The Sun Inn at Dalkeith – fabulous pub food by the River Esk

It’s very rare to go to a restaurant these days and not feel there was something that could have been better, perhaps because we all eat out much more these days, and watch too many cookery shows… I blame Greg Wallace! With this dilemma in mind, I have to say that [tweet_box design=”default”]The Sun Inn is one of those rare places where everything was perfect![/tweet_box]

They say ‘At the Sun Inn you’ll get the warmest of welcomes, friendly service and an atmosphere with real character’ and its true! Our food was absolutely faultless and so tasty, the service professional but friendly and the atmosphere first class. Best of all the food is great quality and so reasonable, especially compared with many city centre restaurants. Safe to say we loved it!

The Sun Inn is a beautiful old coaching inn that lies close to the banks of the River Esk in five acres of beautiful wooded grounds is just outside Edinburgh near Dalkeith, and just below a railway bridge arch. It is owned by the same people who have the Potting Shed in town. The Sun Inn is a real family business. Head Chef Ian Minto, is an award-winning cook with a passion for quality and fresh produce. Craig, his son, is the expert ‘nose’ behind the Inn’s exceptional and very reasonable wine list. While mother and daughter-in-law, Bernadette and Jay, bring their inspiration to the décor and front of house arrangements.

We went on a Saturday evening for dinner and were surprised by how busy it already was by 7pm. It’s a lovely country pub with a big restaurant area, open fires, outdoor beer garden and bar. The atmosphere was very friendly and the pub is clearly a favourite with the locals and those in the know! Everyone was chatting away between tables and the staff were so friendly. We were greater by the manager, who took us to our table and explained the menu.

They have a big menu with something to please everyone from fish and chips and other pub classics through to Oysters and borders lamb cutlets, all locally sourced. They also have many options for gluten free and other allergies with the chefs very happy to create for you. The specials menu also included a number of dishes (see the pictures attached!) and some great offers too including an Early bird with 3 courses for just £14 and on the first Wednesday of every month a three course meal with a glass of prosecco just £25 – definitely a good plan for the next ladies night out!

So what did we eat you ask?!

The boy fancied the Moules Marinere (Mussels in white wine and cream sauce) and I went for the Duck Plate which was pressed duck leg, duck liver pate, smoked duck breast and quince jelly, both priced at £7 or £13 for the mussels as a main. I have to say that the mussels were amazing and according to my dining partner the best he has ever had, embarrassingly I had to restrain him from drinking all the juice from the pan! The duck was equally good with the different textures and flavours working well together.

Personally I thought my main course was the star of the show ‘Pan seared Monkfish, wrapped in pancetta with clams, chorizo and broad bean salad’ one of the more expensive meals priced at £17 however there are many options ranging up from just £10 a main course up to a huge rib eye steak with hand cut chips and peppercorn sauce at £22. The fish was cooked well, the meaty flavour of the chorizo complemented it perfectly and I even liked the broad beans. My dining partner opted for the Border’s Lamb Cutlets with braised hogget, dauphinoise potatoes, feta and asparagus (£17) which disappeared impressively speedily too. By this point we were both stuffed and probably should have shared a pudding as the portions are very generous portions, however we are both fatties and didn’t.

The Sun Inn have a good old dessert selection too and also do a soufflé of the day for all you soufflé fiends. On the day we went the soufflé was raspberry and served with a white chocolate ice cream (£7) – it was a huge fluffy delight, as was my Vanilla Crème Brulee (£5) which was served in a big flat dish more like a crema catalana which means you get more burnt sugar crunch!

As you may have guessed we loved our trip out to the Sun Inn and are already planning to head back for their Sunday roast after a walk around the beautiful Dalkeith Country Park.

The Sun Inn, Dalkeith EH22 4TR.

Open Daily for Lunch and Dinner.

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