“We only use ethically sourced ingredients from local farmers and producers. I’m proud of the mutually beneficial relationships I have built over the past six years with all our suppliers, from small dayboats fishing for mackerel in Dunbar to our organic farmer in East Lothian. My job, as a chef, is to take the best produce I can source and handle it with care and respect to give the diner a true sense of place.”

Dunbar dayboat mackerel tartare with Gullane pepper dulse and fennel cracker with green gooseberries; Grierson’s organic mutton loin with asparagus, cucumber, pink fir apple potatoes, yoghurt, and groats; and smoked hay with chocolate and rye teacake.

A restaurant that is both quirky and outstanding. A haven of good practice and a destination of pilgrimage for foodies across the country, most of them drooling over the famous mutton loin, which they use here for its more intense flavour and better marbling than the younger, more popular lamb. The whole carcass is delivered from an organic farm in Perthshire, then butchered in-house so the entire animal can be used. Preserving the skill of whole-animal butchery is extremely important here. The meat is cooked over charcoal, and served with freshly-dug pink fir apple potatoes from East Lothian, cooked in the embers. A simple garnish of new-season cucumbers, slightly salted, adds freshness, and homemade yoghurt introduces sharpness. One of the great platefuls of the world.