Brian Maule at Chardon d'Or

The 2013 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the current (2013) edition.

They have you from the warm brioche at Brian Maule at Chardon d’Or, as a veritable armoury of silver cutlery gleams on the brilliant white tablecloth, and waiting staff dressed head-to-toe in black scrape stray crumbs from tables. The cost of a three-course meal at this award-winning restaurant with the name of a France-trained veteran of London’s Michelin-starred La Gavroche above the door is such that you probably won’t be eating here every special occasion. But considering its superiority in quality and atmosphere over most of the competition in its price bracket – definitively chic but unpretentiously so, every note of style harmonising with one of substance – the few pounds extra per dish are consistently well spent. Take a râgout starter of smoked salmon, haddock and leek – an excellent example of Maule’s skill for taming Scotland’s bountifully wild natural larder with elegant haute cuisine technique. Or a main of chunks of Scotch roast lamb fillet, lightly browned on the outside and blushing in the middle, artistically assembled amid confit shallots and dollops of artichoke caviar. At nearly a tenner, a dessert of homemade ice-creams and sorbets scrimps on the teaspoonful scoops, but spoils you for flavour and refreshment.

• High point: Surprisingly down-to-earth service
• Low point: Intimidatingly large and pricey wine list