During an overnight trip to Moffat (you can read about our visit to Samye Ling and our walk up Grey Mare’s Tail here), we went in search of food. We were looking for some decent pub grub, or if we were really lucky, a gastropub. After walking the length of the high street we were ready to settle for one of the pubs we’d seen, but something was telling me to walk a little further. Yes, I do think I have a foodie sixth sense now!

Just off the high street we came across Brodies, and it looked perfect. It was very quiet inside, but beautifully decorated, and the menu looked amazing. We were very pleased with ourselves and settled back with a gin and tonic and a glass of prosecco.

To start we had ‘Baby Beetroot & Garden Salad‘ – it was so much more than that though; a perfectly crisp goat’s cheese croquette was served with a beetroot sorbet and garnished with flowers. It was one of the most aesthetically beautiful things I ate in 2016.

My friend had the Pan-Fried Lamb Shoulder with Heritage Carrots, another dish that would have been more than at home in some of Edinburgh’s fining dining establishments.

I had the Wood Pigeon Wellington which was delicious, and very filling after a long day of exploring Tibetan Buddhist Temples (something else you don’t expect to find in the Scottish Borders!). There’s a whole lot more to the Borders than I thought, this won’t be my last visit!

We were quite full and it was starting to get late so we opted to share the Chocolate Sandwich which was served with caramelised granola nut crumble, fruit compote and cherry sorbet. It wasn’t quite as good as the cherry sorbet at The Dining Room, but that was the best cherry sorbet I’ve ever had. This was an excellent dessert which rounded off a perfect evening.

I highly recommend a visit to Brodies if you’re in the area, the food is fantastic and it’s also great value for money.