FOOD ADS AND SOME HOME COOKING

After a wee flurry sampling some of the gastronomic delights from around the eastern side of the globe - it's time to get back to a few of our own homely spots in town who served up delicious delicacies for those of us who weren't too concerned about our westernized diet.

Going in date order this time - the Keiller Restaurant ad is from 1963 and is for their place in the High Street, while reminding us where their other eateries were located.

The ad for Nelson's is dated 1965 and is for their shops in Nelson Street and the Wellgate. Although it was a confectioners, I think their place in the Wellgate may have had a wee corner sitting area.

You'll all be familiar with the T-Bone Steakhouse I bet - their joint doon Union Street. The ad is from 1977 and the place would be doing a roaring trade around this era.

Raffles in the Perth Road was a nice cheery restaurant/café that had a very good reputation for it's food and service.

I just thought I'd include this basic ad from 1984 to remind you of their logo.

The ad for Shepherd's and the Baked Tattie & Pizza House is conjoined because they both shared the same address in Perth Road. It's dated 1984 - so pre Peking.

The Brooklyn Diner ad is dated 1985, and its location was on the corner pf Panmure Street and Meadowside. Typical American-style food, and lots of neon lighting as part of its look. You could also hire the place for private functions too.

The Town House ad is a 1988 one and emphasizes their pub lunches - Farfir bridies an' a' that.

But can anyone remember what David did? It says Wednesday, Thursday and Sundays were music nights, but they don't put David's appearance in that category. So what was in store for everyone - did he come up to you and smash you in the face with a frying pan, or what??

Mondays and Tuesdays to be avoided??!!

HAPARANDA DEMOLITION - MID 70's

I have put up a couple of items on Retro in the past showing the buzz there was at the Haparanda in Arbroath Road - the haven for Dundee's fashionable youth in the 60's.

Well here below is some film footage showing the moment in the mid 70's when the building was demolished.

The shop to the right of The Hap was Grossett the butcher and Andrew G Kidd was the baker on the left of it on the corner of Baffin Street.

The area has of course since been rejuvenated into...er...a car park!

DISMANTLING VICTORIA ROAD - 1988

They seemed to be going a bit canny with the demolition work at Victoria Road when this photo was taken on 19 Feb 1988. Perhaps this was the "snaffling the lead tiles off the roof" phase or something!
Anyway, the area in shot stretches from the Butcher on the left (#24) to the Knitting Centre on the right (#38).
I can't make out all the shops but the Central Cafe is there, also Chima, who sold saris and suchlike.
I remember in the mid 60's the 2 Chima daughters were the first Asians to enrol at Balerno Primary School, with Ravi Chima coming into my class.
The other feature in the picture is the lamppost at the top of Wellgate steps, referred to as the Bobbys Helmet.
And if you are in a particularly silly mood, you could do a double take and view the photo through surreal eyes where you might be able to see a wee gnome repairing the inside of the light!
Photo by Neale Elder.

NICOLL & SMIBERT - NETHERGATE SHOP

Here is a photo of the Nicoll & Smibert shop in the Nethergate, taken sometime in the late 60's.
Big thanks to Peter.

NICOLL & SMIBERT - NETHERGATE ADS

Another bakers in centre of town offering snack/restaurant facilities was Nicoll & Smibert who were in the Nethergate.

The top ad is dated 1968 and the red one is from 1974.

Nicoll & Smibert had baker shops all over Dundee back then, and the ones listed in the 1974 directory are as follows - Overgate, Union St, Hilltown, Albert St, Strathmartine Rd, Lochee Rd, Princes St, Craigowan Rd, Lochee High St, MacAlpine Rd, St Giles Tce, Blackness Rd, Fintry Rd, Whitfield Dr, Whitehall St, Clepington Rd and Brook St in the Ferry.

THE LIGHT BITE - LATE 70'S

The advert is dated 1978 and lists all the Light Bites that were on the go at the time - Reform Street, Overgate, High Street, one in Lochee and one in the Ferry.

These wee cafe areas were part of Andrew G Kidd's baker shops who's Sunblest depot was in Lytton Street.
The winter shot, dating from around the same time as the ad, shows the Light Bite in the High Street.

DUNDEE PINTA PEOPLE - 1960'S

In the early 60's, the Milk Marketing Board had a very catchy advertising slogan on the go that went - DRINKA PINTA MILKA DAY. It was used on TV, bill boards, magazines etc and in fact, the actual word pinta has since gone on to become part of everyday language.
The photo of the city centre above dates from the early 60's too, the entire square being used as an outdoor cafe, complete with wooden chalet and serving area, and on top of the stripy canopy it has the very same slogan.
As the 60's progressed, so did the advertising concept, developing variations on the pinta theme such as introducing Pinta People (Pinta Girls, Pinta Men), the idea being that if your were one of the Pinta People you'd be healthy, cool & trendy, in keeping with 60's swinging London!
They later came up with a similar slogan to the original which can be viewed in the TV ad below, which dates from around the mid/late 60's. This time they have it as - A PINTA PER PERSON PER DAY.
Photo by DC Thomson.

HOT POTATO HOUSE AD - 1984

An ad from 1984 for the Hot Potato House in the Overgate.
Yeah I remember staggering into this place a couple of times at 2 o'clock in the morning!
I seem to recall it was located approximately opposite the Marketgait/Overgate steps.

THE RUSTY KETTLE AD - 1988

Whether you just fancied a cup of tea & a scone or you needed a full meal, The Rusty Kettle at 304 Perth Road would serve it up for you.
This ad is from 1988, but a wee slogan they had going in the mid 80's was - "The Best In The West"!

CAFE AMERICAIN ARTWORK - 1980'S

Here's a nice piece of artwork depicting the interior details of Cafe Americain, the pub that opened in the early 80's in Union Street.
It's a kind of half architectural design & half artists impression - modern chic with a touch of art nouveau.
Once you delve into the collage, you can see a few of the pubs main features - the spiral staircase, the wooden panels, the potted plants and it also includes 2 birds-eye views of downstairs and upstairs, where you can make out the layout of the tables, the bar areas and even the toilets.
There is the reminder on the downstairs plan that the bar was on a raised part of the floor which had a couple of steps connecting it. It was quite a common sight to watch people stumble on these as the night wore on, leaving them with the sensation that they were not quite as cool as they thought they were!
Never happened to me though!!!!!!
To refresh your memory, there are a few photos of Cafe Americain already up on Retro. Just type it in the search box to find them.
Image by Nicholl Russell Studios.

LUNCHTIME IN DUNDEE - 1982

Once again, Egon Boney is our guide on a jaunt around a few city centre eating places, this time searching for a decent lunchtime meal.
His findings were a bit hit & miss from what was on offer in 1982.
The pubs & cafes listed are - ARCTIC BAR - CHEQUERS - STUDENTS UNION - THE EXECUTIVE - WINSTONS - SINATRA'S - GENNAS - TINDALLS - THE BISTRO - YMCA CAFE - BOTHY - LADYWELL - FREWS.
Click the image to enlarge and have a wee read.

DUNDEE RESTAURANT GUIDE - 1981

A reminder of some of the eating places on the go in 1981 can be found in an overview presented in Cranked Up, with Egon Boney taking us on a youthful guide to dining out in Dundee.
For this food tour, EB lists the following - KOH-I-NOOR - GUNGA DIN - HIMALAYA - BALAKA - HIGHLAND STAR - GULLISTAN - BRUNO'S - PIZZA GALLERY - FORTE'S COFFEE HOUSE - RAFFLES - PENTHOUSE - DEEP SEA.
I remember Raffles in the Nethergate/Perth Road got a rave review in Punch magazine in the early 80's. This was when food critic & MP, Clement Freud was doing a weekly food column in the publication. The reason he ended up in Raffles was because he was in Dundee for the Liberal Party conference. He had of course previously been Rector of Dundee University from 74 to 80, so he was well acquainted with the Perth Road area.
He gave Raffles a really good write-up and commented on how cheery the staff were...and Clement wasn't easy to please!
Not only that, but in the mid 80's, Raffles actually achieved an award from the real Egon Roney and got a mention in his 1985/86 publication "Just A Bite Guide".
To find out the ratings by our own Egon Boney, click onto the image to read the large version.

DUNDEE MODS IN THE 60'S

One of the places Dundee mods used to gather at was The Hap cafe in Arbroath Road.
This short clip of film below captured some of the original 60's mod culture, hanging out at The Hap and whizzing about on their scooters.
I remember in the late 60's there being a customised scooter parked in Craigie. Dozens of mirrors & lights with a raccoon tail on the back! Dead smart actually.
The mod scene has been going on ever since of course with it's fashion, style and music still appealing to each subsequent generation.

THE HAPARANDA IN THE 60'S

Located at number 83 Arbroath Road in the 60's was The Haparanda Coffee Bar, or "The Hap", as it was known as by the local teenagers it attracted. There was a confectioner shop area at the main entrance and the cafe area was downstairs. The window display reflected both aspects of The Hap with half the exhibits being sweets and half being record covers of the latest 60's bands like The Kinks, The Beatles, Small Faces etc. The cafe was a bit of a magnet for Dundee's trendy hipsters, as well as being a handy stopping off place for Mods on their scooters. Bands would sometimes perform there too and a lot of the cafe action was caught on film by owner Luciano Soave.
Below is some footage capturing a typical night out at The Hap.
The building where The Hap was in Arbroath Road, was demolished in 1972.

THE CAIRNGORM - REFORM STREET - 1970

At 26 Reform Street there was Andrew G Kidd, the bakers, and connected to it at 26a was the Cairngorm Restaurant.
What I can remember about the interior was that it had huge images of the Scottish Highlands on the walls. Not paintings or murals but actual real photos the full length. The above picture is just a wee mock-up I did to give an impression of what I mean.
I'm not sure now if you went downstairs to it, or if it was just partitioned off from the bakery area on ground level. I also had in mind it was only a cafe but it is listed as a restaurant.
And the bakers were contenders for the "best custard slices in town" in my opinion!

CAFE AMERICAIN #3 - INTERIOR

And lastly...a nice moody shot of the Cafe Americain bar area.

 

Photo by Nicholl Russell Studios.

CAFE AMERICAIN #2 - INTERIOR

This image gives you an idea of how spacious the Cafe Americain was, the view being just one corner area of the pub in which their was a ground floor and upstairs to choose from. They actually had a grand piano which was just part of the decor and it hardly took up any room in the pub. They also had a wrought iron spiral staircase.

In the picture you can see a yellow poster on the left. You can make out it says "Dundee Jazz" on it but it's at too much of an angle to read the details, which is a pity, it would have been a nice little bonus to see what was going on when the picture was taken.

Photo by Nicholl Russell Studios.

CAFE AMERICAIN #1 - EXTERIOR

Here's Café Americain in Union Street, which opened for business in the early 80's.

It was quite a stylish pub with plenty room downstairs and upstairs. My visits were usually in the early evenings as a city starter pub before the nights really got going, so my memory of it is it being all rather sensible and well behaved. At least you were able to have a conversation without shouting! I'm fairly sure they occasionally had a DJ spinning a few tunes later on in the evenings so it no doubt became a bit more boisterous as the night went on.

 

Photo by Nicholl Russell Studios.

VISOCCHI'S CAFE - BROUGHTY FERRY

Visocchi's in Gray Street, Broughty Ferry, was a cafe I went to in the 60's and 70's. These visits took place during the summer months because they were always the outcome of choosing to walk there from Craigie, which was a bit of a trek, so a jaunt specifically for good weather days only.
The 60's trips were family outings to the beach, and we'd stop off at Visocchi's for a treat along the way. This is the only place in the Dundee area I can remember having a Knickerbocker Glory in!
In the early 70's when in my young teens, I then went there with my mates. We'd while away a couple of hours in the summer evenings playing a few tunes on the jukebox and drinking bottles of coke.
Visocchi's is still on the go today.
The above image was taken in 1972.
Photo by DC Thomson.Tints by GG.

THE CITY SQUARE & HIGH STREET - 1970

This shot of the City Square from around 1970 shows The Val d'Or restaurant sitting pretty at it's prime location in the middle of town. The Val d'Or is the canopy on the corner of the Square with the window boxes being the upstairs dining area.
This corner premises later became Burton's.
Also in the image, across in the High Street, is another place selling grub, the Restaurant above Keiller, the white/yellow building on the first floor.