Karen Murray met Peter Jukes of the The Cellar in Anstruther and discovered just why this seafood restaurant has gained such a reputation

Specialising in seafood, Scottish beef and fine wine, The Cellar in Anstruther is a restaurant for food lovers and in particular seafood lovers. It is therefore not surprising it was voted the UK Seafood Restaurant of the Year by the Good Food Guide this year.

Entering the restaurant through a pretty cobbled courtyard, The Cellar occupies the ground floor of cellar of a family home, but is not subterranean. The cosy lounge area has a comfortable, relaxing atmosphere for sipping pre-dinner drinks and perusing the menu, before entering the dining area.

Voted most romantic restaurant in the UK in the Times Valentine’s Day supplement last year, it is easy to see how The Cellar won this accolade. The exposed beams and subtle lighting make for a warm, intimate atmosphere that certainly allows for gazing into each other’s eyes, while the service is impeccable but not fussy. This all adds to a relaxed, informal dining experience – just what chef/proprietor Peter Jukes and his wife Susan aim to create every evening.

Each customer is treated like a personal guest and as the wine flows, the conversation is easy-going and the food enjoyed with gusto.

The food is of course the main attraction, just as it should be. Peter Jukes bought the restaurant in 1982 and knew immediately from its location near Anstruther’s harbour that the emphasis had to be on local seafood, simply prepared and very fresh. A fellow of the Master Chefs of Great Britain, Peter recognises that food should be in season and as locally sourced as possible. His three AA rosettes just back up what his customers know.

The Cellar’s reputation has grown nationally and internationally over the years with Japanese and American tourists returning each year when they come to play the famous Fife golf courses.

Award winning food writer Joanna Blythman couldn’t praise The Cellar highly enough on a visit. “England has Rick Stein, but Scotland has Peter Jukes,” she wrote.

Seafood is Peter’s passion and it therefore dominates the menu in various tantalising forms such as seared tuna served on crushed olive, garlic and mint new potatoes with spinach and a sweet chilli dressing or caramelised, diver-caught scallops, prawns and mussels, flavoured with herb and garlic butter, served with new potatoes and leaves.

The Cellar’s Fish Soup is a rich crayfish flavoured bisque glazed with cream and gruyere and is simply heavenly. The marinated herring appetiser kicks off the whole seafood theme wonderfully and is Peter’s nod to Anstruther’s illustrious fishing heritage and the heritage of The Cellar itself, formerly both a cooperage and smokery for the herring fishing industry.

However, there are alternatives to seafood, most notably the Scottish beef and while it seems a shame to any seafood lover to ignore the wonderful things Peter does with fish, The Cellar does cater for vegetarians if they phone in advance.
Whatever your choice though, no compromise is made on freshness and the use of locally-sourced, seasonal produce. The locally produced cheese and Fife fruit and veg are a perfect example.

“It is wonderful to have a locally made cheese and to complement it we make biscuits in the restaurant,” says Susan, Peter’s wife who runs the front of house.

She adds that as much as possible is made on the premises, such as the chocolates that accompany the coffee. That is of course point of difference with this fabulous and deservedly popular restaurant.

Dessert is another triumph with the layered terrine of chocolate mousses with orange liqueur custard declared by many to be the most wonderful thing they have tasted.

The wine list is extensive, comprising a huge variety of fine wines to tempt any palette, as well as several sherries and ports, while Taittinger is the house champagne.

The freshly ground rich coffee ends a meal perfectly accompanied by those home-made chocolate petits fours.

This intimate and relaxed restaurant is deservedly popular and reviews are always positive, often effusive. Meeting Peter it is easy to understand why. His passion for cooking seafood exudes and is only matched by his determination to ensure his guests are treated wonderfully. This desire is shared by Susan and while they the restaurant and all it entails with a family life including five children, they somehow manage to keep on delighting customers night after night.

The Cellar only opens for lunch on a Sunday and dinner is from Tuesday to Saturday. It’s always busy so booking is essential.

The Cellar
East Green
Anstruther
T: 01333 310378
www.cellaranstruther.co.uk