Anstruther's The Cellar - The Scots restaurant where romance is always on menu

The Cellar, in Anstruther, has soft lighting, open fires and an intimate atmosphere that makes it the perfect venue for dinner a deux, according to the guide.

The restaurant, which is run by husband and wife team Peter and Susan Jukes, even has its own romantic hot spot – table six, a secluded setting that has inspired more couples to propose than any other.

Mrs Jukes said: "It is a romantic place. It is lit with candles, we have open fires and we specialise in fish, which is a food that is supposed to have aphrodisiac qualities. We are in a back street with a little secret garden, so people have to seek us out, which makes it feel special."

Mr and Mrs Jukes met more than 20 years ago when Susan, who was studying in Kirkcaldy, came to work in the restaurant at weekends.

"I suppose it has been romantic for us because I met my husband here," said Susan, who oversees the front of house operation. The Cellar has been awarded three AA rosettes and is one of the longest standing entries in The Good Food Guide.

Pete Irvine, author of Scotland the Best, describes the eatery as "the best seafood restaurant in Scotland".

Mrs Jukes said: "We try to make everyone feel welcome. It is not stuffy. And an awful lot of people have proposed to each other at table six, which is a corner table next to the fire."

Elizabeth Carter, consultant editor at The Good Food Guide, said The Cellar was an obvious choice when compiling the guide's first ever top ten romantic restaurants list.

"I came up with the idea because my stepdaughter decided to get engaged and her fiance chose a restaurant to propose to her. It seemed like such a good idea – particularly as it gets close to St Valentine's day.

"Restaurants can be very romantic. It is quite intimate, even though there is a lot going on around you. You are sitting opposite each other and focusing on each other and being waited on."

She said of The Cellar: "The food is outstanding and it is one of The Good Food Guide's most long-standing entries. Peter Jukes is just an incredible chef who understands fish. He knows how to leave it alone and let the flavour and the freshness speak."

Among the other restaurants to make the top ten are The Bluebell in Warwickshire, where diners can choose to take their coffee and petit fours while floating down the river on a launch.

Pearl in London, a restaurant set in an old banking hall, was chosen for its decor – it is hung with strings of pearls and painted in soft pinks and creams, while The Modern, in Manchester is set on the rooftop of Urbis, the museum of urban life.

'Guests enjoy Peter Jukes' adventures into the world of seafood'

VIRTUOUS seafood and stunning wine, nothing about Peter and Susan Juke's remarkable dining room seems to be affected by the passing of time.

Once a cooperage and herring smokery, it still extols the simple virtues of seafood and wine in a comfortingly familiar setting of tiled floors and rough stone walls.

A vintage grandfather clock marks the hours as guests enjoy Peter Jukes' enthusiastic adventures into the world of seafood cookery. Menus change daily, depending on the catch, the market and the weather – so freshness is never in doubt.

Ideas have been fine-tuned over the years and some dishes are hardy piscine perennials while others spring surprises on the Cellar's loyal following.

The house fish soup – a crayfish bisque glazed with cream and gruyre – tops the bill. Otherwise you might begin with a simple omelette packed with smoked haddock.

If there is halibut in the day's haul it might be grilled and served with greens, pine nuts, smoky bacon and a pot of hollandaise. Cod could be smeared with a pesto crust and dished up with pak choy mash and balsamic dressing.

Those with a penchant for meat could be offered grilled medallions of beef with wild mushrooms, stovies and mustard sauce, before meals come to a close with cheese and desserts.