There’s something about Cullen that makes you feel different.
I don’t know whether it’s the wind blowing the cobwebs away as you walk along the magnificent sands or perhaps it’s the sense of entering a gateway to a new world as you pass under the arches of the towering viaduct built for a railway line long gone.
But whatever the reason, I’ve always loved a visit to this wonderful little place on the north-east coast.
Admittedly, it’s usually been a day trip in summer sunshine so I was unsure what awaited us in mid-January.
But fortune favours the brave and so we headed to Cullen for a short break in a wonderful house overlooking the harbour.
Watching the ever-changing sea and listening to the crashing waves was the ultimate therapy, particularly as we were enjoying the view from a toasty warm vantage point.
We could easily have spent all day gazing out the window, but decided we needed to venture out to eat at some point.
The Seafield Arms
We last visited The Seafield Arms about 20 years ago but had heard great things about it since it had been modernised.
It has been closed for eight of those years but has enjoyed a multi-million-pound transformation into a four star hotel with modern facilities, yet retaining some of the great features of the hotel from its heyday.
As soon as we arrived, we were greeted with a warm welcome and the service remained top-notch throughout our visit.
Not surprisingly, given it was a Monday in January, we were the only people in the restaurant when we arrived but the layout of the tables, intermittently separated with screens, meant we didn’t feel exposed sitting on our own in what was quite a large space.
The food
We didn’t really have great expectations of the food. On our last trip to the Seafield Arms I would have described it as fairly standard family hotel fare – perfectly good but nothing to write home about.
We were more than pleasantly surprised; in fact we were decidedly impressed.
The menu was excellent – long enough to give a choice but short enough to give you confidence this was a kitchen who cared about providing freshly prepared and locally sourced food.
Given our location my husband decided he had to give the Cullen skink a try and he was impressed, both in terms of quantity and quality.
I opted for the duo of scallops with petit salmon and spring onion fish cakes.
I sometimes find fish cakes a little dull – more cake than fish – but that certainly wasn’t the case with this lovely dish, which was beautifully cooked.
The venison loin tasted as fantastic as it looked, according to my husband. He raved about the herb and black pepper crust which he said gave the venison a real kick.
Tempted as I was by the sea bass fillet, I wanted to ring the changes from the fishy starter and opted for a sirloin steak, although the lamb rack looked pretty tempting too.
But I always think a steak is a good way to test how good a kitchen is and they passed with flying colours.
This was one of the best sirloin steaks I have had in many a year and it was cooked to perfection.
The hand-cut chips and battered onion rings were equally impressive and, given the size of the portions, I had to seek help from my husband to finish the chips.
He did not need to be asked twice.
The desserts were delightful – the topping on the crème brulee was very good and the chocolate soufflé was terrific.
If we had one very slight criticism it was that the soufflé seemed a little on the small side compared to the accompanying ice cream and crumb.
After a very pleasant glass of red with the main course, we thought we’d have a look at the extensive whisky and gin list – we were on our holidays after all.
We’d passed the Glenglassaugh Distillery earlier in the day so felt it appropriate to have a dram as it’s not a malt either of us had tried before. We agreed it would definitely be worth repeating the experience.
It was a lovely finish to the meal and we can use a visit to the distillery visitor centre when it reopens as an excuse to return to the Seafield Arms.
The verdict
It is well worth taking a trip to Cullen for a meal here.
The quality of the ingredients was outstanding and there was a real emphasis on local produce, which is always good to see.
The presentation was excellent, with some really lovely touches, and the service was friendly and efficient. We will be back.
Information
Address: The Seafield Arms, 17-19 Seafield Street, Cullen, AB56 4SH
T: 01542 841604
W: seafieldarmscullen.co.uk
Price: £123 for starters, main courses, desserts and drinks for two
Scores:
- Food: 5/5
- Service: 4/5
- Surroundings: 5/5