Opened in 2018, by the team behind Innes & Gunn, 3 Session Street is a locally owned award winning cocktail lounge serving artisan cocktails, beers and wine. They have also, much to my delight, recently launched their brand new menu, consisting of hearty but more elegant plates to pair perfectly with your drink of choice. We were invited to come along and try out their first ever Spring Menu.
Let’s talk about the menu – it’s not too big, and not too small (just call me Goldie Locks) but for me, that’s a big insight into how the food will be. If it’s too big, you’re likely not getting super fresh food. If it’s too small, you’re almost being told what you’re eating without getting to actually choose. Well, 3 Session Street is the proverbial Baby Bear – they’ve got it just right. Still showcasing their pizzas and burgers, there’s options for everyone. But they also have more classic plates like pork belly, steaks, arancini, mussels and pan seared chicken.
Starting off strong I had their Life’s a Peach cocktail. A lovely little mix of Cognac, Maraschino liqueur, peach schnapps, passion fruit puree and lemon juice, topped with Prosecco. Really fruity and delicious.
Dominic tried their rum based cocktail “28 Days Later”, made with rum, cinnamon syrup and pineapple juice, torched at the table and left flaming for a smoky addition. I can see why this cocktail bar is award winning!
📷 Cocktails📷 Bar
Onto starters and my love of mussels, but dietary intolerance to them strikes again – gutted to not have the scrumptious sounding starter, I went for the arancini. Really impressed with how crunchy yet light the outside coating was, and how light and fluffy the risotto inside was. The sauce below was lovely with strong tomato sweetness, balanced with a little hum of heat.
For my main, I had their pan-seared chicken, a slightly healthier option from their mains. The chicken itself was fantastic, an impressive colour on the outside with soft and juicy meat inside, not overcooked at all! The peppercorn sauce was really nice, not too thick but has a lovely creamy consistency. Served with new potatoes and steamed veggies, this might seem like the sides are a bit basic, but to be honest it was ideal – nothing too fancy and nothing coated in oil or butter. I loved it!
Dominic had the steak and ale pie, with seasoned fries and the same veggies my dish came with. The steak was bloody amazing, so much flavour and gravy with cooked down carrots giving it sweetness throughout. For those of you who get on your high horse about “a pie should be cooked as one” then the pastry which is cooked separately and placed on top might not be to your liking, but that gives a nice crunch to the dish and some flakiness to soak up that amazing gravy beneath.
📷 Starters – Arancini and Beetroot Terrine📷 Steak Pie and Pan Seared Chicken
Also a major shout out for their seasoned fries – these are exceptional, so much salty crunch on the outside (without being burnt!!) with a fluffy centre, absolutely piping hot, I wanted a huge bowl of these to myself. So add these on a side when you visit – you won’t regret it!
Desserts were nice and simple – I had strawberry covered strawberries which were a lovely, healthier end to a hearty meal, while Dominic had their lime panna cotta balanced nicely with fresh berries and a sweet little tuile on top.
📷 Lime Panna Cotta📷 Chocolate Strawberries
We’ve actually previously been for cocktails and pizzas, and were blown away with how good they were. I’ve also done two different cocktail classes with them which were both so much fun! They even do cocktail tea parties – so this is the perfect place to celebrate!
The Verdict
Service 5/5 Drinks 5/5 Food 4/5 Atmosphere 4/5 Value for Money 4/5
Featuring stunning views over the southern bank of the River Tay and specialising in tasting menus, The Newport is my favourite restaurant. Bar none. And although this isn’t my first visit to Masterchef Winner, Jamie Scott’s restaurant, and it certainly won’t be the last, this review covers my favourite dining experience with them on every level.
📷 Views.📷 The Inside Decor.
We had their 8 course tasting menu as a Sunday lunchtime treat that lasted around 4 hours.
The first part of the dining experience consists of “snacks”, four small but incredibly delicious little treats, which are the part of The Newport’s offerings that I love the most. It feels like Christmas morning, guessing what these will consist of and always being blown away by the surprises within.
The first snack was my favourite – a Cep Doughnut, soft dough packed with a sweet mushroom filling, coated in a crunchy sugar – I still have no idea how they balanced the flavours here, who knew mushroom would be paired with something sweet and taste so good? Certainly not me until this punched my tastebuds.
The other snacks included a cheese “jammy dodger” cracker, with a sweet jam and top and creamy cheese filling. A beautiful flaky little tart, made with kohlrabi and micro herbs. Then a barbecued mini roast potato, topped with charred onion skin dusting and served with a homemade whipped soft cheese dipping pot.
Now I know this sounds a little absurd, but I would pay to have these little gems alone, without a quibble. They’re bloody divine! And the great news is that their new Cove Bar actually serves some of these little delights on their menu. So if you want to try them on a tighter budget, you can!
We then got a little breadbasket with multigrain crackers and a thick black garlic spread. As well as a generous slice of The Newport Bakery sourdough and salted butter.
Now onto the 8 course tasting menu. That’s right ladies and gentleman, I’ve already rambled on for 300 words of painful detail on the pre-appetisers. We’ve not even actually started the 8 courses yet…
ONE | ‘Our Humble Onion’ Ever the advocate of no waste, Jamie Scott and his team have taken every single little element of one onion, cooked them in a range of ways to bring out different flavours and textures, all to create one dish. Tasting this dish, you would think this has a plethora of different ingredients within it, but no, it’s literally just onions with some oils and seasonings. Even the onion skin is charred and used on the mini baked potato snack I mentioned earlier. I digress…back to “Our Humble Onion” – genuinely, this was sensational. I really mean it when I say this is the single most delicious savoury thing I have ever eaten, and I’m struggling to actually find the words to describe how incredibly flavoursome the velouté was. Rich, sweet and creamy. I also loved the little theatre addition, with the dish being assembled at the side of the table, taking the top off of the onion, the heart out, before pouring the velouté and oil.
📷 The Humble Onion, Set Up.📷 The Humble Onion, Oil Addition.📷 The Humble Onion, Final.
TWO | ‘Early Autumn Offerings’ The second dish was a wonderful mix of mushrooms on top of root vegetable purée. Seasoned well and full of meaty flavours, this was also slathered in a beautiful duck sauce. Adding to the decadence of this plate of food was a side of brioche style crouton, topped with a rich and ironic duck pate, a slither of cured duck and micro herbs.
📷 Mix Mushrooms on Root Vegetables.📷 Brioche Crouton with Duck Pate and Cured Duck.
THREE | ‘Cullen Skink’ A very posh take on Scotland’s renowned dish, Cullen Skink. Now, let me be clear. If you’re looking for the usual large creamy, thick potato infested bowl of smoky chowder which fills you up by the third mouthful, then this is not for you. However, if you appreciate a bit of fine dining pretentiousness and want the classic stunning flavour of smoked haddock and cream, then you’re in the right place. Using local Arbroath haddock, The Newport have very cleverly compacted your typical flavours of a Cullen Skink into what I can only describe as small cylinder fish cakes (reminiscence of a Thai fish cake where you simply combine the meat of the fish only) this may not sound spectacular, but it certainly tasted so. Served with leek velouté and a crispy potato tuile, the combination of textures and colours added a new dimension.
📷 Cullen Skink, Plating.📷 Cullen Skink.
FOUR | Peterhead Landed Hake Then the second fish dish of the day. A delicate little piece of hake cooked to perfection with a layer of crispy skin, served with a roasted bone cream and herb oil. For additional sweetness, the fish is served with hay baked layered carrot and a smooth spiced carrot puree.
FIVE | Beef Part 1 Onto battle of the beef. Beef Part 1 consisted of a feather blade of beef cooked for whopping 48 hours until fall apart tender, creating a heavenly sauce which coated every bite. Served on a creamy and buttery mash, topped with salt baked celeriac and a crunchy tempura onion ring.
SIX | Beef Part 2 The second beef dish was salt aged beef cooked rare with a homemade tomato puree, sun dried tomatoes, courgette and another delectable sauce. With more of a Mediterranean feel, this was lighter on flavours making it a nice segue into desserts. Although truly delectable, this didn’t compare to Beef Part 1 which I’d genuinely give 10/10. This, I’d maybe give an 8.
📷 Beef Part 1.📷 Beef Part 2.
SEVEN | Newport Fruits The first of two desserts was a stone fruit melba and sweet cicely, layered and topped with a custard style cream and micro herbs. This beautiful little work of art had so much flavour and it almost broke my heart tearing into it!
📷 Newport Fruits, Plating.📷 Newport Fruits.
EIGHT | Apple Souffle Now to the absolute star of the show. This might sound like one hell of a statement, but this was the best dessert I have ever had. I adore apple desserts, but I’ve never had one as brilliantly composed as this. Light as air apple flavoured souffle, risen to an impressive level, topped with a sweet melted white chocolate disc. The top was sliced open at table side where a beautifully smooth apple caramel was poured into the souffle (which didn’t fall when they did this by the way) giving this dessert another level of incredible flavour. To the side of the souffle was a mini apple crumble with ice cream, giving a beautiful much needed crunch to an otherwise soft dish. And of course a sweet vanilla finish from the ice cream rounded the meal off perfectly.
📷 Apple Souffle, Plating.📷 Apple Souffle.
The Atmosphere
The Newport gives you everything you would expect from a fine dining experience; a romantic ambiance, beautiful views – especially if you are lucky enough to be dining while the sun is setting and a balanced smidge of that plate-pretentiousness we all love when exploring a tasting menu, with the added bonus of some table side theatrics.
The Verdict
There’s no plot twist here folks, there’s a reason I started this review off so strongly. From my very first visit back in 2018, The Newport Restaurant remains my favourite restaurant.
Service 5/5 Drinks 5/5 Food 5/5 Atmosphere 4/5 Value for Money 5/5 Overall Rating 24/25
An exciting new bar and restaurant has arrived in Dundee’s Perth Road, offering us locals an elevated gastro style dining experience, alongside finely crafted cocktails and beers. The Maker is situated across the road from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, with an almost Scandinavian feeling refurbishment the art students would be proud of. Pastel colours alongside modern lighting, clashes in a unique, strangely harmonious way with the building’s original classic Victorian cornicing (which The Maker owner, Chris, explained to me they had found boarded up and hidden away while doing the renovation… what a sin it was to hide such stunning architecture).
📷 The Maker – Exterior📷 The Maker – Interior
Owned by Dundee’s independent “engineers of beers”, this is 71 Brewing’s newest venture. Just two weeks after opening, we were invited to try out their food and cocktail menus.
The Cocktails
Let’s start, like we always do, with cocktails. Considering their Spritz Menu princes range from just £4.50 – £6.50 and their cocktails are all under £10, this price point is pretty damn good.
I opted for their Tropical Martini, a gin based mix with lots of bitter tones, as my first drink. Topped with a unique dill oil, I felt rather posh sipping on this. The martini was a little strong for Dominic, who enjoyed their Pornstar Sour, a fresh and citrus cocktail made with vanilla vodka, passion fruit, fizz and egg whites.
We also tried their alcohol-free Sangria after the meal, which was fruity, sweet and delicious. And finally a Bellini from their extensive Spritz Menu; a subtle and tasty mix of the classic peach and fizz. A lovely finish to the meal when you’ve eaten so much that a dessert is completely out of the question…
📷 Bellini and Sangria.📷 Tropical Martini and Pornstar Sour.
The Food
Which brings us nicely onto their food. Being such a lover of recommendations, surprises and tasting menus, one of my favourite things to do on an invite is to ask them to simply bring us their favourites – what dishes are the stars of the menu, what does the chef recommend? Hell, I unapologetically want the best of the best. And boy, did they deliver!
Although void of any cooking, I have to mention their olives. They were quite literally some of the best I’ve ever had. Huge, firm and perfectly balanced in their briny bitterness, these were topped with dried herbs and chili flakes. £4 for this wee pot might seem a little steep, but genuinely it’s not.
They then brought out their pretzel sticks, which came with an unctuous, oozy cheddar and beer fondue at the side. While the fondue was one of the more delicious cheese sauces I’ve had, mainly because of the subtle aftertaste of hops from the beer; I was heartbroken that the pretzels were missing the quintessential chunks of salt that I look forward to most. Perfect for those on a low sodium diet, but devastating for those of you with a slight salt addiction like myself. Taking into consideration these are just £5 though, I can’t complain. The little pot of macaroni cheese seemed to be, rather cleverly, made from that same fondue style cheese and beer sauce that comes with the pretzels, making it rich and decedent – again only £5 for this pot of pleasure.
Our fourth, and very welcomed, small plate was their halloumi fries, the classic 2018 crowd pleaser. But The Maker’s twist on these? A delicious Irn Bru chutney on the side for dipping these crispy, salty, delightful chunks of halloumi into – perfection. £7.50 feels a little steep for “some cheese and chutney” but this is a must try for any Irn Bru fans.
📷 The mix of small plates we shared, alongside our first cocktails.
When they brought us their “Cola BBQ Pork Belly”, I must admit, I was worried. It looked fantastic, chargrilled and vibrant, but the food snob within me cried “Cola? Really?”.
Well, I’m happy to report that I was wrong; this was my dish of the day. Poor Dominic barely got to try a mouthful of this incredible plate of food. The pork is sous vide, making it fall apart tender and soft, then finished on the grill to give it a smoky, barbecue finish pairing nicely with the sweetness of the Cola. Served with a beautiful corn puree, gnarly grilled broccoli and charred corn, all for a reasonable £14.
The second main we shared was their Chicken Gyros which will set you back £15. A thick and fluffy flatbread, topped with herby, impressively soft pieces of chicken, alongside tzatziki and salad. This was a fresh tasting dish if it weren’t for the side of fries it’s served with would be incredibly light.
📷Cola BBQ pork belly with corn salsa, charred corn and broccoli. 📷 Chicken Gyros with tzatziki, salad and fries. 📷 The collection of small plates and mains.
Another huge bonus to note is the food was piping hot, something I really appreciate when dining out – there’ nothing worse than lukewarm plates of food. None of that here!
The Atmosphere
The Maker has a friendly, relaxed atmosphere, the kind of restaurant and bar you can dress casually for lunch, while having some delicious food and drinks. Although we visited during the day, I can see this being a really nice date night spot too – when you don’t want to dress to the nines but appreciate good food. The team behind The Maker are strikingly friendly, welcoming and we genuinely had a great laugh with them throughout our visit.
The Verdict
The Maker feels like one of those places you’ll default to on a weekend, to have some drinks and treating yourself to some tasty nibbles with friends. The team have successfully elevated your typical gastro pub food, with unique and delicious twists on some classic dishes, all wrapped up in a nice “chill out” setting.
We also noticed they have a great range of gluten free options on their menus, as well as catering for vegetarians and vegans.
Their diverse range of cocktails – and of course their craft beers – gives everyone something they’ll love. What a great addition to Dundee’s ever growing food scene.
Service 5/5 Cocktails 4/5 Food 4/5 Atmosphere 4/5 Value for Money 4/5
LENNOX EATS 