TRAVEL : 24hours of food and drink in Dundee
Welcome to Dundee. I wasn’t very aware of what Dundee had to offer other than it’s a wee city in Scotland, the V&A Museum of Design is located here and it’s home of the famous children’s comic, The Beano.
But like any city, town or region, scratch the surface and you’ll reveal a beautiful wee city that’s under going a make over. It’s bustling with a plethora of great cafes, restaurants, bars and hotels, small businesses are thriving and students are in abundance.
This is a waterfront city that is compact, easy to get around and it’s also filled with the friendliest people I’ve ever come across in a city.
I headed up to Angus, to visit Dundee and nearby Arbroath for 24 hours to see what the area has on offer regarding food, drink and travel. I have to say I was utterly impressed by the impact these places make in the community and how much they champion each other. The collaborations between small businesses warms my heart and it is most definitely felt by the people in Angus as their support has meant that many small businesses were able to pivot during the pandemic and continue to run their business, some even growing.
My first stop on my tour was in Arbroath, with a visit to Sacred Grounds Coffee Company - a speciality coffee roaster based on the banks of the Brothock Burn. Sacred Grounds Coffee is run by 3 partners with Kathryn mainly taking on the public facing role as well as everything else!
Kathryn introduced me to Fatima (who was a right roaster!). Fatima is the roaster in the corner of the room - literally! I was fascinated by the story of coffee beans and the journey that our coffee goes on. Green coffee beans are bought from ethical and sustainable farmers around the world - Ethiopia, Rwanda, Columbia, Peru, Guatemala, Uganda, Indonesia etc and brought to this wee workshop in Arbroath. The beans are then roasted (5kgs at a time) to bring out their hidden flavour - which takes time, experience and skill. But this is what sets Sacred Grounds apart, you can really taste the difference of exceptional quality coffee beans. It makes for a stronger more robust coffee. Delicious.
Sacred Grounds provides coffee beans to any one who wants great coffee.
You will find them at :
Sacred Grounds Coffee, Unit 15, Arbroath Business Centre, 31 Dens Rd, Arbroath DD11 1RS.
follow them on Instagram www.instagram.com/sacred_grounds_coffee_company
TRAVEL - 24 hours of food and drink in Dundee, Scotland
Next up was a visit to Toll House Spirits and the home of Redcastle Gin, Tollhouse Gin, Broughty Ferry Gin and their Spiced Rum. This is a family business run by Fiona Walsh and her sister, Angela Jarron along with Fiona’s husband, John.
Located in an industrial estate in Arbroath, they have a very busy shop, host gin tastings and gin experiences where you can make your own gin as well as their warehouse where all the magic happens.
The distillery is a few blocks away from the warehouse, where product is then bottled, sealed with wax and labelled by hand. It’s wonderful to witness and you can really see the love and attention that goes into creating each and every bottle.
I mentioned collaboration earlier in my post, and Redcastle and Sacred Coffee have collaborated on an incredible new product, their Cold Brew Coffee Rum Liqueur. It is superb and almost has a creamy mouthfeel. You’d be forgiven if you thought you were drinking a cream based liqueur but instead this looks like spiced rum just a little more viscous. Fiona mentioned that these make for a superb Espresso Martini, so guess what I’ll be shaking up this week!?!
Tollhouse Spirits also work really closely with their community, with money from specific bottles of gin sold going to the likes of Arbroath FC and RNLI.
They are all so friendly and chatty that you can easily loose track of time here. They are worth a wee visit and would love to see you.
You will find them at :
Tollhouse Spirits, Unit 18 Matthew Kerr Pl, Arbroath DD11 3AX
follow them on Instagram www.instagram.com/redcastlegin
My accommodation for the night was Sleeperz Hotel right on the waterfront. My initial thoughts about staying above the train station and the noise were soon abated as I never heard a peep, and to be honest, you wouldn’t even know you were in a hotel above a railway station. The rooms are very well sound proofed even when they come with floor to ceiling windows that over look the V&A Museum.
I stayed in one of their Superior Rooms with a king size bed and Google chrome casting availability. The room is sleek and modern, stylish and contemporary with a ‘floating’ bed that was incredibly comfortable.
The bathroom is compact but bright with the BEST shower I’ve had in a long time. Perfect water pressure, hot and just down right braw!
The climate control in the room is super simple and easy to adjust unlike some clunky antiquated temperature control in some hotels. Tea/coffee and biscuits are provided as is plug points next to the bed. The only thing that it is short of is cupboard space, which if you are only staying one or two nights really is no hassle. An open closet/clothing rack is provided as are a chest of drawers.
I was in room 440 which is right at the back of the hotel, in a corner room. It’s a long long long walk from the elevators, but worth it for this view. Pull back the curtains and you’ll see right over the River Tay, the V&A, the RRS Discovery and the Discovery Point Conference Centre.
Pull up a chair, grab a cuppa and watch the sunset, it is the ideal way to ease into the evening.
Personally, I’d skip breakfast here. Although Ross, the incredibly friendly host in the hotel restaurant, is super attentive and wants to make your experience great, he can’t make up for the lack lustre hot buffet food served at breakfast. Breakfast is included with the room rate, but if you MUST have breakfast keep it continental with cereals and some pastries; OR alternatively head out to one of the many lovely wee cafes in Dundee like The Tartan Coffee House. A cosy friendly busy cafe that serves up hefty portions of great food. I went for a sausage and scrambled egg roll, which was scrummy. Their Rainbow Bagels are popular as is their Full Breakfasts and Smashed Avo & Eggs on Toast. They also have a full vegan, vegetarian and gluten free menu available.
You’ll find that at:
The Tartan Coffee House 53 Perth Rd, Dundee DD1 4HY. Follow them on Facebook www.facebook.com/tartancoffeehouse
Unfortunately, there is no parking at the hotel but they do have a large multi-storey car park about 5 minutes walk away from the hotel and if you get your parking ticket validated at the hotel, it will take 25% off your parking fee. It cost me around £7.50 for overnight parking here.
You will find them at:
Sleeperz 2 S Union St, Dundee DD1 4BF www.sleeperz.com/dundee/roomz
This room costs £89. They also have fully accessible rooms with audible and visual alarms next to beds and WC, interconnecting doors to provide suite facilities for carers, family etc and disable access. I have never seen this in a hotel before and I highly applaud it. Wheelchair accessibility is so important.
As for eating out, you will be spoilt for choice.
For dinner I headed to Vandal and Co. This is a 3 minute walk from the hotel and they serve up some mighty fine burgers! Read my review HERE.
You will find them at:
Vandal and Co, 22-26 Exchange St, Dundee DD1 3DL www.vandalandco.com
After dinner drinks was at The Wine Press. I love this place and so wish we had one here in Edinburgh! (or maybe we do and I need to find out about it). The Wine Press have a fancy machine called the Enomatic Wine Dispenser and when I win the lottery I want one installed in my home!
Essentially its a cabinet filled with a selection of white and red wine bottles. You purchase a pre paid card to your required amount, slot it into the machine and choose the wine you would like to taste. Hold a glass up to the spout and it pours a tasting quantity of wine into your glass - I’d say about 3-4 sips worth. Each tasting glass costs approx £1.50 (some are cheaper some are more expensive) but you get the idea. This is a fantastic way to discover new wines that you wouldn’t otherwise choose or taste and if you happen to love a specific wine, then you can purchase a full glass or a bottle. Or just continue tasting all sixteen wines!
You will find them at:
The Wine Press, 16 Shore Terrace, Dundee, DD1 3DN www.thewinepressbar.co.uk
The Wine Press is dog friendly and they also serve incredible looking platters.
The following morning, I only had an hour or so before heading home to Edinburgh. The V&A Museum of Design was right opposite my hotel and they had an exhibition I wanted to see, the very colourful Yinka Ilori: Listening to Joy exhibition. The V&A has free entry and its packed with some exceptional design exhibitions that’s worth visiting. Find out more here.
I had one more stop to make before driving home and that was to find a Fisher and Donaldson and buy their famous Fudge Doughnut. IYKYK. Its a must! They have three outlets in Dundee so there is no excuse.
Dundee is definitely a gem and it’s time to put Dundee on your map.
For more info on Dundee visit www.visitdundee.com