisse. Surprisingly, it wasn't served with bread, but we corrected this oversight and mopped up every last drop of sauce.

Along with the second portion of langoustine for Miss Sophisticate (6.50), and a side dish of French fries (1.95), her brother chose lasagne from the specials board (9) while the other half went for chargrilled local cod with creamed potatoes, bacon and spinach (12). The lasagne's bolognese sauce was creamy with a depth of flavour hinting at ingredients such as Italian sausage and glugs of wine and days-long simmerings. The husband's fish was cooked perfectly, opaque in the middle and fresh as a daisy.

But all three of my dining companions knew, when I was presented with my main course, that theirs had been knocked into a cocked hat. I had gone with my growling stomach and ordered the rib-eye steak (16.75), just chargrilled, served with chips and some salad. It is a fairly simple dish to do which stands or falls on the quality of the meat. And this was the best steak I have ever tasted, cooked to perfection, flavoursome, tender and juicy. The sort of steak that you cannot eat in silence. Early on I made the mistake of sharing my rapturous joy with the rest of the table and went as far as to give them all a taste. The result was that the steak knife had to come into play in a defensive role against pilferers until I'd finished every last morsel.

While I had definitely won the main course round, the pudding rematch was fairly even-stevens. The kids finished up with home-made ice-cream and hot chocolate sauce (4.50) which they could pour on themselves, while my husband and I shared a sticky toffee pudding (4.50) which continued the theme of the evening, being the best I've ever tasted.

I thought afterwards about the 1970s classic restaurant meal: prawn cocktail, steak and black forest gateau. Thirty years on, ordering langoustine, steak and sticky toffee pudding doesn't seem to show much progress, but this is exactly what pub food should be: unpretentious, great quality, cooked well, and served in a lovely, friendly place. No need to leave the kids in the car here.

The Oystercatcher

Otter Ferry,

Loch Fyne

(01700 821229)

The Bill

Dinner for four, 78.25, excluding drinks