The Ship Inn at Elie

Food pub The Ship Inn Elie, Fife

Graham and Rachel Bucknall of The TBC Pub Company took over The Ship Inn in the seaside town of Elie in 2014. After refurbishment, the pub has six bedrooms as well as a first-floor restaurant with bay views. Serving 100 per cent Scottish seafood and meat, it has been AA Pub of the Year for Scotland and finalist in the Scottish Thistle Awards.

Have you seen any difference in customers’ eating habits over the last year?

They are more conscious of cost but happy to pay for quality. If it was possible, they are quicker to complain! It’s much harder to upsell: people have in their heads how much they want to spend before they walk in.

What challenges are you facing on the food side of your business?

There is a ceiling people will not happily go over but our costs keep climbing. Our chefs have to be a lot cleverer. We have customers who still expect to see lobster and fresh seafood on the menu – but are not necessarily happy to pay the price for it. Getting that balance is like walking a tight rope.

Is there a dish you would never take off your menu?

We have lots of other fantastic dishes but fish and chips outsells everything. Cullen skink would be a close second.

How often do you change your menu and what’s new for autumn?

We change the menu fully three times a year with lots of smaller tweaks and changes in between. For autumn, we’re launching new flatbreads and sharing boards for the bar and invested in a new pizza oven. We have warming winter dishes such as steak pie with bone marrow alongside steak tartare and, showcasing our local seafood, we have a delicious brodetto – fish stew.