Toot, 46 Mayflower St, Plymouth PL1 1QX (01752 223736). Starters £5.95, mains £12.50-£17.50, desserts £5.95, wines from £21.50
Shortly after the starters had been cleared at Toot in Plymouth, plates of individual butter portions were placed on the table, as if it was breakfast in a seaside B&B. We squinted at their silver foil wrappings. What’s that all about? And then it dawned on us. We were in a Persian restaurant and the rice was coming. All hail the Persian way with rice: that light, fluffy miracle of individual grains, made all the more luscious through the liberal application of butter. Plates are placed in front of us, the snowy peaks stained a light saffron-yellow. Our waiter encourages us to apply the butter. She points us at the shakers on the table, which contain the deep purple citrus burst of sumac. “Use that, too,” she says briskly, and disappears into the kitchen.
