I spend way too much time on social media or surfing the web, reading about food and drink, which leads to me planning where I want to visit next.

My journey in food will be one that will never end and I am constantly striving to dine in different places.

For more than a year now I had been gazing longingly at pictures of dishes posted by the Airlie Arms Hotel in Kirriemuir, but for one reason or another I had never got round to visiting until recently.

Kirrie is at the gateway to the Angus Glens and, despite it being January, it was a lovely calm and sunny day when we set off to drive there.

The Airlie Arms Hotel. Image: Mhairi Edwards / DC Thomson

The Airlie Arms is a 15-bedroom hotel in the heart of the town and is easily found.

In the restaurant lounge area they pay homage to Kirriemuir’s most famous son, writer JM Barrie, with a lovely portrait on the wall of the man who brought us Peter Pan.

There are plenty of tables and the hotel was doing quite a number of covers when I visited with my daughter, Cari, which is always a good indication the offering is ticking the right boxes.

Part of the dining area with the portrait of JM Barrie. Image: Mhairi Edwards / DC Thomson

It was interesting to see they have some great deals during the week, such as 25% off pasta on Monday, two battered fish and chips for £24 on Tuesday, 25% off burgers on Wednesday and they have now introduced a Sunday brunch which looks delicious.
The hotel also has a small and intimate function room on the first floor.

As well as an attractive menu, they have an excellent range of gins and malt whiskies, while cocktails also feature.

And if you aren’t in the mood for a full meal you can have coffee and cake, or a breakfast roll – and lighter bites are available, too.

The food at Airlie Arms Hotel

After our drive through Angus to the hotel, I was famished and opted to start with haggis bon bons (£6.95).

Five lovely homemade bon bons were garnished with some pea shoots.

Haggis bon bons. Image: Mhairi Edwards / DC Thomson

The peppery haggis was encased in some very crunchy breadcrumbs, which gave a fantastic crunch and went perfectly with the mustard mayonnaise that accompanied them.

This was the ideal appetiser and they were very tasty indeed.

Cari chose not to have a starter, instead deciding to have a dessert later.

Brilliant batter

For my main dish I had plumped for battered Arbroath haddock and chips (£13.95), mainly because I had seen a picture of it on their social media and it looked incredibly appetising.

Was I to be disappointed? Not in the slightest.

The beautifully cooked meaty fillet of haddock – which flaked perfectly as I cut through – was coated in one of the crispiest batters I have experienced and I savoured every mouthful.

Arbroath haddock and chips. Image: Mhairi Edwards / DC Thomson

There was tartar sauce, but I didn’t use very much as the fish spoke for itself.

The chips were lovely and crispy on the outside and packed full of fluffy potato.

It was a real crowd pleaser and it just shows that sometimes going for a classic really does pay dividends.

Cari loves a burger and she is also a big fan of hunter’s chicken – a hunter’s chicken burger (£13.95) gave her the best of both worlds.

Hunter’s chicken burger. Image: Mhairi Edwards / DC Thomson

The chicken in the burger was lovely, being moist and juicy. The bacon was perfect and both combined well with the barbecue sauce – and there was lashings of it.

The burger was accompanied by skin-on fries that were very crispy and moreish.

I was extremely full after my fish and chips and didn’t think I could do a dessert justice.

Indulgent dessert

However, when Cari ordered vanilla and raspberry cheesecake with
ice cream (£7.45) I asked our helpful server for a second spoon – in the interests of research, of course.

The homemade cheesecake – which regularly changes – was nothing short of amazing.

The flavours combined brilliantly and the raspberry brought freshness to a
great dessert.

Cari said it was high up on her list of best-ever desserts.

The Verdict

There is something to be said about places that do tasty classic pub grub and the Airlie Arms is in that category.

Their food is very good and it came out in a timely fashion.

Service was impressive with our server being helpful and funny. This definitely enhanced our experience at the hotel.

I hope they just keep doing what they are doing at the Airlie Arms because they do it very well – and I am looking forward to returning to sample other delights from their menu.