I first ate in Loch Fyne restaurant about 18 months ago and hated it.

I thought the food was lame, over-priced, and the restaurant staff just too smug. So I was intrigued when I was invited to sample their 'alternative' menu - an ecologically-minded substitute to their usual fare.

"With many popular species under pressure from overfishing, we are keen to tempt your tastebuds with some less well-known varieties - all sustainable and abundant in the seas around Britain," they wrote. Well, as a keen environmentalist, how could I refuse?

On offer was red gurnard - a striking-looking fish with firm flesh, similar to red mullet but with a more subtle taste; pollack, a member of the cod family; and whiting, an incredibly versatile fish - it can be baked, fried or steamed, and makes an excellent alternative to battered cod or haddock.

Sadly, on the evening I visited, pollack was off the menu. I chose the gurnard as the main, while my dining companion plumped for the whiting as a starter.

Both were delicious (although the whiting was quite bony) and, I have to say, the evening as a whole was a revelation, especially since my starter of bradan orach (a traditionally strongly smoked salmon) was the best I've ever tasted.

All three fish are served in a variety of ways (the night we visited, the gurnard was served with a chilli dressing, the whiting with a herb crust). And prices are reasonable: the gurnard was £10.95, the whiting £5.95.

Loch Fyne manager Vince Woolley says: "When we tell customers what we're trying to do, and explain a little about each fish, people are not only more than willing to give them a try, but order the same again the next time they visit us."