I don’t want to tell you about this place. I don’t want you to know about it. Well, I don’t mind YOU knowing but I don’t want EVERYONE to know. I want, completely selfishly, to keep it to myself and maybe to those and such as those that I really like.
It’s quite tiny, as restaurants go – only 18 covers – and off the beaten track in this attractive Perthshire village. Tthe brightly painted frontage leads into a setting that’s calm and characterful, with classy table settings, napery and interesting decorative notes. It’s small, as they used to say about Dudley Moore, but perfectly formed. A mercifully short menu, indicating that everything is cooked fresh, is obviously carefully planned and balanced, big on imagination, taste and attention to detail.
The Apron Stage has been open under its current ownership for just over a year now and it’s obvious that it has already built up a faithful clientele. It’s open from Wednesday to Saturday for dinner and on Friday and Saturday for lunch, with Sunday openings from 12 noon to 5pm – check those out just to be sure.
On a pleasant spring Friday evening, as I wasn’t driving, I sampled one of the half dozen or so cocktails on offer – a Bramble, featuring gin, lemon juice and crème de cassis (£5.25) – and it certainly worked for me. My husband, who had drawn the short straw on this particular outing, enjoyed a bottle of BrewDog Nanny State non-alcoholic beer (£2.95) with as good a grace as he could muster, a good choice for the designated driver.
Service, by owner Graham, was excellent – informal, yet well-informed and taking extra trouble to ensure his guests, known or unknown, were happy and comfortable. First of all came plenty of two kinds of beautiful homemade bread, wholemeal and plain, nutty and crusty, from Casella & Pollegato in Perth.
The wee dipping saucer of oil and vinegar was made something special by the use of rapeseed oil and the addition of a reduction of redcurrant jelly to the balsamic which made it thicker and oozier on the bread. This kitchen obviously thinks about what it’s putting on the table, right down to the finer points.
Local produce is a feature throughout the menu. You might ask where that isn’t claimed these days? But here, local means literally round the corner, with meat from T L Stevenson of Stanley, including memorable black pudding. Graham reckons it’s every bit as good as the justifiably famous Stornoway version, as do many of his clients. And I’m now a convert. I nicked a bit of my husband’s portion from his perfectly cooked starter of seared scallops, cauliflower puree and cider sauce (£6.95) and it was soft-textured, rich and savoury.
I chose the sweet potato, carrot and ginger soup (£4.15) and it looked and tasted stunning, with a lovely smoothness and a dark, almost meaty colour coming from the use of purple heritage carrots
Mains (from a choice of four) were my slow-cooked pork belly (£16.75) and my husband’s oven-roasted monkfish with sautéed new potatoes (£17.95). The pork came with dauphinoise potatoes, little balls of baked apple and more black pudding, this time encrusted with panko crumbs (Japanese-style bread flakes) and a port reduction. It was truly succulent, with more meat than you often find on this cut and a really good crackling that was crunchy without bending the cutlery or endangering the molars.
The monkfish portion was generous and the pea, pancetta and cabbage cream was hearty and full flavoured. Not a morsel was left.
The cheese selection (£6) was tasty but not inspired, including red Orkney, Highland brie, Stilton and smoked applewood with chutney, oatcakes and sesame biscuits; my elderflower posset with strawberry puree and shortbread discs (£5.95) was the perfect pudding – sweet but tangy, full of zing and creamy on the palate.
Very good coffee was served with really intensely chocolatey (of course, homemade) petit fours.
A flagon of water was provided as a matter of course and we unashamedly bagged the last bottle of the wine special – a Domaine Bonnard Pouilly Fume 2014, at £22. The wine list, like the rest of this operation, is compact but it looked very well chosen and our selection certainly hit the spot – dry, flinty yet fruity and more than able to live with the strong, dense flavours of our main courses.
Altogether, this was a really enjoyable experience, several cuts above what I was expecting – unpretentious but often inspired flavour-oriented food shown off to excellent advantage.
The only trouble is, if I tell you any more, I may have to kill you…
Info
Price: Starters £4.15-£6.95; mains £12.95-£17.95; desserts around £6.
Value: 8/10
Menu: 9/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Food: 9/10
Total: 44/50
Info: The Apron Stage
Address: 5 King Street, Stanley, Perthshire PH1 4ND.
Tel: 01728 828888
