WHEN my colleague reviewed the highly-acclaimed Black Pig and Oyster restaurant in Leith last year – right next door to Tom Kitchin’s place at Commercial Quay – I resolved to go as soon as possible.

Fulsome in his praise, it was a ‘must-visit’. But trouble finding time to cross the Forth for an evening meal saw it consigned to the ‘wish list’ instead.

So imagine my delight when I learned the Coghills, the Newmills-based family behind the Black Pig, were opening a new restaurant; Jack ‘O’ Bryan’s, in Dunfermline?

And that my colleague had a prior engagement and couldn’t make the opening night.

And so that’s how, on a bitingly cold night, my wife and I found ourselves enjoying fine dining right on our doorstep.

The welcome and atmosphere on arrival was as warm and friendly as we’d hoped. Situated at 5 Chalmers Street, right next to the Glen Gates, walking into Jack ‘O’ Bryan’s is a little like entering a cosy cottage – homely and charming with beautiful stone features.

It’s not massive – around eight tables in the main restaurant and five at the front – but that lends an intimate feel and means the excellent staff have plenty of time for helpful and attentive service.

While the decor has a rustic charm, the menu is sophisticated. Personally, I’m not a fan of restaurants that bombard you with a huge range of dishes on the menu – choosing can be stressful and can quality really be consistent?

Jack ‘O’ Bryan’s present three or four choices for starters from the land and the sea and there’s Vegetarian options; while, again, for mains there’s a selection of around four dishes both for meat and fish.

It means the attention to detail is spot-on.

My wife went for the seared scallops, served with spinach, Serrano ham and Parmesan glaze, and they were exquisite; while my Arbroath smokie vol au vent was simply amazing and probably the highlight of my meal – next time I could quite happily have two of these instead of a main, it was that good.

The haddock in puff pastry was sitting on a beautiful cullen skink that was rich and tasty without being too creamy or heavy.

I followed it with truffle chicken and wild mushrooms. I’d not sampled truffle before – apart from the chocolate variety, of which I have sampled far too many – and I wasn’t disappointed.

Char-grilled chicken with chicken liver pate, sautéed potatoes, wild mushrooms, crispy shards of garlic, spinach and truffle. Yum!

A seafood fan, my wife went for the fillet of halibut and prawns, served with a cheese and chive sauce. The quality of ingredients sang from the plate of both our mains.

Sometimes, fine dining means small portions but not here, the amount was just right. Happily, that meant we were both able to order pudding, which is just as well, as Jack Coghill, who the restaurant is partly named after, heads up the dessert menu and was featured recently in House of Coco’s ‘30 Chefs Under 30’.

Simply-named, the sweets are stunning in the eating. ‘Apple’ turned out to be crispy, sugar-coated toffee apple spring roll with an apple sours frozen parfait, crispy apple shard, cider jelly and fresh apple.

I didn’t know there could be so many contrasting apple flavours in one dish but they complemented each other perfectly.

‘Rhubarb’ was a rhubarb panna cotta with poached rhubarb, baked meringue, ginger crumb, sugarcane gin syrup and vanilla ice cream. A refreshing way to round things off.

It’s pricey but you get what you pay for; quality, fresh ingredients elevated with simple but beautiful cookery.

And you can also enjoy Jack ‘O’ Bryan’s throughout the day and on different budgets – they’re open all day for coffees, snacks and cakes and there’s a £10-and-under deal for lunch.

Jack ‘O’ Bryan’s is a quality addition to eating out in Dunfermline and West Fife. To book a table, visit http://www.jackobryans.com or call 01383 324720.