10/04/2007

The Scotsman’s George Kerevan is overwhelmed by the Goblin Ha', in Main Street, Gifford, but not necessarily for the right reasons. Portions are large, writes Kerevan, and “lost in a veritable tropical forest of greenery”. A main course of prime beef steak and ale pie comes on “the same giant plate” and the “rich gravy immediately drowned the vegetables”. The lamb is “reasonably well cooked” but “again there was too much to finish”. However, the desserts are “far better than the usual bought-in stuff you find in many so-called gastropubs” and “you can do a lot worse than the Goblin Ha'”. The pub “offers pleasant, clean décor and value for money” says Kerevan.

The Atrium, in Edinburgh, is “not one to hide its light under a bushel” writes David Lamont in the Evening News, but he’s “not immediately won over by the rhetoric”. The place has a “low-key atmosphere” and there’s “no disguising the fact that you are sitting in the ground floor of a soulless office block” writes Lamont. However, head chef Neil Forbes “is still on top of his game”. An amuse bouche of tomato and fennel soup is “delicious”, a starter of smoked trout and belly pork “hit the spot” and was “elevated from humble origins to new heights of culinary joy”, while organic chicken breast with winter black truffle is “assured and confident”.

The Sunday Herald’s Joanna Blythman is impressed by Abstract in Castle Terrace, Edinburgh. Chef Loic Lefebvre “positively bristles with the commitment and single-mindedness required to make an impression on Michelin” writes Blythman but “his presentation shows Folies Bergère tendencies that need to be curbed”. She’s impressed by the meal and found it “immensely satisfying, yet light on the stomach” and it was “in the main well-conceived and, on occasion, showing promising originality”.

“Staying at Kinnaird is like visiting an Edwardian aunt who has gone out of her way to make you feel at home” writes The Scotsman’s Jeremy Watson of the Kinnaird Hotel, By Dunkeld, Perthshire, and the food “doesn't disappoint”. From the “canapés to the tantalising desserts, this is food of the finest quality” and is “expertly executed”.