"On our first night in Edinburgh we decided to try 21212. The service was outstanding, but unfortunately most of the meal left us underwhelmed. We were greeted by two very friendly and hospitable hostesses, and the service throughout the night was equally friendly and hospitable. There seemed to be some confusion over where we were to be seated, but it was cleared up quickly and we were seated at a table in the dining room. The dining room is well appointed, and the tables are not too crowded. However, if you are shy about having the table next to yours being able to hear your conversation, this might not be the place for you, as the setting is very intimate, and several tables share a common bench as one side of the seating. The dinner menu was straightforward, and we were informed that the menu changes weekly, which impressed us both. The wine list was good, and, although I wouldn 't describe it as extensive, they offered a variety of bottles, as well as a pairing for each course. The sommelier however did not offer any suggestions to us, which was a bit surprising, considering this is advertised as a haven for wine lovers on the restaurants website. I would have expected the sommelier to approach us and offer a suggestion, or, at the very least, speak to us, but he did neither. The amuse bouche was creative, but the texture was not appealing. For our first courses, my husband and I each tried a different dish, but neither of us were impressed. The textures for both dishes were off (both dishes included a foam type element that was very sour, and one dish included raw onion, which wrecked our palates). Our second course, a spring vegetable soup, was also not what we hoped for. My husband described the soup course as very foamy and acidic. For the third course, we both opted for the steak dish. My husband 's was modified to exclude shellfish, but the portion size was equal to mine. Although we were not given any option as to how our steak was cooked, it was tasty. The fourth course was a delicious cheese plate, but we commented that the cheese itself was probably not made in the restaurant, so we weren 't really eating the chef 's creation. The fact that we were most impressed with the cheese plate was unfortunate, considering it most likely wasn 't the chef 's creation, and we believe the price of the meal warranted more in terms of flavor. Dessert, the fifth course, was tasty, but didn 't blow us away. For a restaurant with a Michelin star, we expected more. All in all, the service was excellent, and we enjoyed our third, fourth and fifth courses. The first two courses though were not at all what we expected, and we were disappointed. We would not go back, but we would not discourage others from trying the restaurant. It is advertised as being unique, and that is certainly what you get."
Cheese Soup
