‘Some sort of cook’ may be the self-deprecating way chef Harris McNeill refers to himself, but he needn’t downplay it – the steady success of his humble restaurant on Dundee‘s Perth Road speaks for itself
The Dundee dining scene has always been outshone by Glasgow and Edinburgh, but the balance of power is perhaps starting to shift a little. There are definite signs of a culinary revolution happening on Tayside, with an ever increasing number of independent bars and restaurants popping up across the city, led by chefs putting innovation and local ingredients to the fore. Eastfield, which opened in Perth Street in May last year, is leading the way.
It’s headed up by chef Harris McNeill and takes a no-frills approach (‘Food on plates, coffee in cups’ is all its Instagram bio promises). Far from putting diners off, this appears to be a key part of its appeal. “Nothing about Eastfield is finetuned,” agrees Harris. “Maybe this rough, personal approach is why people feel I care about every inch of the business – it comes through in our daily work.”
He has hustled in kitchens for as long as he can remember, starting out doing those most glamorous jobs, peeling tatties and washing dishes, before he had any thought of launching the cafe. “I’ve worked with so many amazing chefs to whom I owe so much,” he says. “I’m far from the best chef in Dundee, and I wouldn’t even compare myself to others in Scotland.
I simply take beautiful, locally grown, raised or fished produce, and try to cook it in a way that does it justice.” That humble approach to produce is at the core of what we do. Dishes change weekly and seasonally, but on the menu you can expect to find the likes of lemon roast chicken and chimichurri, coffee pannacotta with orange cookies, and Welsh rarebit with Isle of Mull cheese.
This is food that refuses to be pigeonholed, dealing more in the business of good, solid cooking with stellar ingredients. “It is incredibly satisfying to work with food, creating something beautiful out of something simple, and turning it into something so tasty,” muses Harris, who credits his wife and kids (“the most important things in the world to me”) as his inspiration.
You can’t talk about Eastfield without mentioning its minimalist design and sage green façade, a visual representation of what the food is all about. The name is a reference to where his wife hails from: “It’s a wee spot where snowdrops carpet the ground in January and February. This inspired our logo – a snowdrop – which was first handdrawn by my cousin, an amazing artist from Edinburgh, and then developed further.
“Choosing the paint colours was one of the most stressful parts because I knew it would play such a huge role in creating the overall atmosphere,” Harris continues. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without Siobhan Doherty. I had a colour palette in mind, and she came in and nailed exactly what to put where.”
The overall effect is of a restaurant without pretension, low-key in its presentation, but with a solid gold core – much like the city that surrounds it. “Dundee might not get the attention it deserves, especially compared to Glasgow and Edinburgh,” says Harris. “But maybe Dundee isn’t trying to compete.”
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This feature about Eastfield in Dundee is lifted from issue 159 of Homes & Interiors Scotland magazine, which is out now
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