Balgove Larder is one of my favourite places to visit near St Andrews. Situated just North of the Home of Golf, the farm shop boasts a hipster's dream of homewares and gifts, it's own butchery, deli counter filled with freshly baked goods and a rainbow of local fruit and veg line the entrance! Shelves are packed with pantry essentials as well as craft beers, whiskeys, gins and good old fashioned Scottish foodie favourites - think shortbread and tablet! Many of them locally made.
A warm and inviting café gives you the chance to sample the goods - a freshly baked bread roll with soup or their very own home reared Balgove beef stew, it doesn't get any more local than this! I recommend a cup of tea and a sweet treat. The scones are lovely and both the fudgey brownies and huge slabs of Millionaire's shortbread are some of the best I have tasted! In the summer, the huge barn outside opens up as a restaurant. From Wednesday to Sunday, Balgove steaks, burgers and sausages are cooked to perfection on the wood fired BBQ and served to casual, communal tables in The Steak Barn.
Once a month however, the Steak Barn is transformed into The Night Market! Each market has a different theme, celebrating the seasons and making the most of Mother Nature's abundant ingredients. We happened to be in the area for the Fire & Meat event in August. Not only did the menu feature an array of meaty dishes, but we were "treated" to a display of traditional butchery skills.
Not for the faint hearted...
A browse around the market saw us sampling various flavours of jams, chorizo, Eden Mill gins and a Forgan's Old Fashioned - I tried my best but I like my cocktails to taste of something other than whiskey! We picked up some of those awesome Balgove brownies, some goats cheese & caramelised onion puffs, flaky sausage rolls and pork and thyme sausages for our breakfast BBQ. Gordon treated himself to a few bottles from St Andrews Brewing Company - his first taste of their craft beer, but definitely not his last!
I purchased some cocktail creations from Eden Mill's mixology project. The Berry Bramble and Citus Fizz are divine! A must for any sweet toothed cocktail enthusiast.
Of course it wouldn't be Dinner Stories without, well, a dinner story! Mouths watering at the thought of all the meaty goodness on the menu, I refrained from ordering one of everything (despite the advice from staff!) and settled on the pulled lamb, ginger, lime and chilli slider. Juicy and flavoursome! The 1/4lb steak & caramelised, peppered onion ciabatta sandwich was also a winner with the other half.
We shared portions of twice fried chips and salty sweet potato fries and I washed mine down with a cup of Pimms while (dad) dancing to live music by the open fire. Props to the band for their awesome set list - hearing Big Yellow Taxi and The Blower's Daughter made my night!
If you find yourself in the Kingdom of Fife this summer, make sure you get The Steak Barn experience. The Night Market takes place at Balgove on the second Tuesday of the month, from May to September. Otherwise you'll have to wait for the Christmas market in December to stock up on locally sourced foodie bits and stocking fillers while the kids meet the main man himself...
OMG, SANTA'S COMING! I KNOW HIM!
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