The Suburban Pantry

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.

Take one modest space in a run of suburban shops. Add a chef who cooks fresh food with imagination and care. Stir in a partner with an eye for interior design, and who waits tables with a smile. Result: full house for dinner Thursday to Saturday and a steady daytime footfall every day of the week. Blackhall’s Suburban Pantry starts early with honey-tinged porridge, full Scottish (plus a veggie option) or a good old bacon sarnie. Lunch brings enticing mains and home-made puds, plus good things put into focaccia, pastry or fresh leaves for something lighter. Dinner might be a haggis parcel wrapped in seaweed with creamed leeks, followed by a tender braised daube of beef with kale and mustard mash. Sundays is you-can’t-go-wrong day: eggs Florentine or Benedict? French toast with smoked bacon? Or main plus pud? You can park nearby. It’s on a bus route. They choose interesting wines, price them reasonably and offer glasses in two sizes. And they do private dining, cakes for special occasions and outside catering. Tap dancing hasn’t yet been seen. But if asked nicely, they very well might.

• High point: Urban food at suburban prices
• Low point: Periodic wine tasting evenings are popular, so best to book