How to buck a trend

Sunday 24 June 2012

Last time I reviewed a restaurant in Kilmarnock I caused a mini-stir by upbraiding the council for letting down its citizens with lamentable planning decisions: giving the green light to supermarkets, shopping malls and pedestrianisation that have sapped the life blood from the town centre.

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Restaurant review By Joanna Blythmann

This time, en route to the new Longhouse restaurant, Kilmarnock struck me as a perfect setting for a Ken Loach film, along the lines of the Angel's Share, one that looks at the creative potential of those who have very little to build something positive, if given half a chance.

That infectious spirit of resilience and desire to create beauty greets you at the train station. In contrast to the shopping mall-deadened town centre, it looks like an advert for Britain in Bloom and feels positively rural, evoking the pre-Beeching era, brightly painted, well-maintained, cheery, tidy, bedecked with planters of pansies perfuming the air with their heady scent.Along the road at the Longhouse, the vibe is every bit as upbeat, and unlike the depressed streets outside, positively thrumming with life. The decor at the Longhouse is instantly appealing – a homage to the 1970s – with its nightclub twilight warmed with clusters of low-slung convex copper lights, glittering disco balls and original stone walls juxtaposed with metallic egg box-shaped cladding. The comfortable clubby feeling is enhanced by a tastefully plush carpet, which obligingly absorbs some of the noise, so encouraging conviviality and civilised communication.The second notable virtue of the Longhouse is its highly articulate front-of-house staff. I get the impression that the Longhouse is staffed and trained to a level that allows its employees to charm its patrons. Certainly, we were. When we asked if any ingredients were local, our waitress assured us that many were, then proactively went back to the kitchen to check with the chef, returning to quote chapter and verse. The Longhouse participates in Eat Ayrshire, a local food procurement scheme, so was in the laudable position of being able to tell us with certainty that much of what was on our plates was produced nearby. Waitress number two, more like hostess with the mostess, was yet another charmer, clearly in her element, articulate, quick-witted and funny enough to merit her own stand-up show. Our food at the Longhouse was considerably better than I had expected. The menu is ambitiously large and definitely middle of the road, probably because it caters for a broad church, but there was no sign of sloppiness. Portions are generous, and the prices are moderate to low, with nothing to suggest that this has been achieved by compromising either on ingredient quality, or on cooking effort. A substantial chunk of roast cod fillet, for instance, cooked to pearlescent perfection and served in a light creamy sauce with fresh peas and wholegrain mustard mash, cost only £9.95, tremendous value for prime white fish. Rump of lamb was pricier at £14.95 (not bad though, given that lamb prices have inexplicably rocketed) but it gave me everything I'd look for from Ayrshire's free-ranging sheep: fine-grained, sweetly tender meat with heaps of grass-fed flavour.Mellow, buttery chicken liver pate arrived with red onion marmalade so soft and gentle it swooned. That excellent lamb was flanked by crisp, home-made fried potato wedges with their tasty skin left on, only spoiled by a salty, glutinous brown sauce. The sauce gribiche that came with a very creditable crayfish and lobster fishcake was patently freshly homemade, and simultaneously mellow and eggy, yet lively from the pickle of capers and gherkins.Our rhubarb and ginger stem brulee didn't quite work. The acid in the rhubarb had slightly curdled the custard, and the use of stem, rather than fresh root ginger, added to the overweaning sweetness of the granular, under-dissolved caramel glaze. Given the ubiquity of creme brulee on menus, it's remarkable how few places make a really good one.Money is tight in Kilmarnock, but the buzzy, lively Longhouse has pitched it right, giving people decent food and bags of atmosphere for a relatively modest outlay.The Longhouse130 Titchfield Street, Kilmarnock 01563 535130Lunch £4.95-£32Dinner £9.95-£32Food rating 7.5/10

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How to buck a trend

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