MUCHALLS is a lovely wee place, but I’ve never had too much call to go there – until now.

This quaint village with its Balamory-style painted houses, visible as you roar down the A90, now boasts a fine eatery that is well worth seeking out, as we did with some chums recently.

It was a celebratory trip to mark a birthday and we wanted somewhere different but special.

Being in Muchalls is certainly different and as soon as we walked into the elegant and airy dining room we suspected it would be special.

That was confirmed for me by the fact it offered speciality real ales as well as fine wines.

But we were there for the food not the beer.

Starting with the starters, as you do, my mate Brendan was delighted by his big bowl of fresh mussels (£5.75), swimming in a white wine broth. Mopped up with the softest, tastiest, crusty bread it was a winner.

Mrs B, being a game gal, had chosen the game terrine (£4.95). A little underpowered on the taste front – not as big and, well, gamey as she likes – it got an okay rating.

No such hesitation with my fresh crab bisque and anchovy crostini (£5.50). This was rich, packed with flavour and had me dabbing the plate with bread to get every mouthful.

We had a bit of a wait for the mains to arrive but that left us to catch up with Brendan and Anna’s news – who would have thought bikes cost that much – and chill.

Anna, being a veggie, chose the mushroom risotto special (£9.95) and was rewarded with a creamy dish, packed with the tastiest chunks of mushroom.

Meanwhile, Brendan had stopped talking about his cycling race speeds to tuck into two huge haddock fishcakes (£9.50) packed with spring onion and bursting with flavour.

Mrs B admits escalope isn’t her favourite cut of venison – there was that “more flavour, please” theme again – but this dish (£10.95) served with a red wine jus was still tasty.

I had decided to step out a little with the grilled wood pigeon breasts (£12.95) from the specials board – well it was my birthday. With its rich sauce, Black Forest ham and chanterelle mushrooms, this was near faultless – as were the pigeon breasts.

A bit more veg wouldn’t have gone amiss – a truism for all our dishes – but that wasn’t a major quibble.

All in all, this classy bistro, with its fine food and reasonable prices made for a birthday meal to remember.