Linlithgow, British, Traditional Restaurant Guide

“A lovely setting in the atrium that’s not too formal and with a pleasant buzz” sets the scene at Stuart Ralston’s bright, glass-roofed hotel dining room (he and his team moved on from a previous venture of the same name in Newington a couple of years ago). All reports acclaim “outstandingly good and inventive cooking” from the six-course menu (going up to £105 per person in 2023 from £85) and “friendly service”.

Chef Matthew Sherry has now had a year at the flagship dining room of this Edinburgh landmark, which manages to be “incredibly grand and imposing” for somewhere in a windowless basement (“the tables are all so far away from each other!)”. Long known as one of Scotland’s foremost restaurants, ratings here haven’t skipped a beat despite Michelin having removed its star on the retirement of Jeff Bland. Service still “runs like clockwork”; and on the basis of the high-quality reports we receive (one such: “we have been for dinner twice in the last six months and had the seven-course set menu with matched wines both times… expensive but worth it”) the Tyre Man owes them their star back some time soon.