The Shore Grill and Fish House – good food and friendly service overlooking the Firth

Life is busy. One of my closest friends moved to South Queensferry last year and we haven’t seen much of each other recently. So when I was invited to review The Shore in North Queensferry I knew who I wanted as my dining companion immediately.

Another view of the roast lamb dinner with a teaser of the view in the background.

Another view of the roast lamb dinner with a teaser of the view in the background.

We were early so relaxed in the bar before going to our table. (We’d set out early in case  the road works around the new bridge would bamboozle us – they did and my friend was reminded that I’m a pretty useless navigator since I don’t drive and don’t think in terms useful for driving. With a little help from the restaurant’s website we got there.) We had a view of the Firth of Forth and the new bridge, both looking beautiful in the sunshine. It’s November, so in the hours we sat there, we saw the sun set. The play of light on water, then salmon clouds and finally the lit bridge was gorgeous. Not that we spent all the time looking at the view – there was food to eat and catching up to do.

Salmon, lamb and beef

On Sundays, The Shore has a Sunday roast offer. It includes soup and a roast dinner. My friend, who in her own words “does like a dinner” was instantly sold.

The soup of the day was a smooth and mellow white onion and thyme. I decided to kick off with treacle cured salmon. The salmon was lovely: translucent, cut thick and served with radish, pickled veg and a flax seed crisp. It was lovely.

Treacle cured salmon lit by autumn sun.

Treacle cured salmon lit by autumn sun.

The menu has a range of options from small sharing plates – crab blinis, anyone? – and oysters, to burgers, fish and chips, salads and steaks from the grill.

The roast dinner was very impressive. Two generous slices of lamb, cooked tender and juicy, roast potatoes, a lovely sweet-and-sour red cabbage, beans, gravy and a huge Yorkshire pudding.

I had the sirloin – rare – with Bearnaise sauce and chips. It came with a rocket salad and was perfect. I didn’t need anything more than that. The beef was full of flavour and perfectly cooked. Good meat stands on its own. My glass of Shiraz, full of the flavours of Christmas, was a perfect accompaniement.

Roast lamb dinner, sirloin and chips, perfect posset and sunset over the new bridge.

Roast lamb dinner, sirloin and chips, perfect posset (and hand shadow) and sunset over the new bridge.

Posset and créme brulée

The Shore’s dining room is along the front of the building and has huge windows which lets the light in to the bar at the back. The tables are arranged so that everyone has a good view of the Firth. On Sundays, the mood is mellow and relaxed, people coming together for leisurely lunches and relaxed dinners. We saw families meeting to celebrate a birthday or just take a meal together, couples relaxing, friends, like us, catching up. It’s an open, friendly space with service to match.

For dessert, I went for the lime and blueberry posset. It came decorated with flowers, meringue shards and crumble. The tangy lime and earthy blueberry was delicious. My companion went for the even showier flaming Elvis creme brulée: two pots of brulée, one with syrupy bananas and one rich with peanut butter. A peanut biscuit added texture and crunch. The pots had stopped flaming by the time they got to us (we delayed them by talking about the building of the bridge with one of the servers) but that didn’t stop them from tasting great.

When we could eat no more, we set out in the deepening dark glowing with satisfaction. The staff and kitchen at The Shore did a wonderful job of looking after us and it won’t be long until they see my friend again. She was delighted to have found a new nice place not far from home.

The Shore Grill and Fish House

1HP
Queen Margaret’s Place
North Queensferry
Inverkeithing KY11

Caroline and her friend lunched at the invitation of The Shore.

Last updated by at .

mm

About Caroline von Schmalensee

Cooking, eating and drinking is fun as well as necessary. I do food for fun and I write for a living. Good food makes the world a more delicious and satisfying place. Good writing, meanwhile, can make the world a less confusing place.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.