The Leddie review by Cate Devine

The Leddie, Aberlady

With the current focus in hospitality moving to the quality of service front of house - the director of the Michelin Guide UK recently stated that “the choice of the product is the responsibility of the chef, but the ambience and the presentation of his work is down to service” - I’d say The Leddie is on point.

From the minute we entered the contemporary open-plan lounge of the recently re-opened boutique hotel in Aberlady, East Lothian - all high-end muted greens, blues, dark woods, stone and terracotta - we were struck by the warm professionalism of our welcome. Staff are young, smart and engaging, and it was lovely to be offered a turn-down service, morning newspaper, and a welcome glass of Louis Roederer champagne and homebaked scone to be enjoyed in our room or the lounge. Wow. All part of the service, apparently.

Chef Sean Lund

With views through the well-staffed lounge and dining room from reception, you got the impression of a cohesive team whose attention is trained on the guests. A gentle soundtrack of Dave Brubeck, Otis Redding and Paolo Nutini created a relaxed, sociable mood.

East Lothian is, of course, one of the more affluent areas of Scotland and as Scotland’s Golf Coast has 22 golf courses - which explains why many of our dining companions were players.

Shaun Lund is the new chef here - his credentials include Crieff Hydro, Duchaly Country Estate and Ballathie House Hotel - and his contemporary menu clearly champions local produce: a starter of crispy East Lothian

partridge breast with black pudding came as a trio of wee croquettes cross-crossed with roasted squash purée. It looked pretty on the plate, but I felt the delicate partridge was a little obscured by its crispy coating. But a broccoli, leek and Blue Murder tart lifted the palate with the zingy saltiness of the cheese and earthy greens in delightfully crispy pastry.

Venison

The Belhaven Smokehouse in Dunbar supplied the smoked haddock for my curried kedgeree. Generous flakes of the dry fish were served on top of the flavoured rice and topped with a beautiful orange-yolked softly poached egg. A tasty and unusual way of preparing this on-trend late winter dish.

A roasted loin of East Lothian venison was perfectly cooked - pink in the middle, tender and soft - and served with celeriac, kale, and red wine sauce was quite delicious.

I wasn’t so sure about my dessert of whisky parfait with in-house salted caramel honeycomb and poached early rhubarb. It was an intriguing and unusual idea, but I was too full to appreciate the journey it took me through the maze of sweet, salty, malty, citric flavours and soft, crunchy textures. I much preferred the rhubarb served with my perfectly prepared porridge with Scottish honey the next morning with toast and plum jam made with fruit from a neighbour’s garden. This after a night in a blissfully quiet room that was the height of luxury, helped along by the shot of Glenfiddich 12-year- old that was an unexpected part of the turn-down service.

The Leddie has the huge advantage of location, and not only for golfers. It’s only a few steps away from the stunning Aberlady Bay Nature Reserve made famous by the novelist Nigel Tranter. From the wooden bridge overlooking the salt marsh and sand dunes, we saw redshanks, egrets, curlews, widgeon and

skylarks. Over the three-mile round walk to Gullane Point, we spotted woolly black Hebridean sheep, roe deer and swathes of seabuckthorn bushes, which are native to the area: culinary inspiration, surely, and enough to make me want to return to the lovely Leddie one more time.

The Leddie, W Main Street, Aberlady EH32 0RE (01875 440644). Email: hello@theleddie.com