Taybank hotel owners on transforming Birnam hotel and opening village pub
The owner of the popular and award-winning Taybank Hotel took over the Birnam Hotel in late 2024. Now, along with his partner, the historic Birnam Inn has reopened in order to fund the ongoing hotel renovation. The couple spoke to Rosalind Erskine about breathing new life into the hotel and pub, food plans and their hopes for the lesser visited village.
Dunkeld in Perthshire is having a moment; from being named the best place to live in Scotland in 2025 to being home to Bake Off finalist Flora Shedden’s popular Aran bakery and shop to its charming wine bar, Redwood Wines being named best in Scotland by a national guide.
It’s no wonder it’s always a busy place to stop for a bite to eat or walk. A long-standing business which has been part of the town’s ‘must-visit’ vibe is The Taybank, which is run by Fraser Potter, and is known for its cosy pub, excellent food in its dining room and overall stylish Scandi-style interiors which are down to his partner, Kimberley Grant, of Rural Studio.
Mr Potter and Ms Grant are hoping that this love of Dunkeld will spill over the river into neighbouring Birnam, as they work towards opening the Birnam Hotel, which they acquired in late 2024. While the hotel is still under renovation, they’ve opened the Birnam Inn and the proceeds of this will go to fund the ongoing work.
Ms Grant explained their hope for bringing more people to Birnam, saying: “There has been a focus on Dunkeld in the last few years, with businesses becoming more popular. Birnam doesn’t get quite the same sort of footfall and we’ve got a couple of amazing businesses and organisations such as Birnam Arts, which is just across from the hotel and there’s a lovely wee bookshop.
“With the train station right there, we still find a lot of people arriving and going straight across the bridge to Dunkeld because there’s more on the high street. We’re hoping, with the pub opening, that will be the first step in trying to connect both villages a bit more again and linking up the community in both and making it more joined up.”
The pub, the Birnam Inn, was originally planned to open along with the hotel, but given local demand and the fact it’s in a separate building to the hotel, it was decided it’d open for the long Easter weekend.
The former stables for the hotel, it was used for coaches and horses that were available to collect people from the station as Dunkeld and Birnam was once the end of the railway line, which now goes up to Inverness.
Ms Grant said: “The pub was last renovated, we think, in the nineties and it was a bistro on one side and a wee small pub on the other side. It hadn’t been opened very much and I don’t think many of the locals went as it either wasn’t open or they didn’t receive the nicest welcome when it was open.
“When Fraser took on the hotel a lot of locals started asking about the pub and were really keen to see it open as there’s nowhere else really to go for a drink on that side of the river. Fraser decided to open it around the same time as the Taybank gardens.”
Ms Grant and Mr Potter stressed that the pub is a pop-up.
“It’s not getting the full treatment at the moment,” Ms Grant said. “We’re not spending money on it as a renovation project as there’s so much going on with the hotel. We’re just utilising what we have.”
That doesn’t mean nothing is in Ms Grant’s hands. The pub has been ‘gutted’ and painted with wallpaper stripped off walls. Furniture has been replaced with items that are more in keeping with the building. Pine chairs, tables and big TVs have gone, replaced by antique furniture. The fireplace has been cleared out and there’s a large open fire. “It’s a more traditional pub vibe that’s soft, warm and welcoming,” said Ms Grant.
Now open from Friday to Sunday, locals and visitors can pop in for a drink and, soon, some seasonal pies. Produce will come from local farms, game from the area and The Taybank’s walled garden. “We’re not trying to create a massive menu that becomes too complicated to start off with,” said Mr Potter.
As for the Birnam Hotel, it won’t be a carbon copy of The Taybank, which is more of a pub and restaurant with rooms. “It is a much larger building; Scots Baronial style and it has several large event spaces that we don’t have at The Taybank,” said Ms Grant. “It was built as a hotel and health resort back in the day.
“The interiors will be more traditional but done in a new way to other Scottish country hotels. It won’t be full tartan-clad carpets, and we’re working with local Scottish mills to get nice wool fabrics from them for upholstery. We’re also working with local ceramists who are making bespoke lighting for the hotel and we’ve been sourcing antiques and second hand furniture which we’re restoring as we feel like it fits with the aesthetic we’re going for and also saving us a bit of money.
“Overall I hope it feels like a timeless country hotel but features the style of hospitality and atmosphere that The Taybank has. The Taybank looks more contemporary inside but we want The Birnam to feel really warm, welcoming and accessible and not a place where you come and have to be seated in the lounge to get a drink.”
The hotel restaurant, which will be called Rohallion, is taking shape and will be located in a room which used to house the hotel bar. Dishes will be traditional Scottish but done in a modern way using local, seasonal ingredients. Things like heritage grains used in bread and pastries, pies, and ‘amazing porridge’ with fresh fruit from the garden and homemade preserves.
“We’ve been doing a lot of research into heritage Scottish dishes and ingredients and have been collecting a lot of older books over the last few years. We’ve been exploring how these dishes could be brought back,” said Ms Grant.
Mr Potter added: “Taking Scottish cuisine and bringing it back into the forefront of modern cooking but less in a fine dining way.” They want the food to be the freshest, most local produce in a style that’s more accessible.
“We’re excited to see what opportunities come up,” said Mr Potter. “The hotel has a lot more event space, which we’re going to lean into and maybe have seasonal dinners in the big baronial hall with 150 people on two long tables. Kim and I are both really into food so it’s a big part of what we do.”
There’s no doubt that opening a pub and hotel in these current times is a challenge, but with six years of The Taybank behind them and a clear plan and aesthetic, plus the chance to give more to the village that’s often overlooked, it’s an exciting time. I’m sure I won’t be the only one looking forward to visiting soon.
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