One of Tayside’s most renowned butchers, Colin Nicoll, has announced the launch of his first steakhouse restaurant.
Nicoll’s Steakhouse will open its doors to the public on Princes Street in Perth on Saturday (July 24), and will showcase the meat directly from Colin’s butchery suppliers to his shops in Stirling and on Methven Street in Perth.
Previously owning shops in Alyth, Ladybank and Edinburgh under the name of Colin Nicoll Butchers, Colin is excited to be opening his newest venture, which came about after a conversation with a local chef and his regular customers.
His partner, Kirsty Burns, will also be involved in the 100-seater restaurant.
He said: “We spoke about the idea of having a restaurant briefly and it sowed the seed. A lot of our customers to the butchers’ shop mention that there isn’t a steakhouse in Perth.
“The new venue, which I am currently renting, will be associated with the butchers as all the meat will be coming from both shops.
“We’re going to have meat on display in the restaurant as well – we’ve got three cabinets that we’ll have produce in. We’ve refurbished the building and plan to have it finished by the opening on Saturday.
“Kirsty, my partner, will also be involved and doing whatever’s needed just like me, whether that’s front of house or washing dishes.”
Customisable steak
The steak counter will allow customers to view the different cuts of meat, as well as portion size.
For customers wanting a different size cut of beef, Colin will be on hand to ensure the meat is tailored to their liking and to answer any questions about where the food has been sourced from.
He added: “We can trace the provenance of our meat from the farm right all the way through because we are using the same suppliers as our shops. We get certificates in the shops and are able to tell the customer exactly what farm their meat came from and when.
“We’ve got a chef and kitchen in place, as well as a custom-made steak counter. With having the steaks on show, if people come in and they want a bigger steak then I can cut it right there and then for them. We’ve got an area set aside for doing just that.
“It’s within the restaurant where we can actually slice the meat in front of customers and we can see what’s going on.”
Booking up fast
Having won numerous awards throughout his career and running the butcheries at House of Bruar and Balgove Larder in the past, bookings for Colin’s restaurant have been coming in fast.
For diners still looking to book, Colin says they should visit the Facebook page and send a message that way, while a restaurant and online booking system is still being set up, or customers can call the restaurant on 01738 639 688.
Colin continued: “At the moment customers can book a table via Facebook messenger as we’ve set up a Facebook page specifically for the steakhouse. People have been booking through there and we’ve got a lot who have pre-booked already.
“We put up a post just last week and had 100 bookings for the weekend in one day.
“In one sitting we could probably take about 100 people at a push but we are staggering the booking times and hopefully we can get more than 300 in throughout the course of the weekend. Though, the restaurant can seat 100 people at once.
“Our opening hours will be Wednesday to Saturday, noon to 10pm and Sunday will be 10am to 9pm. We’re open for breakfast on Sundays and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.”
Nicoll’s Steakhouse opens at 5pm on Saturday July 24, with Murray Davidson from St Johnstone FC expected to help officially open the premises. Menus are yet to be confirmed but will be available from Friday on the restaurant’s Facebook page.