Agenda

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• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses:
   £11.50 (lunch)
   £11.50 (evening meal)
• House wine: £11.95 per bottle

• High point: Pub grub with a touch of class
• Low point: Waiters seem surprised anyone's turned up
• Food served: Mon-Sun 7.30am-9.30pm
• Bar open: Sun-Thu noon-11pm; Fri/Sat noon-1am
• Private dining: Up to 140 covers
• No. overnight rooms: 29
• Open since: 2004
• Also offers: Vegetarian options (at least 25% of menu), Childrens portions, Childrens high chairs, Wheelchair access

The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 is now in the shops.

This review is from the 2007 edition.

After going through a pretty major overhaul last year from smoky pub to boutique hotel and restaurant, Agenda is currently undergoing a further, smaller revolution. The funky, retro-modernist stylings are all still in place, with burnt citrus fabrics and chocolate brown tables scattered beneath some discreet lighting and bright, flowery prints. What's changed is all in the menu. While previous offerings could be found, for example, nestling on pistachio mouseline dauphinoise, Derek McLelland's team have stripped things right back to basics and aimed for a more home-spun feel. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing - what's on offer may not be haute cuisine, but instead the promise is of simple, substantial dishes that are well-prepared and available for substantially less cash. Starters range from a thick, mustard-rich Cullen skink to a generous portion of haggis, neeps and tatties. Mains follow this lead, offering a solid selection of herby bangers and mash, lightly battered fish and chips, and the signature Agenda burger (the signature being that it comes with marinated aubergine). Not for culinary thrill-seekers then, but what Agenda does, it does extremely well.