Memories of Restaurants in Dundee

[islaydarkblue]

I can remember my mother taking me after school on a Friday afternoon in the early 1960's to meet my father in Kidd's restaurant in Reform Street. He was a teacher at Fairmuir School and the school day used to finish at 3.15pm.
Some of the male staff at Fairmiur including my father used to go to the downstairs restaurant in Kidd's which was known as the "Smoking Room" for a cup of tea or coffee on a Friday after work.
The restaurant was welld as I can remember it being thick with smoke.
My wife was telling me about Nicoll & Smibert's restaurant which was situated in the High Street between Crichton St. and Whitehall St.
One of the restaurants in Nicoll & Smibert's which had a large carpet in the centre covering a dance floor.
Once the restaurant closed at 6pm the carpet was rolled up and this restaurant was used for dances in the evening.
My wife can remember her mother and father who both worked in NCR (Cash) going to dances in Nicoll & Smibert's.
Eventually people started to tr

[GeeTeeDee]

The chinese across from the wellgate (upstarirs) and the old underground?
Triad involement?

[islaydarkblue]

GeeTeeDee.
It was rumoured that the Triads from Glasgow killed Willie Wong who was the owner of the Hong Kong (Underground) at that time.

[gedee]

Hello islay...it's amazing how far back memories can take you.

I wis no much mair than a wee bairn (1940's) when my mother's auldest sister took me doon to see my mother, who had just got a job as a waitress in "Draffens" ( the stuck im my head, even as a pre-scool bairn, because, I thought that was a "funny" !! )

I'd never seen anyhing so posh in my life...and at that time the waitresses were all in fancy white uniforms with wee white
hats.

I think I felt the wee dandy, but I am no sure I looked the part.

As an aside...my mother was brought up in an auld tenement hoose, that consisted o' TWO ROOMS (134 Blackness Road...3 stairs up...end of plaitie)

No two bedrooms...just two rooms !!

That in itself is no so amazing... until you consider. There was 14 people in that hoose !!
Her dad and mum and eleven brothers and sisters.

The oldest sister, never married, and spent all her long life there.

She was a second mum to me. I spent days and weeks in that hoose. Very basic

[shaded]

1st one i remember being in was cafe val dor? in the city sq

[thegen65]

Mind o being in the auld A1 sure it was at the tap o Commercial Street.

Twa sassiges on a roll DSC.

[andersong]

The Kowlooon in St Andrews St down the side of the Gaumont. was that not the first Chinese in Dundee? A few doors along was a cafA© with a great juke box.

[islaydarkblue]

I can also remember queuing up on the stairs waiting to get a table.
My one abiding memory is being in the Cafe Val Dor when I was about 10 years old with my granny from Perth.
It was so busy that we had to share a table with a courting couple.
When I was finished my main course I finished off the remains of my granny's main course and then asked the courting couple if I could eat the food that they had left on their plates.
Waste not want not!!

[shaded]

dougie the grubber ;-) lol

[islaydarkblue]

Hi gedee.
I can remember also Draffens which had 2 restaurants one of which was silver service and the other one had ordinary service.
I think that you must have been in the silver service restaurant.
McEwans in St John Street Perth used to have a silver service restaurant.
My brother was in Dundee a couple of years ago for our father's birthday and he insisted that we go to Perth for coffee and cakes in McEwans restaurant.
The staff were still wearing the old fashioned black uniforms but nowadays they look a bit dated.