Does Dundee realise how lucky it is to have this marvellous restaurant?

Eastfield, Dundee | Gaby Soutar

I know Harris McNeill, but he doesn’t know me.

That might sound a bit creepy, so let me explain. 

About a year or so ago, I stayed at Ballintaggart Farm in Perthshire. I was en famille, and he was head chef there, so cooked dinner for us one night at the self-catering house. 

We called him chef, and my niece, then aged four, heard the word as Shep. You know, just like the Blue Peter dog.

He’s part of family lore now, as the whole experience became one of her core memories. She still asks when Shep will be cooking her dinner again. 

I suppose she’ll have to track him down in Dundee, where McNeill has opened his new casual dining restaurant, Eastfield.

Open from Wednesday to Sunday, 9am until 4pm, this is an airy and stylish-looking space, in soothing pale green tones, with bookshelves full of curated knick-knacks, a few tables pour deux, and a couple of larger communal ones. 

We shared ours with a group of hip youngsters in Y2K throwback outfits - this trend makes me feel SO ancient - and enjoyed earwigging on exciting conversations about love-lives, and boggling at their hugely complicated coffee orders. 

The menu is chalked onto a board on the wall. Choose from breakfast or sandwich items, served from 9am until 3pm, as well as lunchtime starters, main courses and a pudding, available from noon until 3pm., with cakes until closing.

The offerings seem relatively low on protein and carbs, and are mainly plant-based. 

We chose from starters that included the mysterious-sounding ‘endive, orange, mustard’ or a portion of Great Glen Charcuterie venison salami, for £6 each. 

Served on a chintzy plate, we went for the rarebit (£6), which consisted of a thick wodge of bread that was topped with a two-inch tall layer of Isle of Mull cheese and mustardy grill-browned sauce. This joyous classic came with a zingy fat gherkin on the side.

Simple and satisfying. It made for an excellent start, as did the threesome of herb dotted labneh, crisp whole radishes, with leaves and all, a la Mr McGregor’s garden, and mint (£6), which was a good foil to the heavier dish.

From main courses that included ‘peaches, fennel, herbs, lemon’ or ‘leeks, dill, cream, mustard’ my other half went for the only meaty main option - beef ragu, sourdough toast, horseradish (£12). 

It was a step up from the hangover classic that is mince on toast.

There was another vast doorstopper of that robust bread, with its flour-dusted crust, and a hearty ladleful of ultra rich and tomatoey ground meat. This was topped with a generous scoop of horseradish-infused creme fraiche and sprigs of dill. 

Instead of a main course, I’d gone for a breakfast offering, since I’m a total rebel.

This option consisted of a shiny-lidded and sweet milk bun (£8) that was filled with what they described as scrambled egg, but turned out to be a well-seasoned folded omelette, as well as a hleping of buttered spinach. You can choose from two sauces with this option - boring old brown, or rhubarb and chilli ketchup. Obvs, I went for the second option, and its wersh heat really made this option pop. If they’d had a bottle of this on the table, I would’ve finished the whole lot up and been whacking its bottom to get the dregs.

There is just one pudding on the board - a goat milk panna cotta with summer berries and elderflower. Sounds lovely.

However, our heads had already been turned by the selection of cakes that were looking winsome under the counter.

There were saucer-sized cookies, lemon drizzle and ginger cake, but I opted for a massive slice of one of my favourite classics - Guinness cake (£4), which had a frothy head, aka a sky-high buttercream frosting and a yielding sponge that stuck to the roof of my mouth.. They should serve this on draught.

Our triangle of Tunisian orange cake (£4) was lovely too - almondy and syrupy.

Oh, and the coffee, from Glen Lyon Roasters, is excellent. We had an espresso (£2.20) and an iced latte (£3.80). 

This is a really special venue.

I hope Dundee knows how lucky it is to have Shep.

91 Perth Road

Dundee

Instagram @eastfield_dundee