Romi cooks up autumn on a plate at Opus One

Nov 18 2011 Perthshire Advertiser Friday

EVER since last week’s outstanding meal at Loch Tay’s Ardeonaig Hotel and Restaurant (it’s now up there on my list of top 20 all time great meals), I’ve been in the mood for fine dining with a Gallic twist.

I don’t know if it’s the cold, damp, dark days of winter, but I want fine linen, crystal glasses, great service and flattering lighting.

Not an easy ask in these days of increasingly casual dining.

However, I’m happy to say that Opus One at the New County Hotel fitted the bill – and my mood – perfectly when I visited last Friday.

The kitchen is the domain of head chef Romuald ‘Romi’ Denesle who – surprise, surprise – previously worked as senior sous chef at the Ardeonaig!

And he’s taken their ethos of great local produce and served it up with his own French flair.

With only four choices per course, it’s not a particularly large lunch-time menu, but each dish showcases some of the best ingredients Scotland and Perthshire has to offer.

Not wanting to drink too much at lunch-time (sooo bad for the complexion, particularly since our next port of call was the new medi-spa at McEwens), BFF Jools and I settled for two modest glasses of a deliciously fragrant Chardonnay as we studied the menu.

To start, I ordered the vegetable soup which was deliciously perfumed with rosemary. Served with freshly baked bread and butter, it sharpened the appetite without being too filling. Jools plumped for an unusual dish of creamy spelt risotto studded with wild mushrooms. Again served with home-made bread, this would have made an excellent vegetarian main course.

To follow, the roasted Clash Farm pork belly was autumn on a plate. Beautifully presented on a disc of mashed potato and savoy cabbage, the unctuous caramalised meat was balanced by a sharp plum sauce to cut through the richness.

Meanwhile, Jools chose the lighter option of a poached Coley fillet, which was served with parsley mash, wilted kale and topped with an exquisite mussel and saffron sauce.

Since there’s always room for a pudding, Jools and I ordered the orange curd mousse. Served with a rosewater meringue and plum sorbet (and two spoons), this exquisite little dish was just bursting with fresh fruit flavours. The perfect finale to a lovely meal.

l If you would like the Lady Who Lunches to review your restaurant, please drop her a line at pa@s-un.co.uk.