31 Meadowside, Dundee DD1 1DJ, Scotland
Smoked beetroot carpaccio was the thing in my life I didn’t know was missing. Thinly sliced, smoked beetroot gets layered over a lush bed of horseradish mascarpone and sprinkled with spring onions and flecks of candied hazelnuts.
That first dish to arrive at our table after ordering sets the tone: Dundee café, brunch and coffee stalwart The Bach, already open mornings and afternoons, and frequently booked out at lunchtime and weekends, have launched a new, evening service, running Thursday to Saturday. Badged as being an “After Hours Kiwi BBQ,” the title alone has me sold. Antipodeans don’t mess around when it comes to meat.
What a pleasant surprise to find the care and attention they lavish not only on the meat and fish but also vegetables and cheese, never mind the desserts.
A charred sweet potato, split in half, arrives drizzled with tahini, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and smoked almonds. Hunks of hispi cabbage, slathered with nduja butter then grilled, are so good I almost can’t hardly tear myself away to try the other options.
On the seafood front, a trio of king scallops have been perfectly cooked, so they’re tender and sweet, paired beautifully with sage-infused anchovy butter. If there’s a downside, it’s that I didn’t have a socially acceptable way to mop the rest of it up.
Grilled halloumi delivers a meaty, salty hit, paired with a dollop of pineapple ketchup and a crisp fennel and mint salad.
Finally, the meat. The aged fillet steak I ordered is rich and flavorful, perfectly cooked, accompanied by a punchy peppercorn sauce and still-hot, grilled vine cherry tomatoes.
From the menu:
Almost every dish, including the veg, has been smoked or cooked over fire at some point. In Kiwiland, this is what we’d call a “posh BBQ”, a bit more up market than your “snags on the barbie”. We’d all sit together and try a bit of everything with a brew or two or three.
Before ordering, our Australian waiter recommended the smoked half chicken with saffron & orange blossom caramel, which he said was “flying out the door.” The table next to ours devoured theirs. Sadly also so far left untried by me: a merguez kofte; smoked beef rib tacos with coleslaw, guacamole, jalapeño and coriander crema; and pork belly with apple slaw, star anise and chilli syrup. I hope to return soon, and hopefully they’ll still feature on the subject-to-change menu.
Desserts, already a highlight of the café menu, don’t disappoint at dinnertime. A coffee crème brûlée with biscotti is a perfect mix of coffee, custard and crunch.
The pavlova strains against gravity, loaded with fresh fruit, compote and whipped cream.
The Bach’s new evening menu arrives after the operation, launched in 2016 by New Zealand natives Wendy and Steven in a smaller space in a nearby former mill, decamped in 2018 to a beautiful red brick building designed by architect Alfred Waterhouse at the turn of the last century for Prudential Assurance, in Dundee’s Albert Square. Across the street is a building originally commissioned by Queen Victoria as a memorial for said prince, which now houses the McManus – Dundee’s art gallery and museum.
Kudos to the restaurant for continuing to add energy and charm to a formerly less visited side of the square – now with nighttime lashings of well-delivered smoke, fire and finesse.
