Easter, naturally, at East Pier, Fife & Spry , Edinburgh

Another escape to the East Neuk, where, on Saturday, we made a significant dent in the wine cellars of The Peat Inn to accompany some super-fancy belated birthday dining. Owner Geoff Smeddle is now ready to hang up his apron and enjoy some family time, so we joined friends for what might be a final time with Geoff at the helm before the right contender is found to take his place and carry forward its formidable international reputation.

Our foodie chums were up for more the next day, arriving with the best kind of precise sharpener, a 2016 Taittinger, as prelude to a (slightly) less alcoholic Easter Sunday at Futtle, of organic Fife brewery fame, whose latest venture is in East Pier Bar & Restaurant, St Monans, formerly East Pier Smokehouse. (They’ve also recently opened a Dundee bar.)

Here, we tasted several pretty shades and differing clarities of natural/very low-intervention wines, thanks to the help of our host, a passionate natural wine evangelist. ‘Normal’ wines are eschewed here (though they’ll sell you one of their own excellent beers if orange wine isn’t your thing!). Whatever your poison, all arrive in cute chunky recycled-glass tumblers.

My favoured pairing was a thankfully low-alcohol ‘rosé’ - a spritz light red—which worked well with soft, silky-sweet fresh local lobster, enjoyed under the envious beady stare of quayside seagulls. This came with too-good-to-share toothsome crunchy chips and a generous tasty splurge of homemade tarragon mayo. We also sampled the first of the Fife asparagus, delicately complemented with a terrific egg-&-greens gribiche dressing, & Futtle beer-battered fish.

Back in town, the ‘natural’ theme is set to continue, as our book & wine club’s meetup to kick off the post-Easter week is at Spry Wines on Haddington Pl. Spry has been smashing it here for six years now, and, as well as natural wines, they carry a few more familiar/lightly filtered organic/biodynamic wines from good small producers.

We’re kicking it back up a gear from rustic to metropolitan, as their sleek and seductive small plates are reliably divine, ours this week heavily influenced by a productive spring weekend’s foraging, such as fine ravioli in buttermilk sauce cut w wild garlic oil, with a textural counterpoint of crisply toasted almonds. Several small plates ensue which include another lovely seasonal iteration of that asparagus & gribiche combo.

A moreish Crémant de Jura and an Instagrammable icy mini Martini with lemon oil smoothly give way to an Assyrtiko from the Cyclades. Only the threat of travelling to a birthday lunch the next day holds us back, but not before comparing two desserts. The oat pannacotta with hazelnuts comes close, but the winner is a ‘Camembert Basque cheesecake’ with pink rhubarb and meadowsweet ice cream. The latter hits a unique balance between salty-savoury and acid-sweet, and would wow any Michelin inspector.

Can enjoying food and wine get any better? We’ll give it a fair go next month on our tour of the Basque Country!

Futtle

Futtle Brewery & Taproom, Bowhouse, St Monans, East Neuk of Fife, KY10 2FB

Futtle Bottle Shop & Bar, 40 Commercial Street, Dundee, DD1 3EJ

Futtle Bar & Restaurant, East Pier, St Monans, East Neuk of Fife,KY10 2AR

Open

Brewery Taproom: Thursday, Friday & Saturday 10-4.

Dundee: Wednesday & Thursday 12-8 // Friday & Saturday 12-10.

East Pier Restaurant: Thursday-Sunday Lunches, Friday & Saturday Dinners.

Spry

1 Haddington Pl, Edinburgh, EH7 4AE

Open