La Potinière
Gullane, East Lothian
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From the outside, this long-serving bastion of old-school Scottish hospitality looks a bit like an eccentrically extended bungalow with bedding plants out front. La Potinière has been serving locals, tourists and the Muirfield golfing set for more than a generation and eating here still feels like being invited into someone’s front room. Traditional niceties and etiquette are strictly observed (‘please switch off all mobile phones’), and no one is about to rush in the stoically traditional dining room – it's all very quiet and very respectful. Keith Marley and Mary Runciman run the place as a double act, sharing the cooking and front-of-house duties with little or no assistance. The short fixed-price menu doesn’t change a great deal from month to month – meals invariably commence with a bowl of Thai coconut soup, before a modest line-up of mainstream staples founded on diligently sourced Scottish produce. A warm mussel and herb tart with fennel and rocket salad might precede steamed fillet of sole filled with smoked salmon and sole mousse or braised lamb shank accompanied by rosemary-scented potatoes, vegetables and braising juices – carefully polished dishes that are guaranteed to soothe and reassure. Desserts are in similar vein, although an apple ‘pizza’ adds some unexpected pizzazz to proceedings. The well-spread wine list (from £26.50) is, predictably, as safe as houses.
