Food critic full of praise for Persian restaurant

A FAMOUS food critic has told how a Plymouth restaurant politely asked him if he could review his meal on the website Tripadvisor.

- CLARE AINSWORTH

The Guardian’s food writer Jay Rayner spent an evening at Toot in Mayflower Street – where he tucked into a selection of the restaurant’s Persian specialities.

Writing about the experience in his column, Jay revealed how the owner “sweetly asked his group to leave positive reviews”. Jay said: “I was comforted rather grandly by the knowledge that I should really be able to do a little better than that.”

Mr Rayner, who regularly appears on TV, including as a guest judge on the BBC’s Masterchef and visited Toot with a crew from BBC Radio 4’s Kitchen Cabinet, heaped praise on the city restaurant for both the quality and value of its food. His group enjoyed a set menu feast at £35 a head, a fraction of the cost of some of the starters, the food critic is accustomed to reviewing.