Courier Country has produced some pretty famous faces over the last few centuries. Some have had statues erected to them, others have buildings named after them but I discovered this week that I am not yet done learning about Dundee’s past.
Daisy Tasker started working at the Baxter Brothers’ jute mill on Constable Street when she was just 14 and organised many social events for the workers, including tea dances and dinners out.
So no doubt she would be proud that her old place of work is now a hotel, bar and restaurant, encouraging people from near and far to socialise in her honour. I’m sure she would be prouder still that the restaurant is named after her.
The newly refurbished Hotel Indigo has transformed the dilapidated building into a modern hotel with an industrial, slightly edgy feel. The dining room still bears the arched, bare brick high ceilings, and the commercial piping, although new, seems to fit right in to the scene.
Enormous lamp shades hang above some tables while others are encased in velvet banquettes. The actual bar resembles cardboard tubing and the whole room has a lovely simple yet classy New York loft feel to it.
A friend and I had booked to grab a bite to eat before we hit the cinema one weekday evening. We needn’t have bothered as there were only two other tables eating during our visit. This doesn’t make for a great atmosphere although the lighting was soft and there was a lot to look at.
The website boasts of its twist on Scottish cuisine and of course local sourcing. The menu is compact but with some interesting items. Ordering drinks was fairly laborious as a large glass with a J20 topped up with soda was seemingly complicated and despite having Aperol on the drinks menu, the barman had to be consulted before we were permitted to order an Aperol spritz.
Despite the long-windedness of the process, the waiting staff were all really pleasant, perhaps just finding their feet in this new venture – totally understandable.
Just as I cannot resist a goats’ cheese salad, my friend Angie cannot see a chowder on a menu and not order it. It had actually started to rain outside which made her choice all the more appropriate and this version was made with Arbroath smokies and charred leeks.
The moment the bowl arrived we exchanged confused looks as the substance within the bowl was standing up all on its own and did not resemble the consistency of chowder at all. It was akin to a rice pudding in texture, complete with skin.
We did have to ask for it to be re-heated as it was only barely warm but on the upside, the flakes of fish were plentiful and full of smoky flavour.
I had chosen the stovies starter as it had intrigued me. A delicate, precisely cut slab arrived which was also only just lukewarm. The inner texture was smooth and had the familiar flavour of stovies but it was the accompaniments that really made the dish come alive. The smear of mushroom puree was deliciously earthy and very intense in flavour and the lovely large caper berries cut through the richness nicely. It almost seemed as though those were the stars and the stovies square was the side but either way, if hotter, it would have been a really lovely starter.
Sirloin steak served medium was on the cards for my friend’s main course and although it was well seasoned and pink in the middle, it was incredibly thinly cut and seemed rather meagre for the £24.50 price tag. The chips were proper, home-made, very thick cut, golden brown and delicious.
I had ordered the sea bream as I adore fennel, which was its companion. The delicate shavings of crunchy, aniseedy root complemented the fish nicely.
The bream itself had such deliciously crispy skin that I ate that too which was just as well as the fillet itself was very small. Crushed new potatoes had been mixed with spinach and the shallot dressing added a very welcomed tartness to the butter. Overall, it was a nice, dainty dish, cooked well.
We waited a long time for food which in a way is a great sign as hopefully this means everything had been freshly prepared. With only two other diners in the room, this had to surely be the case. Our second round of drinks was overlooked but brought very speedily when we reminded staff, and presented with apologies.
We had a rather mixed evening at Daisy Tasker. The food was, for the most part fine but nothing was quite perfect.
As the hotel is not on a pedestrian thoroughfare, it is in danger of being overlooked with so many other new places popping up. I hope that with more customers giving it a chance, Daisy Tasker will be able to settle in, iron out her kinks and return to her glory days of keeping the workers of Dundee socialising once more.
Info
Price: Starters: £5.50 – £8.50; main courses: £12.50 – £21.50; desserts: £6.00
Value: 7/10
Menu: 6/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Food: 6/10
Total: 34/50
Info: Daisy Tasker
Address: 3 Lower Dens Mill, Constable Street, Dundee. DD4 6AD
Tel: 03303 311750
Web: daisytasker.co.uk
