Breakfast Nomination #20, the Fire Station Creative on Carnegie Drive in Dunfermline
Nominated by Iain Townson
Originally reviewed on the 29th of January, 2017
Gary's score: 4/6
My score: not too bad considering I had to get a train over a river to get here
Gary ate: American Pancake(s) with bacon and maple syrup (£5.50) and a large pot of tea that we shared (£3.25)
I ate: Eggs Balmoral (aka Eggs Royale - poached eggs, toasted muffins with smoked salmon and Hollondaise sauce) (£6.50) and shared a pot of tea with Gary
Total cost: £15.25
Our pros: friendly service; a unique setting with interesting things to look at as it was in an art gallery; generous portions; tasty food; very fair prices and we had a pleasant experience that didn't have us cursing the fact we'd had to travel nearly 15 miles for breakfast.
Our cons: Gary's breakfast was a little heavy for him (the pancake was bigger than his head); our table was a bit low down to eat comfortably at (though there were better tables to sit at - I just foolishly picked the first table we saw) and it was quite a trek for a breakfast for us being based in Edinburgh (but I did accept this challenge so that's my fault too!).
Our experience: I have a strong feeling that Gary was cursing the fact he agreed to do this challenge with me when my alarm went off early on Sunday morning and the cold, dark realisation set in that we would not be eating breakfast until after we'd walked 40 minutes to the station, travelled another half hour by train then walked for another 20 minutes to the café once we'd reached Dunfermline.
I placated Gary at Waverly by purchasing us both some Costa hot chocolates to keep us going as we still had quite a journey ahead of us but I did enjoy crossing the bridge over the Forth - I never get sick of that view.
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| I never get sick of that view |
We managed to make it to the Fire Station Creative without too much stress even though I was determined that Gary was taking us in the wrong direction as despite his Fife roots and his experience of countless nights out in Dunfermline 'teaching' him the geography of the area, I still trusted Google Maps a bit more as its primary experience with Dunfermline geography *wasn't* based on dozens of drunken pub crawls, dancing to the Stone Roses in slow motion, with tales of a mystery Brigadoon-style chippy that only appears to Gary and his friends after X amount of booze has been consumed and they were ready for their late-night kebabs.
I sat us down at the first table we found, which meant we were right beside the door and were getting a bit of a cold draught every time someone came in or left but it wasn't too bad. The table was a bit low down for us to eat off of comfortably but there were dozens of better suited tables further back - I was just silly and grabbed the first table I saw so I wouldn't be wandering around gormlessly looking for a place to sit.
The Fire Station Creative does table service, though we didn't find this out until we approached the counter to order and were (politely) shooed back to our table to get our orders taken. You pay at the counter when you're finished though, but the waitress let us know that in advance.
We both enjoyed our food though Gary felt his pancake would have benefited from some added fruit to help make it feel less glutenous, as despite the pancake starting off tasty and sweet - it became sickly and filling very, very fast. The menu also said "pancakeS" but after Gary saw the ginormous proportion of his single pancake, he was grateful to only have one.
My food was pretty decent - not the best Eggs Balmoral/Royale I've had but still a good contender in that list with delicious salmon, though the breakfast came with rocket (often annoyingly paired with salmon) which I gladly left on my plate as I really, really don't like it.
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| what is this chair about? |
The place was inoffensive - friendly service and good food. The most unique thing about this place is that firstly it's a converted fire house and secondly it doubles as not only an art gallery, but a space for artists to work in as they have numerous studio rooms available in the building so this is the first place Gary and I have ever eaten in that's anything like this.
It was an interesting experience eating our food in amongst paintings, sculptures and one dubious looking giant carved wooden chair that had hands and feet, but I wouldn't necessarily say it's ideal for a visit if you're Edinburgh-based. If you live in or near Dunfermline then I would say the service and food quality is definitely high enough to warrant a visit, but other than that - it's maybe not worth the 15 mile trip for food! Though it was nice to see a 'decorated' tree in the park on our way back to the station. Thank you Dunfermline!
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| like Christmas in January, in Fife |
What's next: Cafe Grande in Brunstfield
