Review of the 2023 Part 1: 16 – 36
As ever, we finish with our end of year review. 36 places sampled for your delight in 2023. While this is the lower half, bear in mind that a mark of 17.5 or over is 70%, no mean score in anyone's system. It's been odd year overall. At the top end the scores have been a lot lower than last year. We'll look at that more next week.
Tom's Food! wishes all of you a very happy Christmas. We have rather cut back on the cards this year, but as you've had over 100 columns from me, you're not doing too badly. Have fun.
| RANK | RESTAURANT | TOWN | SCORE | COMMENTS |
| 16= | Dakota Grill | Glasgow | 18.5 | Good food in a very stylish basement restaurant. You know what you're going to get at a Dakota. Didn't disappoint. |
| 16= | La Lanterna West End | Glasgow | 18.5 | The newish West End offering from the folk who have this Glasgow classic in town. You get what you'd expect, and nothing wrong with that. |
| 16= | Lokál Dlouhááá | Prague | 18.5 | On our first visit to Prague 20+ years ago, this was a decidedly scuzzy bar. Now a bustling local with good Czech food, great beer and a terrific atmosphere. |
| 19= | The Voyage of Buck | Edinburgh | 18 | Good quality seasonal Scottish fare. Eliminate some silly mistakes and this could have been in this year's top 10. |
| 19= | Glaschu | Glasgow | 18 | Place with a stupid unpronounceable Gaelic name, located in The Western Club. The market menu was pretty good: the ALC looks very tempting. |
| 21= | The Walnut | Edinburgh | 17.5 | Attractive little place on Leith Walk, popular with locals. Small menu, good food, great value. |
| 21= | Mia Italian Kitchen Dalry | Edinburgh | 17.5 | Good, honest, no frills middle of the road, neighbourhood Italian. |
| 23= | Bridges | Amsterdam | 17 | Stylish hotel restaurant in what was once a 15th century monastery. As is so often the case in such places, the food was a let down. |
| 23= | Zizzi | Edinburgh | 17 | Loved the pizza; hated the prices. |
| 23= | Wahaca | Edinburgh | 17 | Mexican chain founded by MasterChef winner Thomasina Miers. Good fun, reasonable food, but has the same problems as all chains with consistency. |
| 23= | Valvona & Crolla | Edinburgh | 17 | Am I the only person to feel that V & C (both deli and restaurant) is (a) overrated, and (b) overpriced? |
| 23= | Locanda De Gusti | Edinburgh | 17 | Another place going down hill. I fear not all is well in the house of Sartore. Wine & Peach closed; Pizza 1926 under new management; service here flat. A pity. |
| 23= | the butterfly and the pig | Glasgow | 17 | Good pub style food served in an eccentric style and setting. Improve the service and you're in the top half. |
| 23= | Haar Restaurant with Rooms | St Andrews | 17 | Is Dean Banks spreading himself too thinly? Food good as ever, but ruined by an all time low (1/5) service score. |
| 30= | Kanpai | Edinburgh | 16.5 | Sushi great; most other food just OK; service dire. Don't miss the miso aubergine. |
| 30= | The Kirklands Hotel | Kinross | 16.5 | Once a coaching inn on the old Great North Road, this is let down by chef's eccentric love affair with his deep fryers. |
| 32= | David Bann | Edinburgh | 16 | How are the mighty fallen. This vegetarian place used to enjoy a fabulous reputation. Very ordinary when we visited. |
| 32= | Pound Kyoto Ekimae | Kyoto | 16 | Japanese steak house with very fine beef and very weird service. |
| 34= | Hamiltons | Edinburgh | 14.5 | Disappointing Stockbridge offering from the same team who have The Voyage of Buck (see above). |
| 34= | Langan's Brasserie | London | 14.5 | Ground breaking when it opened in the 1970s. Now stuck in a time warp (apart from the prices). |
| 36 | Hicce | London | 12.5 | A very disappointing rip off in Coal Drops Yard, Kings Cross. About to close permanently. Can't say I'm sad. |
Love your blogs Tom
Merry Christmas to you and Lesley
Xx
Thank you, my lovely. Same to you. Tom x