2012 Summary

OK I did go and eat out in 2012. But I posted a grand total of zero reviews.  Here is a very quick summary of some of the highlights (and lowlights). Writing it made me realise how quickly you forget details - so my New Years Resolution this year will be to write more (and promptly)!

The Cross at Kingussie  (September 2011) - Excellent

Strictly speaking this was the end of 2011 but I'll include it here anyway. So my husband gets a new job in England, necessitating working away from home during the week. He's still doing this ...  To say goodbye we decided to treat ourselves to a night at The Cross, with a final hill walk of the year squeezed in on the way back home to Edinburgh (still had to tick off some of the munroes at the Drumochter Pass).

We had a riverside room, which was excellent. Comfiest bed I've ever slept in. Bathroom was a bit old, but functional with a good shower and a bath.

We enjoyed the meal, but now 18 months on I can't remember what we ate but we had an exceptional bottle of Tiganello  (or 'Tig') at a reasonable price.  Deserving Scottish Wine List awards winners. This is largely moot as ownership and the chef have now changed (see my January 2013 blog post for an up to date review) but I wanted to record the fact that we had an excellent time.Good food, great wine, and the building itself was stunning.

Locanda de Gusti (Spring 2012) - Passable

This restaurant is situated at the bottom of Broughton Road. It now has 2 AA rosettes (although I think only 1 when we were there). Comparisons with the Horseshoe Inn at Eddlestone (also of old having 2 rosettes) show that quality can vary!  The food is nice and hearty, but nowhere near the heights the Horseshoe would reach.  Wine list was passable. The service, however, was absolutely stunning - no question too difficult to find out, nothing too much trouble.  In summary a nice restaurant to which we'll probably go back, but not a 'wow' restaurant.

Mithas (March 2012) - Avoid

OK so this is a cut and paste of my Trip Advisor review.  I am clearly at odds with many of the other reviewers though (or perhaps my 'fine dining' standards are higher than most people's ...). 

I've been twice now and can only conclude this is a conflicted restaurant. One half wants to serve good food and aspires to 'Fine Dining', the other half places the customer far from first, and comes with the service you would expect in any informal curry house,

On the first occasion myself and partner went for the special tasting menu. Absolutely delicious food, particularly the monkish, but there was far too much of it for us! When the full curry came at the end, we were beaten. Then came dessert. Could we skip that and have tea and coffee instead? Apparently the answer was 'No'. We were strongly encouraged to have dessert, and shared a sorbet. Then they came back and tried to sell us tea and coffee. Not impressed, but we didn't say anything as we didn't want to spoil what had been a nice meal.

A few weeks later we returned with family. Again the food couldn't be faulted - very good. This time though the waiters cleared the table whilst one diner was still eating the starter. When he attempted to do the same thing again at the main course we had to tell him to stop and come back when we were all finished.

Fine Dining comes with an expectation of good food, attention to detail, and placing the customer first. Mithas scores 1 out of 3 for me, and I won't be returning. It set my expectations very high and then failed to deliver. If I want a curry there are plenty other places I can go. If I want fine dining, ditto.

North Bridge Brasserie (September 2012) - Recommended

Another year, another wedding anniversary racked up. We came here for our meal this year. The food was really good, and there was plenty of it. Of particular note was my chocolate pithivier dessert (aka chocolate pie!). Wine was also good although I confess I cannot remember what we had to drink.

Koyama (December 2012) - Recommended

The pressure was on - where to go for a work Christmas night out?   Somehow I ended up being given the task of finding somewhere. Remembering a trip to Koi a few years ago I thought about Japanese (this also had the potential advantage of offering me a healthier option than curry or pizza!). A quick trawl through Trip Advisor seemed to suggest this place was fairly good. We met up at The Doctors pub fora drink first. Worringly the restaurant was looking very closed. By the time we wandered back for our table however it was fully open, and already had a few people eating.  Unfortunately for me, because I picked the place everyone assumed I knew how to order the food (this was not the case!). Happily we had at least 1 veteran Japanese food fan with us who guided us through what to order.   I started with Kara Age Chicken (lovely) and followed up with Teriyaki Beef - also very good although huge amounts of noodles.  Others were more adventurous with the sushi - all of which got great reviews.  So although it looks like a bit of a greasy spoon from the outside, the food is fantastic, the service was equally good, we all liked it, and best of all it came in under our budget!  Question is, will I now be expected to pick the next restaurant?  And where could it be???

Angels With Bagpipes (Autumn 2012) - Excellent!

I saved the best for last. I'd been hearing really good things about this restaurant, so when some friends wanted to go out for a meal this was one of the ones I suggested. To my delight they picked it!  The restaurant itself is like a tardis - a tiny entrance opening up to a long thin ground floor, with stairs down to a huge lower level. We immediately felt right at home - fantastic ambience - and having considered some G&Ts ended up ordering some prosecco to start with. Again the detail of the food escapes me, although I remember my smoked salmon starter. But I very clearly remember that all four of us had different starters and main courses, and all four of us were raving about our own food, whilst looking on in jealously at everyone else's!  A great restaurant to which I will definitely return - and often.  This is currently my favourite restaurant in Edinburgh.

Iris - a late night dining experience

I like to eat early, mainly because I also tend to crash out early and then get up early.  So the idea of  booking dinner at 9pm at night horrified me.  The latest I've ever booked a table for has been, reluctantly, 8 o'clock.  My other half, however, was golfing, so we had little choice but to wait for 18 holes to finish, and for him and his golfing buddy to drive into town.  A nice excuse for a G&T for the golfing widows whilst we waited for them in The Bon Vivant. Then we sauntered next door to Iris for dinner. And it was packed to the gunnels - even when we left.  

Who knew so many people liked to eat so late?

Wine List

Not bad actually.  Nothing horrifically expensive, which is always nice.  We had a couple of bottles of rioja and resisted the temptation to go for Kir Royales.  *sigh*

Food

Pretty good! I had a chorizo, apple and spanish black pudding combo for starters - classic but perfect.  2 others had prawns - both said they'd had better.  But I think we were all jealous of the gigantic spring rolls on the fourth plate.

One of the specials was Rose veal. 4 of us wanted it but when 3 of us ordered, the fourth thought he'd better be different and plumped for steak.  The veal was excellent, the steak looked great. All were cooked to perfection and accompanied by some stunning chips with chilli mayonnaise.

And so to dessert - ice cream all round, with sticky toffee pudding accompanying 1 of them.  Exactly what I was after at this late hour.

Overall Rating

I'll be going back - a thoroughly enjoyable meal.  I'll book for earlier next time though!

What can you get for £50 nowadays?

Even a tank of petrol costs more than that.  But £50 can get you a 2 course meal for 2 including generous tip at A Room in Leith (bring your own wine).  So - the verdict? Excellent value for money!


Location

A Room in Leith is on Dock Place, just off Commercial Road. Some may remember it in it's past guise as 'The Waterfront'.  The setup is much the same as I recall from those days - a bar (Teuchters Landing) at the front, and the restaurant area in a conservatory like room at the back.  The location, especially on a sunny early spring evening, is great.  The restaurant itself is airy and rather lively, so if you are looking for an intimate meal you may be disappointed.  We thoroughly enjoyed it.

Wine List

I didn't really pay much attention to the wine list to be honest, although the Buitenverwachting Sauvignon Blanc caught my eye. You see the beauty of 'A Room in  ...' is that you can bring your own wine.  Corkage is £3 for wine and £4 for fizz.  We decided on a Felton Road Calvert 2008 Pinot Noir - and very nice it was too.

Food

The menu is not huge, but the choice is great.  Usually I end up having some kind of goats cheese tart, but thankfully there wasn't even a hint of goats cheese to be seen! Forced into being more adventurous I chose the (vegetarian) Haggis, Neeps and Tatties to start, whilst my husband selected the Stornoway black pudding scotch egg. The Haggis was elegant and tasty, and the mustard sauce a great accompaniment.   The scotch egg looked (and I am assured also tasted) fabulous.  The egg was perfectly runny, the black pudding perfect. And it was a large portion. I. was. jealous.

The mains again took some deciding. Would I be adventurous and go for the roast rabbit loin?  Or the monkfish?  Or the mixed grill of Pork? Would I be safe and plump for the Steak and Chips? Or the Chicken? In the end the Pan seared, spice encrusted monkfish on a bed of grilled asparagus, with chorizo won.  The 2nd main was the Black Isle lager battered North Sea haddie fillets with hand-cut chips, peas and tartare sauce.  Both the haddock and the monkfish were incredibly fresh, cooked perfectly and very tasty. The presentation for the monkfish was also impeccable.  As we started to eat the mains, we agreed we must come back here more often.  A side dish of al dente vegetables and boiled new potatoes accompanied the food.


No desserts, as we were tired from a weekend of walking and gardening. But so many to choose from!  How long will it be before we have to come back to try the Sticky Toffee Pudding?  Not long, I would guess.

Overall Rating

Excellent value food, great quality and lovely presentation. Service was also good, even though the restaurant was very busy. This was a meal which exceeded our expectations. We shall return.