It’s not often you leave a restaurant feeling like you’ve discovered something special.
Having spent my whole life in Fife, I like to think there isn’t much I couldn’t tell you about the place. Particularly when it comes to the great food it has on offer.
But a visit to The Dean Park Hotel in Kirkcaldy surprised me in all the right ways.
The Dean Park Hotel
Opened in the 1970s, the hotel is a real Fife institution and has hosted many family gatherings over its lifetime.
It recently changed ownership, with husband and wife duo Colin and Margaret Smart purchasing the venue in 2019 with a promise to invest heavily in a new spa and hotel extension.
I was intrigued to see how the changes were shaping up, and my sister’s 21st birthday seemed like the perfect opportunity to visit.
The new owners have clearly been hard at work since taking over; with new, modern décor throughout and a busy programme of events.
It gives the venue a really fresh, lively feel and it’s easy to see a lot of thought has been put into the work.
The venue was busy as we arrived with a wedding reception in full swing, and we immediately made our way to the Grande, the more formal of two restaurants at the hotel and were seated after a few minutes.
The large dining area itself is well put together and it was nice to see quite a few tables were occupied when we visited on a Saturday evening.
We were seated in front of the large bay window and one of the front of house team gave us our menu and took a drinks order.
The food
The hotel boasts MasterChef: The Professionals quarter finalist Morten Rengtved as its executive chef, a real coup for the venue.
A quick glance at the menu and it’s immediately clear a great deal of thought has gone into what’s on offer.
Cleverly put together with a range of exciting dishes, the menu stands out as something different on the Fife-food scene.
I loved the addition of a small map which shows where different ingredients had been sourced from. It’s a nice touch and demonstrates how good Scottish produce can be.
As ever, choosing which starter to plump for was a challenge for me with options like tartar of beef and lemon sole with spinach mousse and confit fennel.
The friendly staff member who took our order recommended the twice baked St Andrews cheddar soufflé, which my sister went for, while I opted for the langoustines on toast.
First up though was the pork belly and black pudding canape, the only downside of which was that there wasn’t more of it, and freshly baked smoked cheddar bread with butter.
After our starters arrived I had slight food envy over my sister’s cheddar souffle which looked absolutely gorgeous.
It was served with a cheese sauce, chives and truffle and smelled incredible. Hannah really loved it, and said the sauce was to die for.
My langoustine on toast did not disappoint however and was presented like a work of art with brown shrimp and compressed and pickled cucumbers.
It also came with a well-flavoured dill emulsion that brought the dish together expertly.
For our mains, choices on offer include seaweed butter roasted cod with texture of Jerusalem artichokes and shellfish cream.
There is also a vegetarian option of roasted cauliflower with green lentil dhal.
I was interested to see how the kitchen team made their steaks stand out from other restaurants, so ordered a flambe fillet steak Diane (£15 supplement).
Meanwhile, Hannah chose the wild Glenfeshie venison loin which came with salt baked celeriac, walnuts, roasted fig and spiced game sauce.
We also ordered two sides to go with our mains – charred broccoli and truffle and parmesan chips.
I ordered my steak medium-rare and when it arrived it was definitely closer to rare than medium, which suited my tastes but is worth bearing in mind if you prefer your meat more well done.
It was served with a ricotta gnocchi, tomato, mushroom duxelles and burnt onion puree.
I do find steak can be a hit-or-a-miss when it’s ordered from a busy restaurant, but my fillet was cooked without fault and is easily one of the best I’ve ever had.
The Diane sauce was well flavoured but the unexpected highlight of the dish for me was the burnt onion puree and mushroom duxelles.
Both tasted fantastic and really made the dish stand out as different from what you might get elsewhere.
Hannah was absolutely delighted with the venison, which she devoured, and said it was melt-in-your-mouth tender and very juicy.
She also really enjoyed the spiced game sauce, which was served separately, and smelled delicious.
Ahead of my beef arriving I did ask the server to recommend a glass of red wine which would pair well with it, but unfortunately it didn’t arrive until a good while after our mains were served.
The verdict
The food at the Dean Park Hotel was absolutely flawless.
The new owners are clearly making their mark and meeting their commitment to invest and grow the venue.
Head chef Morten and his team have succeeded in creating a really ambitious menu which more than delivers.
It was no surprise to hear shortly after my visit that the hotel had secured two AA rosettes after a recent inspection.
They will doubtless come to the attention of other best-food guides in the years to come.
The menu is also very fairly priced, with two courses for £32.95, or three for £42.95, impossible to complain about when the food is as good as it is.
While there was one or two areas where the young front of house team could look to improve in order to really shine, the service overall was great and the staff attentive and knowledgeable.
As part of the work the new owners might want to reconsider the layout of the reception and restaurant areas.
It was a little noisy at points due to the reception, and there was a lengthy queue to use the bathroom.
Alasdair is a journalist with The Courier’s Live Team in Dundee. He covers breaking news across Tayside and Fife.
A proud Fifer, he loves sampling the wide range of food and drink the Kingdom has to offer.
Information
Address: Dean Park Hotel, Chapel Level, Kirkcaldy, KY2 6HF
T: 01592 261635
Price: £111 for two starters, two mains, two sides, three soft drinks and a large red wine.
Scores:
- Food: 5/5
- Service: 4.5/5
- Surroundings: 4/5
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