Review of the Year 2021 Part 1: 15 – 27

By Tom Johnston | 17th December 2021 |

 

Tom Eats! in 2021

Another tumultuous year. You may remember that places were shut down on Christmas Eve 2020 (sound familiar?) They were closed for a good few months. Having reopened, with many of them desperate for a decent Christmas trade to get some cash in, they were hammered by Government "advice" to cancel Christmas parties. Here's a plea. With the money you saved, take your family for a small, socially distanced lunch or dinner. If you don't, your favourite place may not be here next year.

We had 27 reviews, excluding takeaways, golden oldies and nonsense. Standards are astonishingly high. A score of 20 isn't enough to get you into the top 14. An odd number, I know, but five places were tied on 20.5, so it seemed unfair to split them

As I did last year I’ve decided to summarise the results in 2 parts, beginning with 15 – 27. The top 14 will feature next Wednesday. Thanks as ever to guest reviewers Miranda Heggie and David Dickson and to the many who wrote about takeaways.

*** Signifies Guest Reviewer
Restaurant Score Comments
The Potted Lobster, Abersoch 20 One of the prettiest restaurants you will ever visit, on the coast of South Wales. Fish, obviously. https://bit.ly/39d0ZqC
Lisa & Pann's Kitchen, Birmingham *** 20 English breakfasts and Malaysian lunches. Contributed by our favourite guest reviewer, the lovely and ever dependable Miranda Heggie. https://bit.ly/2ScPfiB

Dusit Thai, Edinburgh

 

 19.5 Long established Thai place in the New Town. Slightly lower score because of timid ordering on our part. bit.ly/3cSun7s
Pepe Nero, Edinburgh 19.5 Dependable, traditional Italian trattoria. We’ve gone back a few times. ‘nough said. bit.ly/3CHiA6P
The Crusoe, Lower Largo 19.5 Great fun and good food in Fife’s East Neuk. https://bit.ly/3CRbMUL
Nick's, Bridge of Allan*** 19 Our friend David Dickson reviewed this just before a catastrophic fire. Nick’s Port of Menteith place is open and similar in style. https://bit.ly/3kXyWlN
Kerridge's Bar & Grill, London 19 Lovely but pricey. Well, it is The Corinthian Hotel. https://bit.ly/3AkO3uy
La Piazza, Edinburgh 19 Another reliable Italian that’s good value. https://bit.ly/3yI35JW
Fin & Grape, Edinburgh 19 We visited just before the Christmas lockdown in 2020. A strange time. This place is now one of only 2 Scottish restaurants in The Good Food Guide Platinum list. https://bit.ly/3qnMSVZ
Rhubarb, Prestonfield House, Edinburgh 18.5 A disappointing offering from Edinburgh’s most iconic hotel. https://bit.ly/3y7nYOU
Pineapple Grill & Seafood, Old Meldrum 18.5 Decent enough fare in a charming country house in Aberdeenshire. https://bit.ly/3cz5nm3
Chow’s Eating House, Parkgate 18 OK Chinese in The Wirral. I think we ordered badly. https://bit.ly/3DDKOjg
The Raeburn, Edinburgh 16 Unfortunate to be propping up the list. On the day there were a few service and salt issues which let them down. You will probably be luckier. https://bit.ly/3D3gKOu

 

 

 

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