Ten Hill Place

The 2012 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the current (2012) edition.

Surrounded by academia and festival venues, Ten Hill Place is ideally placed for a great bistro. But hotel restaurants so often fail to shine, and whether or not Ten Hill Place rises above its peers depends on a major refurbishment which the owner, the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, was contemplating at the time of going to press. Certainly, a casserole of tender game has all the comforting richness that the exhausted traveller craves, and the attentive kitchen knows how to cook a chunky steak exactly to order. A pleasingly aromatic starter of wild mushrooms in a creamy, tarragon-strewn sauce wants only better toast under it, but the goat’s cheese and red onion tart is a curious reversal – the bland top doesn’t live up to the jolly bottom. Desserts appear to be bought in, and little is lost by skipping them. Ten Hill Place can’t yet provide a great night out, but after a long day, the business traveller may be quite content with the venue’s take on a quiet night in.

• High point: Quiet spot in a central location
• Low point: Desserts are forgettable