We'll end up much later at The Station Bar, driven there by Gibbo in his Victoria Beckham car whose sat-nav will guide us seamlessly to it rather than shunting us, as it does now, around tight corners, up lanes and on to darkened fields until The Grange Inn eventually pops up before us.

We'll be warmly met and whisked along a cluttered corridor with seats and bench perfectly placed - it seems - for staring at a blank wall. We'll walk into an empty but cosy bar where the confident, chatty young staff will light the coal fire while we peruse the menu and mention the referendum, and we will then be summoned for dinner just as the flames begin to flicker.

We'll go into an almost uncomfortably hot dining room with stone walls and sea paintings, where the arrival of an amuse bouche of cold smoked venison on a light and shredded carrot and coriander salad will puff away the dangerous spectre of sandal-wearing Unionists, the siege of the BBC and even the puzzling issue of online trolls. Then the meal will really begin.

Starters will arrive on oblong plates, scattered prettily with herbs, pooled with oils and dressings and sprinkled with local cheese. A confit of plum tomatoes and herb crowdie with toasted quinoa here, a pressed ham hock and duck terrine with apple and mustard dressing there and an escabeche of mackerel with shaved fennel, dill and lemon for me. These descriptions don't do them justice, so dazzling are they to the eye.

We'll poke forks into Goughie's crowdie and agree it's no vegetarian paean; try Gibbo's terrine and note its dense but complex taste; and I'll marvel at the lightness of the pickled mackerel while wondering if there's any way to avoid the skin bagging up as it inevitably does. We'll sit back impressed after spooning up an amuse bouche of spicy cider and cinnamon jelly only to realise, what seems like moments later but must have been ages, that we have finished the main courses. And with hardly a word mentioned between us.

Spooling back to when we were sitting in the bar earlier, we had all come to a kind of communal blank when turning the page of the menu to look at the main course choices. Sirloin, lamb, salmon and chicken. Somehow they had seemed so ordinary, so dull, so blandly sourced after the appetising starter list. Were there speech bubbles above our heads they would all have said "yawn", yet the cleared plates say it all.

The sirloin comes in thick, pink and delicious slices, the beer-braised blade that comes with it so deeply flavoured it's like chocolate, garlic mash the perfect accompaniment. But the best thing, I realise as I'm still classily scraping the plate with the edge of my fork long after the plate is cleared, is the honey roast mushroom jus. Again the dishes are well presented, pea shoots tossed lightly over plates, sauces pooled generously - a saffron and orange jus with the salmon, rosemary with the lamb.

When we're in The Station Bar later tonight, Gibbo's dad's pal Ronnie will tell us a story of eating at a fine dining restaurant and then having to cross the road to have a fish supper because he was so hungry. The Grange Inn bills itself as fine dining, but these are not meagre dishes a la Victoria Beckham, nor are they as confused as her car designs. They're bigger, more robust and might make Michelin inspectors pause for thought one day, being exceptionally well put together and packed with flavour.

For dessert there's a great honeycomb ice-cream, which probably technically shouldn't accompany the beer and date pudding - much better than it sounds - and dark chocolate and blood orange ganache. At £38 for three courses these are fine dining prices, but well worth it, we say as we head into the cool night.

The Grange Inn

Grange Road, St Andrews (www.thegrangeinn.com, 01334 472670)

Menu

The choice of starters is dazzling - escabeche of mackerel, anyone? - while the mains are less interesting, but there's still plenty of choice. 4/5

Atmosphere

Stone walled dining room, slightly cluttered entrance and dining room very warm when we were there, but it's a pleasant country setting. 3/5

Service

The staff are not just young and enthusiastic but helpful and knowledgeable too. Couldn't find fault with them. 5/5

Price

Three courses come to £38; £30 for two on a Friday night turned out to be very good value given the quality of the meal. 4/5

Food

Crosses the line between fine dining and country restaurant when it comes to portion sizes. Some fabulous flavours and excellent cooking. 8/10

TOTAL 24/30