Our first venture out into the big bad world of 2016 was to the Fair City where we like to shop occasionally in McEwens of Perth department store.

It is a long established shop and this poster made us think that it might be interesting (just to get the brain cells operating after all the indulgences of the festive season) to see how many of you can convert these prices into modern day currency, e.g how much is a pure silk tie? Answers please in the comments box but beware, you may be giving your age away! Today we had breakfast in their Upstairs restaurant and discovered that they actually have another restaurant that we were totally unaware of. It’s that kind of shop, you discover another part of it every time you go. We did visit this new discovery later on in the afternoon but since the same bakery serves both restaurants and we had already reviewed Upstairs, we decided, in the interests of variety and sconology to brave the elements and find somewhere new.

Voila .. Howies Bistro, a mere stone’s throw from McEwens, just outside St John’s Kirk. This is a nice wee cozy restaurant which seems to do everything and be very popular with the locals. Most folk were having lunch but, as ever, we just wanted to try the scones with a coffee. We ensconced ourselves in a nice area with big comfy sofas, set aside for just that.

Good management

Our fruit scones were great, served with plenty jam and cream, but there was a problem with the coffee .. it looked strong but tasted weak. It was such that we thought we should at least mention it to the management. Probably Mr Howie himself who was buzzing about making sure everything was in order. He responded initially by offering another coffee, which of course we did not want. Later, however, he came and thanked us. He had tested the coffee and realised that the machine needed to be recalibrated and was mortified to find that he had, unknowingly, been  serving such inferior coffee. In fact, he was so grateful that he refused to take any money at all from us. This is good management; taking on feedback and acting on it immediately!

The nearby St John’s Kirk is dedicated to John the Baptist and dates back to 1126. Perth was the capital of Scotland for over 600 years and as a result King Alexander III’s heart was buried here after his premature death (fell off a cliff) in 1286. An event which left Scotland without a king and propelled it into two long Wars of Independence with England. Although Scotland prevailed in both wars it threw it all away in 1707 with the Union of the Crowns. Most Scots of sound mind were against it at the time and goodness sake, 308 years later nothing has changed!

Lost deposit

For those with a footballing interest and who have wondered why Perth’s local football team (currently 4th in the Scottish Premiership) is called St Johnstone. It’s because of this church. It became so important that for much of the 16th century Perth was called ‘St Johnstoun’ .. might be a good trivia question. Another trivia question. When was the last date that an Irn Bru bottle could be returned for a deposit .. Dec 31st 2015. End of an era. What is not in question is Howies Bistro. Definitely worth a visit, if only to retest the coffee.

PH1 5SZ       tel: 01738 440777      Howies Bistro

Useful link: things to do in Perth