Coach House dream at Perthshire foodie favourite

Award-winning chefs lodge expansion plans

Two leading chefs heading up a Perthshire foodie Paradise hope to revive an 18th Century Coach House to extend their award-winning restaurant with rooms.

Andrew Mackay, a former pastry chef at Trump Turnberry and Phillip Skinazi, an ex- Executive pastry chef at Gleneagles, took over the French-influenced Barley Bree in Muthill near Crieff in 2023, re-naming it ‘Coorie Inn’.

Since then, they have won awards and admirers for their food, which champions local produce, served in-season, and the stylish, Scottish-influenced rooms (one en-suite even flourishing a golden bathtub).

Now the team behind the Two AA rosette, Michelin-recommended establishment hope to transform a characterful Coach House, which was formerly part of the property, to create 4 new en-suite rooms and an extended kitchen and reception.

Plan of how the project will look

Disrepair

The pair bought the dilapidated Coach House, which has enjoyed previous incarnations as a Community Hall and residence, last Summer.

Plans for the new accommodation, plus bigger kitchen and storage areas, have been lodged, with a contemporary new link building conjoining the Coach House to the existing restaurant with rooms.

The additional space afforded by the proposed link building would create enhanced disabled access and facilities (including one accessible en-suite), as well as enabling the creation of a new reception/sitting area.

In the plans, submitted by Denholm Partnership Architects, the original Coach House shell will remain - with original features and stonework - while the interior will be stripped back and refurbished to modern standards.

A new roof structure with dormers will be required due to the current state of disrepair.

Vision

The announcement of the blueprint has been met with approval by Coorie Inn admirers and diners on its official Facebook page.

Heralding the submission of the plans, the owners stated: “We know this is not a today for tomorrow project, there is a long road ahead but we are excited to set our goals and start walking towards them.

“None of this happens without you, our guests, our neighbours, the brilliant community that makes Muthil what it is.”

Conservation area

The Coach House was separated from the existing building in 1983 so, if plans are approved, the structures will be unified once again in Muthill’s Conservation Area which contains a memorable Medieval Tower.

Coorie Inn has just been listed as a finalist in the Thistle Awards and was named best boutique hotel by Muddy Stiletos, whose visiting reviewer lauded its roaring fires, destination restaurant and polished, stylish edge.

If approved, the new development will increase parking from 12 spaces to 16 (with one disabled space).

For leading chefs, the enlarged kitchen would certainly be a boon, the plans describing it as being ‘appropriate to the quality and quantity of food being produced’.

Planners will decide on the next stage of the proposal, soon.