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.

Restaurant Review: 21212

I've been wanting to go to 21212 for some months now, and earlier this year it gained it's Michelin star. The concept of a restaurant which offers only a choice of 2 starters, mains and desserts, with 1 soup and cheese in between is, I admit, slightly scary for a somewhat fussy eater like myself. However I had looked at sample menus before, and almost every dish appealed to me.

Atmosphere

The dining room is small and intimate. It reminded me of a 21st century Witchery in style - plush and opulent but at the same time light, modern and airy. Not at all oppressive.

Wine List

The wine list is not particularly extensive, but very well chosen. To start we had 2 glasses of Henriot NV, followed by a bottle of Dry River Syrah 2004 (one of our favourite NZ syrahs, and not that easy to get in the UK).

Food

With a limited choice it's not surprising that we both ate the same meal from start to finish. Each dish had about 10 to 15 ingredients, most of which I have forgotten. Even the bread (saffron with spice) was complex.

To start we had a new zealand lamb curry. This, we agreed, was delicious. Each of the many flavours was perfectly and delicately balanced. The lentil dahl was delicious. Easily the best curry I've eaten and an excellent start to the meal.

Then came the soup. This was a celeriac cream (or froth) with puréed vegetables. Again delicious, but more of an amuse bouche in size rather than a soup.

For the main we chose duck - smoked and breast, with a custard tart and, bizarrely, a spicy sausage. Overall the dish was nice, but a bit disjointed as the flavours didn't all mesh with each other. The sausage in particular seemed at odds with the rest of the dish.

Cheese next: a lovely blue cheese which went particularly well with the sweet biscuits; a soft, brie-like cheese from champagne; a couple of harder cheeses. The array of biscuits that came with the platter was fantastic and ranged from sweet wafer like ones through to thick oatmeal. What surprised me most about this course was the size of it - unlike the soup this was a big serving.

Finally the sweet. But before that a small palate cleansing porridge milk - delicious. We spurned the lemon curd and instead selected apple crumble. Both desserts came in glasses. A tokaji and a sweet shiraz accompanied this course. The crumble was delicious - a layered glass of creamy heaven.

Overall Rating

We retired upstairs for coffee in the drawing room afterwards - a relaxing way to end a great meal. If I had to be picky I would say that the main course didn't live up to the other 4 courses, and the balance of the meal was slightly skewed by the size of the soup and the cheese. Overall though - fantastic restaurant, great service, especially from the sommelier, great atmosphere, and fab company! I'll definitely be going again.

Restaurant Reviews: Italian Lunches & Prosecco

What better way to spend Sunday than to go out for lunch, drink some Prosecco and watch some rugby? Well, Scotland could actually win for a change, but apart from that ...

So a couple of quick reviews! Last week we were at Centotre on George Street, and today back to our old favourite VinCaffé

Centotre

We hadn't eaten at Centrotre since it opened many years ago, but we wanted to treat friends for lunch and thought this would be a good choice before heading off to a pub to watch the rugby.

Drinks first: Prosecco Col del Sas Extra Dry @ £26 per bottle: still too sweet for my taste, but good at lunchtime. Our good intentions vanished quickly as we drank 2 bottles ...

And now the starters: Mozzarella was ordered and came without the promised tomatoes (which were definitely on our menu but do not appear online ...). With no argument, tomatoes were added. The Bresaola was very nice, as was the Bruschetta.

For mains most of us selected the veal. This was good, but we had to ask for lemon, without which the dish would have been bland. Once again the service was great though, and lemon slices were brought from the bar. The sirloin was also good.

Eager to get a seat somewhere for the rugby, we skipped dessert.

Conclusions: the meal was OK, but I was very disappointed not to be offered fresh parmesan - I can't remember the last time that happened in an Italian restaurant. And lemon with the veal would have been nice.

As a quick aside, we ended up in Hudsons bar, which was not only an excellent place to watch the rugby (read: we got a seat and it wasn't that busy!), but they also had a fantastically dry prosecco at £17 a bottle. Unfortunately I can't remember the name, but if you are in the area ...

VinCaffé

We go to VinCaffé for lunch at least once a year, usually at Christmas. We also try and avoid the conveyor belt feel and bland menus often associated with Valentines day meals. So a table was booked, and it was confirmed that nothing at all special was happening at lunchtime - just the usual menu. Perfect!

For starters we had deep fried cauliflower and peppers, and fishcakes, washed down with a glass of Ferrari Prosecco. Both were excellent!

My main course, accompanied with a glass of La Poja Allegrini, was Pasta with pork Lucanica sausage, tomato, mushrooms and cream - seriously good pasta, and complemented perfectly by the wine. My hubby elected to try Quails with polenta and roasted butternut squash, with a glass of Gaja 1999. Incredible wine, and apparently the food wasn't bad either!

Only 1 dessert: a delicious lemon and ricotta cheesecake.

Once again, VinCaffé does not let us down. The food was excellent, compared to the food at Centotre which didn't quite hit the same standards.

And as for the rugby ... it's just a shame the Italians couldn't finish the day off perfectly (we'll not talk about yesterdays result ...)

Scotland's New Michelin Star Restaurants

Yes it's that time of year again - 3 new michelin stars for Scotland:

* Kinloch Lodge, Skye (not been there)
* The Peat Inn, Fife (fantastic food)
* 21212, Edinburgh - this was going to be the next place I eat out anyway. I may have to go sooner than intended now!

Edinburgh also now has more starred restaurants outside London than any other city in the UK. This makes me happy.

For more information see:

* The Scotsman
* EatOut Magazine

Le Monde - A whole world of tasteless, cold, badly cooked food

Well the title of the post says it all really. But before I begin, can I just say that despite the food I did have a good night out - due in no small measure to some excellent company.

Le Monde is, and I quote from the website, "one of the premier boutique hotels in Edinburgh. Its popularity and reputation continues to grow." Really?

We met in the bar, Vienna. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised - the clientèle were mixed - pensioners, teenagers and a whole range in between. The bar itself was very nice. A good start. Then we went upstairs to "Paris" for dinner ...

Atmosphere

Styled as "an intimate space for romantic liaisons" (I wasn't there on a romantic liaison) I expected something subtle. Instead we (not me ...!) had to ask for the music to be turned down so we didn't have to shout to one another. I was also a bit put off by people dancing when we were eating - I know, I know: I'm old (fashioned) - a restaurant should just be a restaurant ... No?

And then, as I move a water glass away it sticks to my hand - yuck! New glass requested immediately ... I am left feeling a little bit queasy. I suspect we are not the "restaurant's" favourite table.

Food

I can safely say that this is one of the worst dining experiences I have ever had!

To start: I chose the ham terrine with apple chutney and rye bread. Or to put it another way - a completely tasteless terrine with an identical (non) tasting chutney. At least the toasted rye bread had some flavour to it. There was no salt and pepper on the table either, so I couldn't try to improve it. The textures of the food were different but that's really about all I can say. I would love to admit I was exaggerating here but no - I have never eaten anything before that tastes of nothing. So to get two on the same plate ... well it certainly was an achievement.

We also had mussels, scallops and bruschetta. The most interesting comment passed was that the sauce with the mussels was hot. I said nothing, as did most others ...

For the main: there was a mix up - one person ordered a rib-eye with no tomato, 2 others ordered rare sirloin. The rib-eye came with a tomato, one of the sirloins without ... confusion reigns as I point out that a rib eye is clearly different from a sirloin and that I have the wrong dish - I was happy to swap. No that would not do. The dishes must be taken back to the kitchen because neither of the two waiters knew their rib-eye from their &!*!. Sure enough, a few minutes later, back came the plates with the tomato switched. Apparently I was correct.

So, rare steak should be (more than) a bit bloody, right?? If we peered intently at it we could just about detect a hint of pink. Our rare steaks came medium to well done. If they had been cooked as ordered they would have been very good - the quality of the steak only ruined by the incompetence of the chef. And then the temperature: the steak was cold, the chips that came with it even colder. The mushroom was quite nice (but then it's difficult to screw up a grilled mushroom). I kind of felt obliged to eat the (half green) tomato.

Lamb shanks were also ordered. I was too afraid to ask anyone what they thought, and I suspect everyone else felt the same as we talked about everything but the food.

I skipped dessert and instead chose a large espresso: it was excellent.

The Bill

So we ask for the bill. As we divvy it up, someone mentions a tip. "Have they included a service charge?" someone else asks? Yes they have: so we get a bill with a service charge included plus a space for a tip. Cheap trick? We didn't leave any extra.

Overall Rating

It's not a restaurant. A restaurant should serve good food. A restaurant should not be dominated by a huge bar - reference Harvey Nichols Forth Floor for how it could be done. You should not have to shout in a restaurant. A restaurant should not boast of the quality of its steak and yet be unable to tell the difference between cuts, or be able to cook it correctly. This was a truly terrible dining experience. Burger King is far better - at least you get what you expect there. And I have to say the food is a damned site tastier.

If only 1 person reads this and decides not to go, my work is done. This was a huge letdown.

Plumed Horse - Best Restaurant in Scotland?

Leith Michelin starred restaurant The Plumed Horse has just been named AA Scottish Restaurant of the Year 2009-2010. You can see the full results from Monday's award ceremony here.

Is it the best restaurant in Scotland? You tell me, as I've not been (yet) although it is creeping higher up my list and we nearly went there last night. Instead we ended up at the Champany Inn - review to follow shortly.

Another winner was The Cross at Kingussie, which got the gong for best wine list - I think this has also just made it onto our 'must go to' list.

Restaurant Review: Cafe Andaluz

With La Tasca seemingly offering a permanent 50% discount on food, could any other tapas bar beat it? I hoped so, because whilst La Tasca is great value, the quality of the food has much room for improvement. So it was with great hope and expectation that I arrived at Cafe Andaluz on George Street, having salivated over the menu a few times whilst waiting for a bus home.

Wine List

OK, we've already established that if you want a cheap tapas night, go to La Tasca. Which is just as well, because the wine here ain't cheap. £18 for a house wine, Siglo crianza, which you can buy in the shops for £7, is expensive. I think La Tasca offers the same wine cheaper (but they don't have their list online so I couldn't confirm this). Other than that the list is limited, but offers a really good selection of styles, including a priorat at £55 and some gran reservas. No vintages are mentioned on the menu, so you'd have to ask to be sure of what you are paying for.

Food

There were six of us in total, and we polished off 2 set menus and a couple of other dishes between us. A menu for two is recommended, but you'd have to be seriously hungry to finish all that between you. The choice was excellent though, and the food fantastic.

From the start, when we were served fresh bread, great olive oil and olives which were so tasty I found myself eating the black ones (which I usually don't like), I knew exactly why I would be coming back here rather than returning to La Tasca - the food is delicious!

We then tucked into a vast array of dishes, including mushrooms in wine and garlic sauce, tiger prawns, tortilla, very spicy patatas bravas, and very smelly goat's cheese and marmalade.

Dishes to highlight for me included the chorizo and the battered chicken. But the star dish of the evening, selected on a friends recommendation, was the chorizo and black pudding - this is a very rich dish, so best shared between a few people!

Overall Rating

Cheap food or great food? Limited menu or a choice including some dishes you certainly won't have tried before? Crammed tables or a bit more space?

The atmosphere at both La Tasca and Cafe Andaluz is equally as good, but the food is infinitely better at the latter establishment. Now I know why the food is always discounted at La Tasca - I'd rather go out less often and pay more. Cafe Andaluz is my new tapas destination in Edinburgh, and I can't wait to go back!

Restaurant Review: Wok and Wine

I'm not ashamed to say up front that Wok and Wine is a huge favourite of mine, so I was looking forward to visiting it last night, as I hadn't been for a while. I'm pleased to say that once again it loved up to my expectations!

Wine List

A great range of reasonably priced and very drinkable wine (although the website is slightly out of date - both range and price).

Food

There were seven of us eating last night, so we were able to order a good selection of starters. For those who have eaten there before, it goes without saying that the chicken moneybags were almost an automatic choice for some (including myself) - minced chicken in a coconut cream, deep fried in filo pastry: delicious! Also on the menu was a won-ton platter, thai fish cakes (spicy but lovely), chicken and corn soup, deep fired aubergine, and a starter sized king prawns in black bean sauce: the prawns were perfectly cooked.

The main courses were of an equally high standard: shredded duck, beef udon, chicken and cashew, whole sea bass steamed with ginger and spring onion, crispy beef, and, the star of the show for me, sizzling hong kong style beef.

Overall Rating

Great service: very attentive and friendly, all the staff seem genuinely happy to be serving you. Excellent food. Lovely basement restaurant, clearly full of return customers. They also operate a takeaway service. Highly recommended.

Tailend, Take Away

A short post on what is rumoured to be the best fish and chip shop in Edinburgh. The Tailend is a restaurant and a traditional chip shop - 2 separate rooms keep the queue at the fish bar away from the diners.

We decided to eat at home, so popped out for a takeaway. 3 Haddock Suppers, and 1 Scampi supper, we headed home. The haddock was freshly cooked and very tasty, the chips were also cooked to order and not greasy. The only disappointment was the scampi: it came in a packet, frozen. In fairness to the restaurant they didn't try to hide the fact as they poured the fish straight from the packet into the oil. When it was eventually unwrapped, the batter was overcooked and dark brown.

Overall Rating

Pretty good for a chippy, but considering their emphasis on fresh fish, I was very disappointed to get frozen. Recommendation: ask about the scampi before you decide to buy it. The fresh fish, however, was very good.

La Tasca - Great Value Tapas

3 months since the last post - what can I say? I've been working hard, doing a bit of running, and sadly, not eating out. All this is about to change though. In the next few weeks I'll be eating at Tail End (acclaimed chippy - can it live up to the hype?), Cafe Andaluz (I've just heard great things from a friend so am very excited), and Wok & Wine.

The more observant amongst you may have noticed that there are no high end dining nights out here ... I'm dropping hints with a view to going to 21212 (I can only hope).

In the meantime, I visited La Tasca last week with the in-laws, so a quick review.

I love tapas, but I haven't tried too many restaurants in Edinburgh recently, apart from La Tasca - see my review from earlier this year.

The Tapas Tree always used to get good reviews, but didn't impress me too much. So far (and this may change soon) my favourite has been in Newcastle - El Torero. It's been a few years since I've been, but if you're in the area I'd recommend giving it a try. La Tasca, for me, has always been good, serving all the favourites and doing a reasonably good job. What elevated this visit for me was that all food was half price (again). If you want to keep abreast of offers on national chains like this then www.vouchercodes.co.uk can send you a weekly email with all the best offers (not just restaurants).

Wine List

Pretty standard list with a good range of value wines and beers. I especially love the cava (!) and the sangria.

Food

Nothing adventurous, nothing spectacular, but pretty tasty and great value. All the usual favourites were there: meatballs, croquettes, prawns, calamari, chorizo ...

Overall Rating

Needless to say the place was filled to the brim. We were on a small table, but all that made us do was order the tapas in stages, which is a good thing. At half price you can't go wrong: 8 or 9 tapas, 2 bottles of wine and a tip for £60. I would highly recommend it for a relaxed meal with friends.

Restaurant Review: La Tasca

I love going out for tapas, and over the years I've been to La Tasca many a time. Edinburgh's West End, The Omni Centre (where we were last night) or even in the middle of Liverpool - no matter what branch you go into, you know what to expect, and that is good solid tapas, with all the crowd pleasers, good service, and, especially with a group of people, a friendly, relaxed atmosphere.

Wine

You can never go wrong with Rioja, and as for the sangria - delicious. Last night we opted for cava - at £23 not cheap (compared to Scotmid's great value £5 bottles), but excellent. And if you're not in the mood for wine, there's always a good range of Spanish beer. So, 2 bottles of cava later ...

Food

Made all the more tasty by the fact that we had a '2 for 1' voucher, the food was of the usual high standard. We ate a huge selection, including calamari, langoustines, chicken croquettes, spare ribs, meatballs (of course!), chorizo and patatas bravas (and more ...).

Overall Rating

Better than the tourist trap tapas I had in Barcelona, La Tasca remains a firm favourite of mine. Excellent service, good food, nice wine and fab company - a very good night, and great value for money.

Restaurant Review: The Vintners Rooms

And so it transpired that it was time to go out for a special meal somewhere. But where? We researched every restaurant in Edinburgh we could think of, as we really wanted to go somewhere new: once again The Kitchin's menu did not appeal - there's always so much that I don't want to eat; Oloroso, where I have been wanting to go for a long time now, failed to impress on the website; the time was not quite right for The Witchery (you can have too much of a good thing); Martin Wishart doesn't even make our shortlist (we've been once and had 'the experience' but didn't particularly enjoy it - the experience that is - the food was great).

A couple of places appealed to me: The Stockbridge almost made it - the food looked good, but the winelist didn't really impress too much - its definitely made my lunch list though; Wedgewood also looks good, although don't expect too much from the 'private wine cellar'...

But in the end none of the restaurants we looked at could dislodge The Vintners Rooms from prime position. We've been before, we'll probably go again, and we had a great meal there this weekend.

Wine List

The Vintner Rooms is situated in a building steeped in wine history, with wine trading going on at The Vaults since the 15th century. Raeburns supplies at least some of the wines on the wine list, and it is excellent. This time we had a 1999 Bandol - full of great flavours, but slightly alcoholic towards the end. This was our first old Bandol and I'm sure it won't be our last.

Food

I place a lot of store by a website, and one thing which impresses me is that the menu on The Vintners Rooms website is completely up to date. Now as I don't dine there every night, this may be coincidence, but I don't think so. We had a Trilogie of Foie Gras (seared, pâté and soup) and Sauteed Scallops with Whisky, Smoked Haddock and Brown Shrimp Risotto. The Foie Gras was excellent, although a little rich (entirely to be expected - I should have chosen the goats cheese!) and the scallops, including the risotto, similarly well received. For mains we had Rack of Lamb with Aubergine Caviar and Pommes Dauphine, and Roast Aberdeen Angus Fillet with a Perigord Truffle Sauce. I have to say that the rack of lamb was perhaps the best I have had in this country (the only one to surpass it being a rack of New Zealand lamb in Whitianga ... melt in the mouth). The Fillet was of an equally high standard, and the truffle sauce was gorgeous.

What followed was a lesson in how to serve dessert. My Dark and White Chocolate Fondant with Pistachio Ice Cream was perfection on a plate: the fondant was meltingly gorgeous, the pistachio ice cream my favourite, and the brandy snap basket and caramelised grapefruit just heavenly extras. My partner had Coffee Crême Brûlée with Iced Whisky Truffle, which he assures me is better than mine (!) and he left me none to try ...

Overall Rating

If I was being picky I would say that I would like to have had a choice of bread, and perhaps olives with stone in are not the thing to serve in a restaurant. But I am not being picky, and I didn't go to the Vintner Rooms to have walnut bread or suchlike. The food was excellent, the desserts superlative, the wine list very, very good, and the atmosphere welcoming and convivial. The main dining room is an intimate candle-lit affair with 18th century decorative plasterwork and I can think of fewer more appealing restaurants in Edinburgh.

If you want a special meal without going through the full circus of a Michelin star restaurant, then get yourself down to The Vintner Rooms now. You will not regret it.

Kushis to Open in Leith

Exciting news - According to Bite's April issue, Kushi's are to open up a new restaurant in Leith, on Dock Place. I can't find an opening date but a colleague will undoubtedly get an invite to the opening night, so I will find out. Given my recent experience of eating Indian in Leith I am very happy.

I've only ever had good food and service there in the past, although if you read reviews on the List, you may find differing opinions. When it opens it will be reviewed!

Restaurant Review: Britannia Spice

Britannia Spice has been reaping national curry awards pretty much since it opened in 1998, and it also just happens to be my local indian restaurant, although I hadn't been in for a meal for some time. However, last night's experience was far from pleasant, and I don't think I will be returning, which saddens me.

The good points (decent prices, good starter) were far outweighed by the bad - the worst moment of all coming when a friend cut open some chicken to find it completely raw. I have to assume this was a genuine mistake, and it was only the 1 piece, but all the main courses were indicative of an overall fall in cooking standards. Anyway, I guess a formal write-up is still merited ...

Food

Poppadoms were served pretty quickly, with a good selection of accompaniments. This was just as well, because it took a further 45 minutes before anyone would take our food order, although drinks did arrive before that. The starters were as good as I remembered: a selection of pakora, kebabs, and my favourite murgh chandi tikka. So far so good (apart from elapse time ...).

Now I am not a veteran curry eater, tending to be conservative in my choices, but one of my indian colleagues had recommended biriyani to me as a great dish to try. Sure enough my first taste of it at Kushis was fantastic, with a delicate mix of spice. The biriyani here, however, was awful: a huge mound of rice with little flavour and a bit more chicken (or prawn), served with a bland vegetable curry. The best any of us could say about it was that it was edible - not enjoyable though. At least it was edible, which is more than can be said for the chicken shashlik - the aforementioned raw chicken appearing early on in the dish. Other mains, including lamb jalfrezi, seemed to fall into the 'edible' category.

Overall Rating

Whether it was the huge delay at the start, the raw chicken, or the disappointing biriyanis, none of us enjoyed the meal on what was supposed to be a relaxing night out catching up with family. To be balanced, there was a large table next to us who were raving about their meal - perhaps we got unlucky. Whatever the reason, there are plenty other Indian restaurants in Edinburgh, and I won't be rushing back to Britannia Spice. If you've had a better experience, let me know!

Restaurant Review: Vin Caffe

We have a fairly new tradition of rewarding ourselves after completing Christmas shopping in town with lunch at Vin Caffe - good food, accompanied by a splash-out bottle of wine. This year, however, work and prior engagements conspired against us and we completed most of our shopping on the internet, and had to forego our lunch. And then there's Valentines day: an excuse to go out for a meal in a good restaurant, which invariably turns into something of a conveyor belt experience which leaves us wanting somehting more ... So what better idea than to spurn an evening meal, and have a Valentines lunch at Vin Caffe instead?

Wine List

I wonder what attracted us to Vin Caffe in the first place? Could it have been the wine list: a fantastic range of Italian wines (and more), at excellent prices - the markup is barely more than you would pay at the Valvona & Crolla shop. Past experience had led me to expect my other half to order a special (read very expensive) bottle of wine now, so imagine my surprise when we had a stunning 2001 Barbaresco at only £33 - great value. Vin Caffe also make most wines available by the glass via some nifty wine preservation and dispensing kit from Cruvinet.

Food

Vin Caffe always have fresh fish specials on the menu, although today we did not choose any. For starters my partner had calamari and I opted for cichetti - a selection of 5 small appetisers. Both dishes were delicious, and I especially liked the cichetti - a mixture of cold meats, chicken, bruschetta and mozarella with tomato. Starters were followed by mains of chicken with pancetta and sage, on a bed of cabbage and rump of lamb with potatoes. Both meals were very good, although not exceptional. With room for dessert it was time to order tiramasu and bread and butter pudding - lovely!!

Overall Rating

A great place to go for an enjoyable lunch, good atmosphere and service, and a fabulous wine list. Next time a visit to rival Centro Tre might be called for though, as its been a long time since we've eaten there.

Restaurant Review: The Bonham

January is far too busy a month for my liking - still I should be able to avoid a few weeks without dining out now ... Dinner with friends, postponed from early December, resulted in a meal at the Bonham last weekend.

Wine List

A pretty good selection - we tried a lovely crisp sancerre and a meaty ribera del duero. Both were good and also pretty good value.

Food

Truly excellent food. The amouse bouche was a butternut squash soup with vanilla froth. This was followed by delicious mushroom soup (*2), chicken and foi gras terrine, and seared scallops. For main course, we had chicken and venison - again delicious, but more on this later. Dessert was a mixed affair, with everything from banana tart, to trio of chocolate, and a cheese board - once again we all thoroughly enjoyed the food.

Overall Rating

Decent wine and excellent food with good company made for a very enjoyable night out. But here's the rub: wild horses would not drag me back for a second visit. The reason?? I almost had to get a magnifying glass out to see my main course. The venison was, at £23, the most expensive main available - and 3 of us selected it. Imagine our disappointment when we were presented with two very small slices of meat and a similarly small amount of potatoes and vegetables. Now whilst I appreciate that some restaurants like to serve smaller portions ("pictures on plates" as my father would call them), this was ridiculous. I quite like smaller portions, as it allows me to eat 3 courses, but my starter and dessert were both much larger than my main - surely that can't be right? The fact that the main was so delicious just served to underline the fact that there wasn't much of it at all.

Great food, but the smallest main course I've ever seen means that I won't be rushing back.

Restaurant Review: Forth Floor, Harvey Nichols

Harvey Nichols Forth Floor Restaurant is an award winning restaurant with a great wine list. Better still, on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, all wine in the main restaurant is half price, making for a much less expensive night out, and an opportunity to try something special without breaking the bank.

Wine List

What can I say? From a fantastic range of champagnes in half bottles (perfect to share over your starter) to expensive burgundy and a wide variety in between: the wine list is very good indeed. I sometimes feel that the shop prices are slightly more expensive than your other high street wine shops, but this is Harvey Nicks, and they do manage to get wine that you will struggle to find elsewhere (unless you buy online). Take the shop prices into the restaurant, and bargains leap out from every page.

Food

An amouse bouche of goats cheese ravioli started the night - delicious. Not knowing this, I had ordered goats cheese with roasted black figs and onion filo crisps for my starter - but I can never eat too much goats cheese, so I wasn't too disappointed. My partner had hot smoked salmon and avocado purée. Main course, with a great (but not too expensive!) burgundy, was roast chump of lamb with caramelised beetroot, chestnuts, fondant potato: the chestnuts went extremely well, and the lamb was perfectly cooked. Although full, I managed to eat some Apple cheesecake - perhaps the weakest course of the three, but nonetheless very nice.

Overall Rating

I've been to the Forth Floor twice now, and really enjoyed both evenings. The food is very good indeed, the wine list excellent, and the service impeccable. My only complaint is that the restaurant itself is a bit cold - so wear something warm!

Tuesdays and Thursdays offer exceptional value for money.

The Sun Inn, Eskbank: Restaurant Review

The Sun Inn proclaims itself to be Edinburgh's newest gourmet pub. Situated on the A7 near Newtongrange the building, next to Newbattle viaduct, is a landmark I remember from childhood journeys up to the city. It has recently changed ownership, and friends in Newtongrange suggested we go for a meal having read favourable reviews. We booked for a Saturday night and the restaurant was full.

Accommodation

Rooms are advertised from £60 but this appears to be for single rooms, according to the website; doubles look to be about £85 which for Edinburgh probably isn't that bad.

Wine List

An interesting list with a pretty good selection for a pub. They have a nice grüner veltliner but the red we wanted(a NZ Pinot Noir) had sold out over New Year. In the end we settled for a valpolicella which was drinkable. We could have gone for the odd 'trophy' wine - Cristal champagne or Corton Charlemagne for instance. I think it was this that put me off slightly: I don't want to pay £150 upwards for a bottle of wine in a pub, no matter how much of a gourmet pub it's trying to be. Leave that to established top-end restaurants, and perhaps spend the money instead expanding the wine list to include a few more choices.

Food

Very good pub food. The website gives a good idea of what's on offer, and the seafood we tried was excellent. For starters we tasted queen scallops, pate, smoked fish croquettes and langoustines: all were good. The mains consisted of perfectly cooked, good quality sirloin steaks with home made chips and a peppercorn sauce, and game casserole (complete with authentic shot) with barley lentils - both delicious and well cooked. For dessert we tasted a magnificent crème brûlée and a nice, but slightly less inspiring, sticky toffee pudding,

Overall Rating

Food: Excellent pub food - certainly a better selection that the Champany Inn Chop and Ale House, and I enjoyed my dinner here far more than lunch at Champany. Gourmet? Perhaps not quite. Wine list: Trying too hard. Price: pretty good - three 3 course meals, one 2 course meal and 2 bottles of wine worked out at £30 a head (not including tip) - not too shabby at all. Lunch prices are even cheaper.

If I lived in Newtongrange I would certainly go there often. Booking advised for dinner at least.