Emma Family-owned restaurant with a Mediterranean influence
We previously wrote about the opening of Jack ‘O’Bryans’ in Dunfermline and now we were visiting to experience the food and drink for ourselves. The restaurant is family-run, Bryan & Michelle Coghill are working with their son Jack and future daughter-in-law Sarah across both the front of house and kitchen.
Jack ‘O’Bryan’s can be found just beside Pittencrief Park on Chalmers Street in the centre of Scotland’s newest city. There is an outdoor seating area to the side, beside the park, for those sunnier days. Seeing as this is Scotland, in August, we headed inside!
Inside Jack ‘O’Bryan’s
The interior of the restaurant is a mixture of rustic and modern decor – wood and velvet mix seamlessly together with traditional stone walls.
Throughout the space, you will no doubt notice the family at work not only around you but on the walls as well.
Lunch Menu at Jack ‘O’Bryans, Dunfermline
We ate from their lunch menu which consisted of bread, two plates and a side for £18.
We began with two cocktails, Peachy, which was very peachy; and Wild Tea, which was like a French Martini.
There are lots of Spanish influences on the menu starting with the bread, which came with a creamy aioli and a zingy Mojo Verde, which almost made us think we were back in the Canaries.
The dishes came out as and when they were ready, so a flurry of dishes kept us going. First up, staying with Iberia, we have Patatas Bravas – fried potatoes with mojo picante and aioli. The mojo could have been a bit spicier for our liking, so would have benefited from some more pimenton.
Sweetcorn ribs with house Mexican seasoning, honey glaze and aioli. For us, this is the best way to eat sweetcorn as it seems to result in less sweetcorn stuck in your teeth, and it’s a lot more dainty to eat than dribbling kernels all over the place! These were crisp ribs with a rich cumin taste.
We also ordered the day’s special, which was halibut tacos – big meaty chunks within a crisp batter and surrounded by drops of flavoured sauces and fresh ingredients.
Cauliflower and pesto – roasted cauliflower with basil pesto and parmesan. Cheesey umami tastiness. We will certainly be trying this at home.
Burnt ends roast beef – tender meat on top of chargrilled bread, crispy onions and pepper sauce making this a sandwich worthy of ‘Desperate Dan’.
Monkfish – crispy monkfish tempura, straw fries and curry sauce. More huge chunks of fish. Big meaty slices of monkfish coated in a light batter atop addictive straw fries and a suitably mild curry sauce.
Morcilla black pudding – Spanish black pudding with caramelised onion and apple. The sweet sauce brings out the best in the black pudding. Moist black pudding with a hint of spice, if you can, keep a slice of bread from earlier for scooping some of the sauce.
Funnily enough, there is always room for dessert. I was struggling so I limited myself to the coffee/chocolate combo. Jack’s chocolate box is a choice of tea, coffee or hot chocolate with either 4 or 6 handmade chocolates.
As you can see below, it is indeed served in a box and I enjoyed flavours of cinnamon bun, mint after dine, sticky toffee pudding and lemon and blueberry.
Mark picked the Burnt Basque Cheesecake straight away. A proper cheesecake served with plentiful Scottish strawberries, strawberry sorbet, mint and shortbread.
P.S. you can also buy their artisanal chocolates to take away…
Verdict
Dunfermline recently became Scotland’s newest city so it is befitting that it should now have a restaurant to rival the best from the other cities of Scotland.
Jack ‘O’Bryan’s is a classy affair with a modern unpretentious air, great service and food that looks too good to eat. We enjoyed every course, all well-cooked and tasty. The cocktails were excellent as well. The only things to improve on were the patatas bravas, which could have had more of a kick and the bread was simply fine but not amazing.
Spanish food is one of our favourites, having spent many happy holidays there, but it tends not to get the same love as Italian food here so it was unexpected and welcome to find things such as mojo picante and aioli on the menu, amongst a number of other Spanish-influenced dishes.
Both male and female toilets were checked on our visit and were in good working order.
We would happily return for a meal here again.
Where to find Jack ‘O’Bryan’s
Jack ‘O’Bryan’s, 5 Chalmers Street, Dunfermline, KY12 8AT
&nbs
