I'm a bit of a finicky eatery so I usually have a hard time finding restaurants that cater to my…read more"requests" (so LA, lol). Well, I came to Perth, which is a small town in Scotland, and was convinced I wouldn't find anything healthy to eat. Alas, I stumbled upon Howie's Bistro and guess what? They offer gluten free / vegetarian options! They even have this vitamin Cola which is infused with herbs that I tried for the first time. It was delicious! My waitress was the sweetest! A young, 16 year old girl, who was so excited to hear that I was from LA. So cute. Ask for Zori if you go. And the owner, Craig, couldn't have been nicer. He even gave me a book of Scotland that had been left behind and been sitting at his restaurant for awhile. He may not be giving out anymore books if you check it out, but he will definitely welcome you with a smile!

This place is new to town, the night were there was very quiet, we were the only 2 people. The…read moredecor with no windows and mirrors did not help the atmosphere. Service was ok and the food good but not as good as the established classics in town such as Let's Eat and 63 Tay street.

Celebrated my birthday this year there. We ordered full…read morethree courses there. Everything was perfect. The waiter there was a super cute boy. The chef himself took our order. The main courses he recommended was amazing and the dessert was so delicate. As I see, usually the simple dishes could test the chef most. But the chef there did a really good job. Highly recommended restaurant.

Piccolo is a very pretty little place up the Perth Road, serving delicious Italian food. As other…read morepeople have already commented, although the smallness of the restaurant reflects its name, it can appear a little cramped. Every inch of space was taken up by tables, although the decor and feeling very much made up for this. The waitresses were very polite and always arrived just when you needed them. The only thing I would improve on would be to add something more chocolaty to the desserts menu! Apart from that the food was gorgeous and compliments to the chefs!

Three of us stumbled upon The Outsider while out looking for a place for dinner. It was so good we…read morewent back with 2 more friends a few nights later. Nice pleasant room with good size tables and very helpful, friendly courteous wait persons. Very good steaks, and fish, and affogato for dessert. Go to read the creative food descriptions on the menu!

My wife has been following The Outsider on the socials for a bit. So as we find ourselves in…read moreEdinburgh, this was a must. Tonight's dinner destination. We got here at 6 with no reservation. We were able to be seated upstairs. This place is busy (much busier when we were finished for sure). So if you can, I'd suggest reserving a spot. It's a bit loud in here. Not out of the ordinary for a busy place. We started with the pressed pork belly app. Perfect crisp. Could've used more of the celeriac puree bed. The confit shallots were so good and nicely sweet. Black pudding cubes (small. More of these!). Candied pears. Mmm. Great start. Wife got the char grilled venison on a butternut squash purée and spicy daikon planks (I didn't find the heat, she did tho!). It was excellent and perfectly prepared. Not gamey at all. I got the 35 day aged hangar steak. This is hands down one of the best steaks I have had out in a very long time. So well seasoned! Which was such a pleasant surprise as it left me wanting for nothing to add flavor. The hand cut fries were good but did need some salt. No dessert as, well, our server was scattered a bit all night. We asked for the dessert menu. She brought us dinner menus and we didn't see her for 10 minutes. So we opted to leave, a bit disappointed at the end. We would come back tho. Thats for sure.

The 3 D's. Dismaying, disappointing, deplorable. We came with a tour group of 20 persons, notified…read morewell in advance. We were seated and given a lovely bread board with so-so bread, butter patties and no bread plates. Where shall I put my bread? On the table that they just wiped with disinfectant, or on my service paper napkin, since there is no bread plate. A refill of bread was presented with no more butter. Our set menu was two types of soup (potato leek and Cullen sink. Main choices were chicken pie, roasted BEET, and venison sausage. The mini portion of soup was good, then the mains came out. First off the mains were served on dessert plates. Those who ordered chicken pie received what would be a $2 sausage roll with some sauce veloute and two tablespoons of chicken. I changed my order to sausage, and was told 15 minutes, please. The venison sausage served atop whipped potatoes were good. Then the dessert, the piece de resistance. Either sticky toffee pudding /cake or raspberries, whisky ice cream. The sticky was a cake mix from the shelf. There was no ice cream but a scoop of whipped cream with two When asked where's the whisky ice cream they said "oh golly" perhaps the cook forgot to put it on the plate. So they brought out mini bowls that wouldn't fill an ice cream cone, with standard vanilla ice cream. Service was fine for a tour type dinner. They are severely understaffed. At the end of every adventure, I ask myself "would I return". ? They could not pay me to eat there again, although I would happily employ the barman's services regularly

Talk about a diamond in the rough! What a gem! We were in Dundee on a Weds in Sept. for a day and…read moredecided to go to Broughty Castle towards the end of the day. After our castle tour, we looked for a local place to have dinner before driving back to Dunkeld. Forgan's was such a wonderful surprise. Our party had the lemon and herb Chicken along with the Shepard's pie. My wife and I both agree it was excellent. The lamb based pie was one of the best I've ever had. We had the Haggis appetizer and topped it all off with a pint of Forgan's own brew. Dessert was toffee pudding and the chocolate mousse. All very good. The ambiance is sophisticated and beautifully decorated. Service was very nice but bit slow. However, should one be in a hurry when on vacation? Be careful, the restaurant is large but its front end is small so you could easily drive/walk by and not see it. Definitely would recommend Forgan's to anyone visiting the nearby castle, beach, or Dundee.

Does anyone remember Lip Service? The BBC 3 drama based in Glasgow. I was hooked on that show and…read morefor some reason I always noticed the Trans-Europe Cafe featured in the background of lots of scenes and I made a vow that I had to give it a visit. By chance this past Sunday my boyfriend Mark was getting his camera cleaned a few doors down from the cafe so I gave him my best "I'm hungry eyes" and we decided to pop in for some lunch. The decor is beyond cool, the walls are a tilled map of the world and the the seating areas consist of old bus seats. The staff make you feel welcome straight away and just chat to you as if they are your best pal. I didn't even have my bum on the seat before I was asked did I know what part of Greece, Cyprus was in? Answers on a postcard because no one knew the answer! The table next to us were going in on their all day breakfast which I made a mental note to try at a later date but today I was in the mood for the classic soup and sandwich combo. All the sandwiches and salads are named after locations and the home made soups change daily. I had a toastie with peppers, balsamic vinegar, mozzarella, tomato and onion with lentil and chickpea soup. Mark had a chicken and pesto pannini with the pea and ham soup. The food was just brilliant. Fresh, tasty and filling. I really couldn't have asked for anything more. There was little to no talking as we ate and we both left very clean plates. The highlight for me had to be the soup, I've never had chickpeas in a soup before but it was pretty special. The prices were more than reasonable and I had a lovely earl grey tea with my food while mark enjoyed a beer. The Trans-Europe cafe is one of those special places in Glasgow that is kept alive by its great food, staff and returning customers and I've just put myself firmly in that last category.

My favourite place for brunch in Glasgow. It's a little hard to find at first but it's well worth…read moremaking the effort to eat here. The interior reminds me of being back in Berlin (my favourite place in the world) with it's quirky seating, the countless postcards on the wall and 80s music on in the background. I have eaten here at all times of the day and have never been disappointed. For breakfast the Eggs Benedict are amazing, there is a huge range of salads and sandwiches for lunch and on Friday and Saturday nights they now open for dinner. I tried the evening menu a few weeks ago and it was excellent. Beef with black pudding to start, perfectly cooked fish to follow and then really good coffee. At just over £40 for 2 starters, 2 mains, dessert and coffee it is amazing value. I cannot recommend this place enough. If you want a little bit of Europe in Glasgow this is the place to be.

Truly a memorable experience. We attended as a party or 4 (including one 11 year old proto-foodie)…read moreand each of us had a delightful time, and took away from the evening our own favorite dish of the night. Sean did a fantastic job highlighting the best of the fresh ingredients he served us, often in surprisingly formats. Highly recommend you make time in your Edinburgh schedule for The Table!

If you have an open minded approach to eating and you can actually book a seat for this place, then…read moreI highly recommend going! At £60 per person, it's not for the faint hearted. We ate a 7 course tasting menu and they DO NOT cater to dietary requirements. You CAN however book the entire place if you have 9 other like minded people who are happy to eat to your dietary restrictions. I think we ended up having 9 plates of food including a little amuse bouche at the start and petit fours at the end and also a mini pre dessert. The portions are well sized. I managed to finish every course and left full but not stuffed. Each plate is beautifully presented and they talk you through each plate before you eat it. As it's an open kitchen and there's only 10 seats, there is the chance to ask questions and speak to the chefs which I really liked. There were some interesting things like freeze dried powdered foie gras which my palate was a bit confused by, but as a whole dish, it did come together if at first I wasn't quite sure. This is not a place for the non food adventurous! I love that they're making fine dining casual, there was great banter between courses and throughout the evening. Other reviews have deemed it worthy of two Michelin stars, I've personally never eaten at a '2 star' establishment so I can't comment about that, but the food was definitely as good if not better than some of the '1 star' establishments that I've eaten at in town. It's also BYOB with no corkage fee, so you can spend as much or as little as you like on booze. They do have soft drinks/tea/coffee/sparkling water for sale as well but serve tap water as standard. This place definitely is not for everyone. But if you're a foodie and have the budget, try and get booked ASAP! (I've been debating between 4 and 5 stars as the food was excellent, and I totally understand with only two people cooking, it's very difficult to cater to dietary requirements & especially for coeliacs they can't guarantee no contamination but it seems unfair that so many people can't enjoy their food!)

We had a free night at the hotel when we missed our connecting flight. It included a meal in the…read morehotel restaurant, which I have to admit was something we weren't looking forward to. The hotel itself was pretty grim and there was no reason to believe the restaurant would be any better. But what a revelation. Friendly, attentive staff and a massive menu (literally) to choose from. The lentil and smoked garlic soup was perhaps the best soup I've ever had. For main course, my companions had a selection of fish based dishes. The hake dish was particularly well received, as was the salmon with risotto. I had a sirloin which, while not the most tender steak I've ever had, was extremely well seasoned and cooked. This is a really unassuming place in a pretty uninspiring location. But the food and service deserve way better. If you're in the area you could do much worse than come here.

We had a group of 9 and were able to reserve a private room which was great for conversations we…read morecould all hear. We had what seemed like two full time servers always on the spot to take our drink and food orders. The food itself was excellent, where everyone was happy with their orders. The duck and venison dishes seemed especially good. We highly recommend Blonde!

The perfect neighbourhood bistro. We walked in without a reservation on a Sunday night but I know…read moresome nights it can get quite full. We ordered the venison bourguignonne and confit duck. They were both delicious and very filling. The ambiance of Blonde is really what makes it stand out. It's everything you want in a neighbourhood bistro: small and extremely considerate staff, warm cozy interior, casual environment.

A friend and I went to The Kitchin in Scotland while we were there, because I always like to try…read morefinding a James Beard/Michelin restaurant when I travel, whenever possible. The Kitchin is located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, and is sort of in a strip of businesses, so we had a little trouble finding it, but when we did - oh my gosh, it was resplendent. The interior was very upscale, with a color palette of greys, whites, lilac, pewter, and lots of wood features. We started with our drinks while we perused the menu. I had the Paolozzi Lager (a Scottish beer) and it was so refreshing and flavorful. Later on, I had another Scottish brew; the Stewart Brewing Edinburgh Black. It was a dark beer but was so smooth and easy to drink, surprisingly. I definitely recommend either of these, if you're looking for a beer at The Kitchin. I love trying beers from the places I visit and not just getting Guinness or something like that everywhere. Once we were ready to order, our server was fantastic, checking on us just enough and explaining every different thing we ordered so we really got the experience of each dish. And even cooler, the menu came with a map of where each and every ingredient (down to the pottery and honey!) is sourced from within Scotland! So you can be sure that everything you are eating is very locally sourced. After our first drink, our server brought out an amuse bouche, to get our palettes ready for the feast. It was a tuna tartare with a horseradishy cream and little microgreens. We had the bread and butter next. It was warm and toasty, and the butter was spiced and paired perfectly with the loaves. Next our server delivered another amuse bouche, maybe to refresh our palettes after the bread and butter and drinks. It was a slice of tomato in a citrusy liquid that really did open up your palette! My friend and I chose the pre-fixe lunch menu (appetizer, entree, dessert), and it was a great way to experience a Michelin rated restaurant without spending an arm and a leg (or spending the rest of what you would have paid on extras, like more drinks). I chose the Lobster for my first course/starter and it was DECADENT, with large lumps of lobster atop a bisque, and a nice helping of gnocchi, which I'm a huge fan of - so this blew the doors off the experience from the get-go. My friend ordered the Duck starter, which came out so colorful! The duck ravioli was a green pasta, and there was a yellow corn velouté underneath it and little corn kernels on top. She gave me a bite, and even though I'm not a huge fan of duck usually, this was so tender and tasty! I chose the Pork for my entree and it came as little filets of pork belly with a velvety mushroom jus on the side that gave it a nice smooth counterbalance to the crispy pork. SO good. My travel companion got the Sea Bass for her entree and added calamari/squid on top. She liked her choice, as she is a calamari girl, usually. I tasted her sea bass and it was delightful. I love those types of fish; salmon, sea bass, etc. We were getting pretty full at this point but we definitely saved room for dessert, which is good because that's what came out next: I chose the Lemon Soufflé because I LOVE lemon, and this was so scrumptiously delicious. It came in a large mug style pottery ramekin, all warm and toasty, with a little mound of ice cream on the side to pair it with. I am still dreaming about this. I see they have a few different flavors of this soufflé style of dessert, and I would say if you see it on the daily menu - get it! My friend got the Pear dessert which was so interesting. It was a poached pear in caramel, with a vanilla ice cream on the side. It was tasty on top of luxurious, on top of indulgent. From start to finish, our experience at The Kitchin was fabulous. The service was fantastic, the ambiance was definitely upscale yet welcoming, and of course the food was heavenly. It's no wonder they have held their Michelin star for 19 years! If you'll be in the Leith area (or anywhere in Edinburgh), definitely make a stop (or a special trip) to visit The Kitchin! I can promise you will NOT be disappointed.

Amazing experience!…read more Definitely deserving of their Michelin star. The service was impeccable from star to end. Very attentive servers and sommelier. The wine pairing was perfect and the food was delicious. A great way to celebrate our anniversary.