A Valentine's evening at the Burleigh Arms

We’re not foodies, nor, being scientific, particularly romantic (we’ll get letters about that assertion). But we’re keen to support the Burleigh Arms, so we signed up for their special Valentine’s Day dinner. Now that they’re in the top 100 UK gastropubs, albeit at no.96, we had high expectations—and were not disappointed. The restaurant area has been beautifully refurbished with quite traditional décor, while the non-matching furniture stops it being too formal.  With red roses on the tables, and an ideal number of other couples, not all young (!), the atmosphere was set.  We were warmly welcomed by the manager, Tom Arnold, a keen rugby player who showed great forbearance when I (LW) showed him my Valentine’s gift of a Scottish Rugby Union beanie (I took it off for dinner). 

The head chef, Kareem Roberts, has a Caribbean background, which comes through in his imaginative cooking. We were intrigued by the fish/meat/fish order of courses on the special Valentine’s Day menu.

We opted to choose our own drinks, so started with generous glasses of prosecco. We then wanted a carafe of white wine which would work throughout the meal, so Tom recommended the Loimer Camptal Gruner Veliner 2023, from the flight of wines on offer. It was really delicious, a good blend of crispness and flavour.     

We started with canapes—a creamy pumpkin velouté, followed by a cornmeal dumpling topped with spicy chipotle and parmesan—both flavoursome without being over filling. This was followed by the first course of tuna tartare with avocado gazpacho, providing a delightfully cool contrast to the heat of the chipotle.

We both opted for grilled quail for the second course (the other option was sirloin of beef), barbequed with a sticky beetroot sauce. This needed a bit of dissection but was well worth the effort for the rich flavour.

We returned to fish for the third course, a beautiful pure white piece of halibut topped with prawns in a piquant prawn bisque. For a fish-lover like me, this was food heaven.

The raspberry cheesecake which finished off the meal was about as far from your usual pub cheesecake as it’s possible to get—crispy pastry and really sharp raspberries.  Tom persuaded us to share a glass of delicious Kopke 10-year-old white port to accompany our pud—an inspired idea.

Although this menu seemed pricey at £70 pp, it was worth every penny as a one-off treat. Check out the regular menu on their website—there are lots of interesting options at half the price. 

Kareem came out to chat a couple of times—he really wants to get to know his customers, and build up some regular clientele. On the basis of this meal, we won’t be waiting for Valentine’s Day 2026 for a return visit, though I might leave the Scotland beanie at home next time.

Lorna Williamson & Tony Brown