The Shoregate — Restaurant in Scotland

My wife booked the Shoregate for my birthday and we stayed in the top floor suite for 1 night. This was not our first visit as we'd been the year before stopping in for a pint and some nibbles. My wife obviously kept it in her back pocket to surprise me this year when the rooms finally opened. There's a few important things to note about the Shoregate they are as follows:

The Davids The managers are David and David. Fortunately they are distinguishable in that one is the dark haired creator of "The Holy and the Passionate"/ The other charming and affable chap with light hair and a New Zealand twang is who I will be referring for the rest of the review.

Arrival We arrived early and entered the bar where we were greeted by David (NZ twang). He was charming affable and let us know the room was ready early so he could take us up straight away if we liked. Retrospectively I now realise he was proud to be taking us up the room. As well he should have been. The suite is immaculate. All coppers, blue and streamlined class.

The room There are little hidden treasures everywhere. Two bottles of Darnley's gin and two of perfectly paired tonic from Kingsbarns distillery up the road. A filled bucket of ice. Fridge with chilled milk and bottles of mineral water. All complimentary. Two perfect hazelnut and choicolate macrons on a serving dish that houses two pieces of homemade Scottish table.

This is just what greets you. The furniture is all big, comfortable, stylish Scottish shore side pieces in keeping with the locale.

The bed is enormous and the mattress firm but exceptionally comfortable for it. All that I was missing all night was my faithful hound who was kennelled...

Dog friendly He needn't have been! There were dogs in and out of the bar all afternoon. All perfectly well behaved and obviously owned by locals who have made the Shoregate their local.

The bar A variety of lovingly collated local beer, spirits and softs. Sadly the UK doesn't really have the climate for wine or I'm sure they'd feature too. But the Sicilian red we had with dinner was perfectly paired with the main meal.

There is something for everyone and there were bottles of very aged rum and malt whiskey that would appeal to anyone that the incredible list of cocktails didn't.

The most popular one is The Holy and the Passionate for good reason. Personally I loved the Basil Gimlet and The First Word.

The food We shared all the appetisers that could be offered at the bar. The vegetable crisps and sourdough bread was our highlight but there really are no wrong answers in this place - my firmly held belief.

Dinner started with the beetroot and crowdie. The meatlovers among us will be drawn by the hamhock croquette that my wife had. But believe me neither is to be missed.

We split the chateaubriand (2 person min) and were happily tucking into a generous serving of perfectly cooked beef with seasonal veg for what I wish had gone on forever.

In the morning my wife had eggs benny and I had beautiful duck meat with eggs and sourdough soldiers. They were both out of this world.

David and his team David (NZ) and his team were incredibly attentive and kind. It's obvious he's proud of the service they deliver. If a Swiss watch could offer comfort and charm to a couple on a romantic weekend break then I'd say the place runs like a Swiss watch.

But the fact is a Swiss watch would compare itself to how well the...

The shoregate

My wife and I stayed at the beautiful Shoregate last week. We booked the suite. I didn’t want to write a good review, because I wanted to keep this gem of a hotel a secret. 😂The hotel was fantastic in every respect. It has a perfect location at the top of Shoregate road, which leads down to the harbor. Our room had a lovely sea view. The owners clearly have excellent attention to detail. The rooms are tastefully decorated, a real home from home. They are also exceptionally clean and comfortable, there is not a thing out of place. It’s also not just the rooms, the bar and restaurant are also decorated to a high standard. All of the staff were amazing, everyone was friendly and very helpful. We were met and shown to our room by David, who carried our luggage to the room. The staff at dinner and breakfast were also excellent, friendly and helpful. The staff always make or break a stay at a hotel and the staff at the Shoregate definitely did everything right and made our holiday perfect. Last, but by no means least, we have to comment on the food. The Shoregate obviously has a talented chef. We ate dinner at the hotel during our first night. The menu was certainly very different to the usual menus. Each dish had been specially designed and put together, and not only looked amazing but tasted amazing also. So many delicate flavors combined together to make the meal an occasion in itself. The breakfast was also fantastic, a full Scottish breakfast sets you up for the whole day. On the second day I had Eggs Benedict, it was a taste sensation. I can’t recommend this hotel enough, just don’t go, when we want...

Excellent hotel, modern, classy imaginative decor. Our room, Room 3 was large, clean and well maintained. Bathroom was huge, spotlessly clean, underfloor heating a nice touch. ||Breakfasts are not for the faint hearted, bring your appetite and don’t worry about eating until dinner. Talking of which, we ate one evening in the restaurant, small but interesting menu. Again portions were generous, no room for dessert unfortunately. Food was delicious and beautifully presented. Our Wednesday evening stay coincided with live music in the bar. Local musicians playing mostly Scottish music. If you can coordinate a stay with one of the sessions then do try. It was a joy to sip a drink and be entertained.||Crail is a lovely wee place. Lots to see in nearby towns. The beach at Elie is gorgeous and we were lucky to have a sunny day. Thoroughly enjoyed our 3 nights at The Shoregate and would certainly...