Restaurant review: Great food at great prices ensures Faodail truly is a lucky find

After all, the bypass now directs the vast majority of motorists away from the village and, while it’s only two minutes from the Kincardine Bridge, the historic building doesn’t exactly have huge neon signs drawing in hungry customers.

However, that certainly hasn’t proved a problem for owners Michael Walsh and Hannah Trickett. Since opening in March, they have let the quality of their food do the talking and that has paid off in spades as, not only have they built up a huge clientele, but they have found themselves in the running for a variety of awards.

So what is all the fuss about and is Foadial, as the translation from Gaelic suggests, really a “lucky find”?

The first signs were encouraging. From the outside the unusually shaped building – formerly home to the Unicorn and birthplace of famed chemist and physicist James Dewar – is intriguing. Once inside it is warm and welcoming.

After being greeted by our hosts, my mum and I were shown to a seat in the lounge area where we were served drinks and given time to peruse the menu.

Faodail serves weekend breakfasts, lunches from Monday to Friday and an all-day menu seven days a week, It was an early evening meal we were looking for and the selection was impressive. As well as the mouthwatering staples, there was also an extremely tempting specials board which didn’t make our choice any easier.

In the end, my mum opted to start with the bruschetta while I had my head turned by one of the specials and eagerly looked forward to my serving of haggis pakora.

As soon as the food arrived it was clear we weren’t going to be disappointed or, indeed, go hungry as the portions while not over-powering were certainly on the generous side.

My pakora was clearly freshly cooked and the haggis had a satisfying bite to it, while the bruschetta, which I was forced to try purely for review purposes, was light and packed full of flavour.

On to the mains and again a special for me - a chicken curry with homemade naan bread - while my mum went down the traditional route with the steak pie, one of Faodial’s favourites.

I had no complaints about my choice but I couldn’t take my eyes off the dish sitting at the other end of the table. A last ... a steak pie that truly was a pie, and with plenty of meat too!

How often have you been served a ‘pie’ only to find it’s stew with a piece of puff pastry plopped on top. Ceraintly not at Faodial. This was steak pie at its best with an accompanying pot of gravy adding to the experience.

Again in the interests of a complete review we sampled the crumble and panna cotta from the sweet menu. Space contraints don’t allow for an adequate critique of just how good they were but suffice to say they would rival anything your granny could make!

Faodail, a lucky find? You bet!

Faodail, 15 Excise Street, Kincardine, 01259 928030, faodail.co.uk