Tom Eats!
Review of the Year 2020: Part 1
2020 – Did Anything Happen? Oh, yes, The Great Plague. And The Great Miracle is that so many restaurants are still going despite a combination of Government capriciousness and ignorance in treating them in the same manner as traditional pubs. In Part 2 we’ll consider those whom we have lost and, remarkably, those…
Read MoreMiranda Heggie’s Zoom Wine Tasting
For this, the last Tom Eats! of the year (apart from the annual review, which will be over two weeks on Wednesday 16 & 23 December) thanks are once again due to our glamorous and prolific guest reviewer, Miranda Heggie. Fancy a tutored wine tasting, but can’t buy alcohol out because of Tier 3?…
Read MoreRollo Restaurant & Wine Bar, Stockbridge, Edinburgh
Rollo Restaurant & Wine Bar 108 Raeburn Place, Stockbridge, Edinburgh EH4 1HH 0131 332 1232 www.barrollo.com The Bill Bites £3.80 – £10.00 | Bowls £12.00 Plates £11.00 – £14.50 | Puddings £7.00 – £8.00 The Score Cooking 6.5/10 | Service 4.5/5 | Flavour 4.5/5 | Value 5/5 Total 20.5/25 It was a chance meeting…
Read MoreOne20 Wine Cafe, Edinburgh
One20 Wine Cafe 120 Dundas Street, Edinburgh EH3 5DQ 0131 556 1911 www.one-20.co.uk The Bill Starters £4.75 – £13.50 | Mains £12.75 – £14.75 Dessert (Tiramisu) £4.75 The Score Cooking/Produce Selection 6.5/10 | Service 4.5/5 | Flavour 4.5/5 Value 4/5 Total 19.5/25 Has COVID made you less active? Have your mental facilities slowed as a…
Read MoreThe Räv, St Andrews
The Räv 80 North Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9AH 01334 208580 www.therav.co.uk The Bill Lunch and Dinner Starters £6.00 – £11.00 | Mains £13.00 – £21.00 | Desserts £6.50 The Score Cooking 6.5/10 | Service 4.5/5 | Flavour 4/5 | Value 4.5/5 Total 19.5/25 We’ve been coming to St Andrews for a short break…
Read MoreThe Black Bull Inn, Lowick – Guest Reviewer Fiona Garwood
The Black Bull Inn 2 – 4 Main Street, Lowick, Berwick on Tweed TD15 2UA 01289 388375 www.blackbulllowick.co.uk The Bill Lunch and Dinner Starters £5.50 – £11.95 | Mains £10.95 – £23.95 | Desserts £6.50 The Score Cooking 8/10 | Service 4/5 | Flavour 4/5 | Value 4/5 Total 20/25 There are several pubs in…
Read MoreCraft, Birmingham – Guest Reviewer Miranda Heggie
Craft The Terrace, ICC, 8 Centenary Square Birmingham B1 2EA 0333 772 9329 www.weare-craft.co.uk The Bill Lunch and Dinner Two Courses £33 | Three Courses £39 | Four Courses £45 Afternoon tea £25 with Hot Beverage or £30.00 with a Glass of Sparkling Wine or Craft Gin Cocktail The Score Cooking 8/10 | Service 5/5…
Read MoreLe Chapon Fin, Bordeaux – Home to the Worst Service in the World
Le Chapon Fin 5 Rue Montesquieu, 33000 Bordeaux, France +33 556 791 010 www.chapon-fin.com The Bill (Euros – 2018 Prices) Lunch Set Lunch 35€ Dinner Set Menus 69€ – 99€ A la Carte Starters 29€ -33€ | Mains 37€ – 55€ | Desserts 16€ The Score Cooking 5/10 Service Sommeliers 5/5, Waitresses 0/5 – Average…
Read MoreThe Kitchin, Leith, Edinburgh
The Kitchin 78 Commercial Quay, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6LX 0131 555 1755 www.thekitchin.com The Bill Lunch 3 courses £39.00 | 4 courses £51.00 Dinner A la Carte 2 courses £75.00 | 3 courses £90.00 Tasting Menus Surprise/Vegetarian Surprise £100.00 Prestige Surprise £150.00 The Score Cooking 9.5/10 | Service 5/5 | Flavour 5/5 | Value 4/5…
Read MoreWhiskers Wine Bar & Bistro
Whiskers Wine Bar & Bistro 48 Raeburn Place, Stockbridge, Edinburgh EH4 1HL 0131 343 3681 www.whiskerswinecafe.co.uk The Bill Lunch 2 courses £16.00 | 3 courses £19.00 Sunday Roast Lunch 2 courses £20.00 | 3 courses £24.00 Dinner Starters £7.00 – £10.00 | Mains £15.00 – £25 | Desserts £2.00 – £7.50 The Score…
Read MorePizzeria 1926, Edinburgh
Pizzeria 1926 85 Dalry Road, Edinburgh EH11 2AA 0131 337 5757 www.pizzeria1926.com The Bill Bites/Starters £3.95 – £7.95 | Pizzas £9.95 – £13.95 | Desserts £4.00 – £4.50 The Score Cooking 5/10 | Service 4.5/5 | Flavour 4/5 | Value 3.5/5 TOTAL 17/25 What do you look for in a great pizza? For me there…
Read MoreThe Townhouse Hotel, Melrose
The Townhouse Hotel Market Square, Melrose TD6 9PQ 01896 822645 www.thetownhousemelrose.co.uk The Bill Soup & Sandwich – £6.95 (Lunch only, I think) 3-2-1 Menu | 3 courses plus bottle of house wine – £60 for 2 A la Carte Starters £3.00 – £7.95| Mains £13.95 – £22.95 Desserts £2.50 – £6.95 The…
Read MoreCraig Millar @ 16 West End, St Monans
Craig Millar @16 West End 16 West End. St Monans, Fife KY10 2BX 01333 730327 www.16westend.com The Bill Lunch 2 courses £25 | 3 courses £32 | 4 courses £38 Dinner 4 courses £55 | 5 courses £65 The Score Cooking 9/10 | Service 5/5 | Flavour 5/5 | Value 5/5 TOTAL 24/25 I…
Read MoreThe Ship Inn, Elie
The Ship Inn The Toft, Elie, Fife KY9 1DT 01333 330246 www.shipinn.scot The Bill Nibbles £3.50 – £5.95 | Starters £6.95 – £10.50 Mains £13.95 – £29.95 | Desserts £2.00 – £8.50 The Score Cooking 4/10 | Service 3/5 | Flavour 3/5 | Value 2.5/5 TOTAL 12.5/25 There is nothing to suggest that the…
Read MoreThe Boat House, South Queensferry
The Boat House 22 High Street, South Queensferry, EH30 9PP 0131 331 5429 The Bill Lunch and Dinner Starters £3.95 – £12.95 | Mains £10.95 – £25.00 | Desserts £6.45 The Score Cooking 5.5/10 | Service 3.5/5 | Flavour 4/5 | Value 4/5 TOTAL 17/25 Can it be that every COVID has a…
Read MoreDelta Indian Takeaway
Delta Indian Takeaway 27 Roseburn Terrace, Edinburgh EH12 5NG 0131 346 8973 www.deltaindiantakeaway.co.uk The Bill Starters £2.95 – £5.95 | Mains £6.95 – £13.25 | Desserts £2.95 The Score Cooking 6/10 | Service 4/5 | Flavour 4/5 | Value 5/5 TOTAL 19/25 While this column may be influenced by all manner of external…
Read MoreDuck’s Inn at Aberlady
Duck’s Inn at Aberlady Main Street, Aberlady, East Lothian, EH32 0RE 01875 870682 www.ducks.co.uk The Bill Lunch and Dinner 2 courses £19.95 | 3 courses £23.95 The Score Cooking 8/10 | Service 4/5 | Flavour 4.5/5 | Value 4.5/5 TOTAL 21/25 Malcolm Duck was a fixture on the Edinburgh restaurant scene (latterly Duck’s at…
Read MoreWhigham’s Wine Cellars
Whighams Wine Cellars 13 Hope Street, Edinburgh EH2 4EL 0131 225 8674 www.whighams.com The Bill A la Carte Starters £4.95 – £6.95 | Mains: £10.50 – £38.95 | Desserts £5.95 The Score Cooking 6/10 | Service 4.5/5 | Flavour 4/5 | Value 4.5/5 TOTAL 19/25 Envy, if thy jaundiced eye, Through this window chance…
Read MoreSoleto – Guest Reviewer Miranda Heggie
Soleto Bistro Trattoria Italiana 11 Commercial Road, Southampton. SO15 1GF 023 8023 4044 http://www.soleto.co.uk/ The Bill A la Carte Starters: £3.50 – £16.00 (includes sharing portions) Mains: £12.50 – £23.00 The Score Cooking 8/10 | Service 5/5 | Flavour 4/5 | Value 4/5 TOTAL 21/25 Living south of the border sometimes has its advantages, and…
Read MoreTom Eats! Best Dishes
When I first set up the predecessor to this blog, my good friend Michael G, now a proud resident of County Cork, suggested that I was making a rod for my own back. Five years on, I felt well qualified to say I had proved him wrong. That, however, was before lockdown. Other reviewers have…
Read MoreTom Eats an Awful Lot in One Day in Bologna
The article on Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale in this week’s On The Side blog attracted a lot of interest. Many were completely unaware of the existence of the stuff, as was I before a trip to Bologna, capital of Emilia Romagna, and now my favourite Italian city. The highlight was the food tour. Now before you…
Read MoreBalsamic – No, not vinegar
This week I had my first post lockdown pint. The Raeburn in Stockbridge has opened its outdoor bar as a takeaway. They have a large beer garden, which they can’t use just now, so you have the daft sight of people leaning on the street side of the railings, looks of rapture on their faces.…
Read MoreDavid Dickson reviews Wild Hearth Bakery and Belhaven Smokehouse
Wild Hearth Bakery, Comrie The bread baked by Wild Hearth Bakery of Comrie by John Castley is to be found being served at Gleneagles Hotel. The late Andrew Fairlie endorsed it thus – I thought I had tried the best sourdough in the world in San Francisco – that was until I tasted Wild Hearth’s.…
Read MoreMiranda Heggie Reviews Drinks Offers: Part 2 – Beers & Spirits
Miranda Heggie Last week, journalist Miranda Heggie shared some tips on wine offers available from online drinks companies. This week she turns her attention to beers and spirits. Let’s begin with beer. Beer52: Founded in Edinburgh back in 2013 and now the world’s most popular beer club, Beer52 will send you a mixed case of…
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