| Tom Cannavan's wine-pages.com |
Glasgow and West of Scotland |
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Glasgow City Centre
Michael Caines at ABode, 129 Bath St, Glasgow. Phone 0141 221 6789
Michael Caines, 2* Michelin chef at the Gidleigh Park hotel, is also executive chef behind the restaurants in the 'ABode' chain of hotels. The dining room is a contemporary space of subtley-shaded greys and creams, one end of which is dominated by a large glass cube: the walk-in wine cellar. The menu features a half dozen choices for each course, with starters around £12.00, Mains around £18.00 and puddings at £7.00, plus a tasting menu priced £55.00. Showing the dichotomy of running a fine dining restaurant in the centre of Glasgow, the two course lunch is priced at a bargain basement £12.50 and I was surprised on my latest visit to be offered a cheap, pre-theatre menu at 7:30 on a Saturday evening. Having requested the a la carte menu to the waiter's surprise, the food was very good indeed. My first course dish red mullet was : crisply fried on the skin side, and accompanied by two slicks of creamy sauce: one of aniseedy fennel, and one of deliciously smoked aubergine. Main course portions are fairly small, but are beautifully balanced and satisfying. My fillet of cod flaked into almost translucent chunks, and a bed of braised baby leeks was full of flavour. I have to say that pudding was a triumph too: a rhubarb soufflé with a jug of rhubarb sauce to pour into the freshly cracked crust, and a scoop of delicate rhubarb ice-cream. The 100-bin wine list offers a decent choice, and mark-ups are reasonable: we drank a half of St Véran from Deux Roches at £16.75, and a bottle of Dujac's sensational 2001 Morey-St Denis at £65.00. I hope Michael Caines aims for the top of Glasgow's dining scene, and the cheapo deals do not become too intrinsic to the business plan. (2009)
Around £100 for dinner, lunch is £12.50 for two courses
Chardon D'Or 176 West Regent Street. G2 4RL. Phone 0141 248 3801
(VF) On our first visit to Glasgow in 11 years we eagerly anticipated our dining experience at Le Chardon D'Or. This restaurant has had a minimalist look with wooden flooring and simple beige furnishings in what could have been an 18th century old merchant's house in Glasgow. The room was full of business suited diners when we arrived for dinner. The staff were efficient but not over friendly - unusual for Glasgow, indeed they seemed particularly anxious to ensure we ate and left as quickly as possible - we dawdled instead. Faced with a choice of a 6 course Celebration Menu at £45, or a La Carte, we opted for the latter. My first course choice of glazed smoked haddock with a lightly poached egg in a herb white wine cream, was OK if uninspiring: the fish was rather overcooked for my taste. My partner's tartlet of leek and mozzarella cheese with sun blushed tomato and white truffle dressing, on the other hand, hit the spot, with delicate flavours and textures. The grilled seabass with roast parsnips, shallot confit and wild mushrooms was a rather insipid and lightly seasoned dish. The roast fillet of Scotch beef with a gratin of creamed spinach and mushroom was again lacking in flavour. Walnut mousse with honeycomb ice cream was enjoyed more than the selection of British and French Cheeses, all of which were cold and hard, served straight from the refrigerator. This is not what I expected from a reputedly excellent restaurant. The wine list had some well chosen and reasonably priced wines. We enjoyed a Leasingham Bin 7 Riesling, a FWW 2003 Gruner Veltliner and a 2003 Lowe family Zinfandel. Overall, I was disappointed with this restaurant. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I would be unlikely to return. (2006)
Three courses, a la carte plus coffee and service came to about £115 (allowing for 1 bottle of wine). Open Monday to Sunday for lunch, Tuesday to Saturday for dinner.
City Café, City Inn, Finnieston Quay, Glasgow. Phone: 0141 240 1002
This moderately-priced restaurant offers good food, with one of the most beautiful settings in Glasgow. The City Inn is somewhat off the
beaten track, about a mile from the city centre, on the banks of the river Clyde. It is surrounded by Glasgow's most
jaw-dropping modern architecture, including the titanium-clad Science Centre and Norman Foster's armadillo-like concert hall. Remnants of a great ship-building past also abound,
like the massive fixed crane, and twin rotundas of a disused Victorian tunnel system. The Café always
feels very Californian to me, both in its clean, minimalist decor, and in its food that has a lightness of touch. Chef Richard Lyth is not afraid of decisive
flavours and a nod to fusion cuisine. My starter consisted of discs of goat's cheese, crusted with parmesan and towered with little rounds of toast on a chile-dressed orange salad.
For a main course I had crisp-skinned fillets of sea bream, which came with a piquant warm sald of balsamic roasted tomatoes and asparagus. These flavours
were cushioned by a delicate cauliflower puré. Dessert was a bit uninspring after such punchy flavours, and the wine list ranks only as 'pretty good', with choices in
the £12 - £30 range, and several by the glass options. (2009)
About £45 for lunch, £65 for dinner. Open 7 days.
Gamba, 225a West George St, Glasgow. Phone 0141 572 0899
Gamba has had the same owner/chef/manager combination since it opened its casual, basement dining room in 1998.
The focus remains on all things aquatic, featuring dishes that major on quality ingredients in imaginative combinations, with accents borrowed from oriental cuisine. I started with
sashimi of ultra-fresh salmon, swordfish and scallops with traditional soy dipping sauce, pickled ginger and eye-watering wasabi. I chose the daily "special" main course: seared turbot in
a seafood, herb and cream stew. An abundance of mussels and small langoustines supported a healthy portion of well-cooked fish. A side dish of potatoes, carrots and asparagus was
delicious, but probably unecessary unless catering for a typically hungry Glaswegian clientèle. Our waitress recommended the banana and coconut cheesecake for pudding: desserts
at Gamba are no afterthought, and this was delicious, with a gloopy hot maple syrup sauce. Made to order coffee is served with Scottish tablet. The staff at Gamba are young,
knowledgeable and friendly, and the casual but smart dining room is one of the best in the city. The wine list is moderately marked up too: we drank a gorgeously mature, off-dry
Grüner Veltliner Smaragd from Freie Weingärtner Wachau; a bargain at only £22.95. (2003)
£90 for dinner, cheaper lunch and pre-theatre. Closed Sunday.
A Glasgow institution amongst the arty set. Furnished with the extraordinary tables and chairs of Tim Steadman and magical stained glass of my friend John Clark. This cool and airy Café has brilliant coffee, home baked scones and tea-breads, a terrific range of snacks and sandwiches and, in the evenings, a selection of interesting and exciting dishes - an eclectic mix: pacific-rim meets Paris bistro meets traditional Scotland. The short but very well chosen wine list always has something to delight. One of my favourite casual places for a coffee, a drink, or an early/late meal. (2008)
£30 for lunch, £50 for dinner. Open 7 days 'till late. The Giffnock Ivy, 219 Fenwick Rd, Glasgow. Tel: 0141 620 1003
Glasgow's south side is a microcosm of the entire city, where sleek new designer apartments rub shoulders with council estates and million-pound mansions. Whilst there are plenty of honest eatieries south of the Clyde, it is a bit of an haute-cuisine desert. In the suburb of Giffnock, a new regime has been at the helm of the Ivy since April 2008 with two highly-qualified chefs in the shape of Stuart Howie (ex-Turnberry) and Derek Blair (ex-Nick Nairn). The dining room is a cosy but contemporary space, with a dark, polished wood floor, deep Burgundy fabrics and wall of exposed stone. A cut-price pre-theatre deal pulls in the crowds early evening, but the a la carte menu is ambitious and adventurous. Some very good date and walnut bread arrived at the table, followed by a little amuse of salmon rillettes which were lemony, garlicky and delicious. I kicked off my dinner with pan-fried foie gras, with a grape and shallot chutney and Sauternes jelly. This dish was not entrely successful, with the foie-gras oddly firm on the outside and cool in the middle. Texture and flavour were both lacking. Things looked up smartly with the arrival of my tournados of cod, wrapped in Parma ham and served on a bed of mash infused with spring onion. A little pea velouté sauce was creamy and fresh, and the dish was playfully topped off with a sliver of rarebit that added richness and tang. For dessert, a competent vanilla panacotta was sparked into life by a sweet but sharp rhubarb compote. The wine list is moderate, with house wines beginning at just £12.95, and some interesting fine wine bits and pieces like Lafite 1978 a potential bargain at £250. This meal demonstrated that this kitchen is serious about offering a viable alternative to the city centre. Just a little more consistency is needed. (2008)
Around £75 for two all in. Open Tuesday to Saturday lunch and dinner, Sunday all day. Malmaison, 278 West George St, Glasgow. Phone: 0141 221 6401
Part of a very smart, stylish hotel constructed from an old church in the city centre, the dining room has an intimate feel with low lighting and most tables in little booths. The menu is quite traditional brasserie fare, with plenty of salads, fish and steaks. I ate a pre-theatre meal most recently, starting with a salad of tangerine and fig with toasted pine nuts and a vivid lemon vinaigrette adding texture and flavour. To follow I had a slightly underflavoured saffron-infused risotto, that was well cooked if a little too dense and a touch dry. For dessert, a Bailey's cheescake had a very good texture and flavour, with a dark chocolate topping and rich, buttery base. Espresso was of excellent quality and came with a little pot of chocolate mousse, which was a nice touch. The wine list is pretty good, topping out with some good clarets, Burgundies and New World wines around the £100 mark. With pleasant surroundings and good food the Malmaison is not a bad choice for somewhere that's open 7 days a week. (2005)
Pre-theatre at £12.95 per head, otherwise around £70 for dinner for two with house wine. Open 7 days. Red Onion, 27 West Campbell St, G2 4SQ. Tel: 0141 221 6000
John Quigley is the chef/patron behind this casual, trendy restaurant in the city centre. Quigley is a bit of a 'celebrity chef', as after a career in the kitchen's of London's west end, he travelled the world as a private chef to rock stars including Bryan Adams, Tina Turner and The Bee Gees. Having settled back in his native Glasgow, Red Onion is open every day for lunch and dinner. It is a large, chic dining room with exposed stone walls and polished wooden floors. Food is contemporary and pretty much globe-trotting as you might expect. A baked goat's cheese crotin was nicely soft on the inside, served doused in a dressing of toasted almond and balsamic vinaigrette. The French-influenced braised shin of beef was very nicely cooked, falling apart under the threat of a fork, and served with champ potatoes and a rich red wine jus. Pudding was a good effort too, a lemon tart that had been glazed and brâlléed on top, served with poached apricots and Greek yoghurt laced with honey. Red Onion is not pitched at fans of refined Michelin-starred cuisine, but a more casual, laid back crowd that nevertheless appreciate good food and smart surroundings. Modest prices extend to the well-chosen wine list, with house wines at just £12.95. (2007)
Dinner around £25 for three courses. Open every day for lunch and dinner.
Rococo, 202 West George St, Glasgow. Phone 0141 221 5004
Smiths, 109 Candleriggs, Glasgow. Phone: 0141 552 6539
Northstar, 108 Queen Margaret Dr, Glasgow. Phone: 0141 946 5365
La Parmigiana, 447 Great Western Rd, Glasgow. Phone 0141 334 0686
Rococo has an opulent, but restrained and classy interior of coffees and creams, with muted, expensive accessorising.
The food is good, though I feel it has dipped in quality somewhat over the past few years. A terrine of salmon,
langoustine and scallops came with a piquant lemon, tomato and chive dressing , the firm-textured terrine sparkily ignited by tangy flavours in the dressing and
subtle dill and herb nuances. A tournedos of very fine fillet of beef
sat on a delicious heap of well-cooked green beans which had been doused in truffle jus. A precisely-constructed potato dauphinoise perhaps needed two or three minutes more in
the oven. After a generous slice of magnificently creamy Dolce Latte served with walnut bread and balsamic onions, very good espresso was
served with petits four. The wine list (presented in a wood-bound volume) has several hundred bins of classy names. Rococo is pitched at an affluent
clientelle, but thankfully where it matters - in the kitchen - it does a solid job. (2006)
£70 for lunch, £100+ for dinner (with a cheaper pre-theatre option).
This small restaurant is serving really good, honest food. I feel I could almost just leave a review at that; "honest" and "food" seem to be such an oxymoron in so many
restaurants these days, where florid and boastful menus full of drizzles of this and towers of that translate into very pedestrian food re-heated by workaday chefs. Smiths is definitely
different: small and intimate, it has the ambience of a neighborhood Paris Bistro, with simple bentwood furniture, soft jazz music and well presented tables with fresh flowers.
The menu is pretty classic French/European and there are many touches that demonstrate this is a cook's restaurant, not an accountants, like a complimentary Kir, homemade
shortbread biscuits with (excellent) coffee and homemade fruit tartlets for dessert. My salad of plump, sweet, roasted plum tomatoes with wild rocket and a mountain of shaved Parmesan was
gorgeous; the warmth of the tomatoes and a balsamic dressing adding lots of comforting depth. My main course chicken Bourguignon was slow braised in its skin, served with
fondant potato and a heap of roasted root vegetables, onions and button mushrooms. As I say, good, honest food, served by
friendly staff in an unfussy atmosphere at reasonable prices. And long may it continue (2006)
£65 for dinner (with a cheaper pre-theatre option).
Glasgow West End
Café Antipasti, 337 Byres Rd, Glasgow. Phone: 0141 337 2737
Also now at 305 Sauchiehall Street in the City centre. Phone: 0141 332 9002. This branch accepts reservations.
This is a cheap eats, noisy, colourful, trendy place in the heart of the University dominated West End of the
city. The lively dining room doesn't accept reservations and small queues form at peak times. Italian fare with a light
Californian influence is the order of the day: not haute cuisine by any means, but good quality. Share some grilled
sourdough bread topped with mozzarela and tomato sugo sauce as a starter, char-grilled chicken breast fettucine with a
cherry tomato, cream and white wine sauce for main course and round off with good, alcoholic tiramisu. Good coffee too. (2009)
£20 for lunch, £35 for dinner. Open early till late every day
Hotel du Vin, One Devonshire Gardens. Phone: 0141 339 2001
This building has had a chequered history, the site where Gordon Ramsay's 1* Amaryllis burned brightly only to be snuffed out.
Now, it is part of the rapidly expanding Hotel du Vin chain, and a total refurbishment of this row of converted Victorian townhouses has created a very smart, cosy, dark-hued ambiance.
The menu under chef Paul Tamburrini is split into two panels, one containing 'simple classics', like grill dishes and comfort puddings, whilst the other offers a more adventurous selection with nods to
molecular gastronomy. I opted for the latter on this occasion, and I started with a ballotine of cocoa-dusted foie-gras, wrapped in toasted pistachios and filled with quince jelly. The dish looked fantastic, as
a little tower topped-off with a slice of seared foie, but I found these potentially fascinating flavours to be a little muddied. The quality and cooking was good, but both textures and flavours seemed indistinct. To follow,
red deer came as three perfect little traches of fillet, served with a boudin of guinea fowl, some port glazed mouli (blackened and dramatic) with sautéed prunes and amaretto jellies adding sweetness.
This was entirely successful, with the playful but satisfying array of ingredients retaining their identity, and setting up all sorts of interesting harmonies and adjuncts. For dessert, a passionfruit and malibu
tropical soufflé was light, creamy and delicious, topped with a scoop of coconut ice-cream. There is a formidable wines list, albeit marked-up quite firecely, and staff are happy to advise. (2007).
Recent meals here have been mixed: perhaps it is the series of connecting dining rooms that causes staff to go AWOL for long stretches of time, and whilst still good, the food is patchy. When on form the kitchen can really deliver, but it mustn't take its eye off the ball. (2009)
£140 for two all-in, with a moderate bottle of wine
It is easy to miss this tiny, cramped, Bohemian little deli and restaurant tucked in amongst a row of shops in a residential corner of Glasgow's West End. And missing it
would be a great shame! Portugeuse and Mediterranean-sourced ingredients are fashioned into mouthwatering "small plates", larger-than-tapas dishes like a chorizo and saffron risotto,
or patatas bravas, each costing only a few pounds. Excellent coffee (Sical, from Portugal), a wide range of organic soft drinks, and yummy home-made cakes complete a lovely
lunch for less than a tenner a head. Absolutely fabulous. (2005)
Number 16, 16 Byres Rd, Glasgow. Phone 0141 339 2544
A tiny place at the bottom of Glasgow's buzzing Byres Rd, this space has had a chequered, but largely very positive history as a restaurant, not least in its current incarnation. No 16 has been a favourite neighbourhood
choice for years, but when it changed hands a couple of years ago I felt standards slipped, and I downgraded it from a two thumbs up, to one or maybe one and a half. Whatever has happened recently, I've eaten there three times
in the past few months and each meal has been excellent. It still has the same mix and match furniture (take my advice and request a ground floor table with the new and rather smart leather tub chairs when booking) and the same
cramped conditions, but the food is as inventive as it is well cooked. A tasty starter of seared chicken livers came in thick stew of Puy lentils, and was beautifully textured and cooked. My main course was a risotto,
liberally folded with roasted sweet pepper, wild garlic and finished with creme fraiche, and parmesan. It was heartwarming stuff, and delicously creamy. A classic pudding to finish - of the sticky toffee variety - was the real thing,
rich with dates and fruits, and served with home made ice-cream. The wine list has around 20 reds and whites from £12 to
£27 pounds, and all in all, this is one of the nicest casual places in the city at the moment in my opinion. (2009)
£65 for dinner. Closed Sundays.
La Parmigiana is a real institution. An upmarket, but very typical Italian family restaurant, it has been around since the 70's, and is one of those places were the staff never
changes, and everything works with a comfortable, well-oiled precision. The menu is short and has lots of staples which
never change, like lobster ravioli in a tomato cream sauce, chargrilled scallops, or medallions of venison with a porcini mushroom and Italian sausage ragu. Other seasonal items come and go, but
all cooked with great skill and presented in an honest, understated fashion. This is quality Italian cuisine with a nod towards the best Scottish ingredients. There is a short, but
quite serious wine list. It is exclusively Italian, presented by region, from house wines up to Sassicaia and Tignanello. The regular "wines of the month" are always interesting.
We drank Silvio Jermann's delightful Pinot Bianco at £21. La Parmigiana is a bit old-fashioned, but is none the worse for that. (2006)
£70 for dinner, cheaper lunch and pre-theatre
Stravaigin, 28 Gibson St, Glasgow G12 8NX. Phone: 0141 334 2665
A little like an Aboriginal 'Walkabout', Stravaigin is old Scottish parlance meaning to wander, and a philosophy of travelling and crossing boundaries has always been at the heart of Colin Clydesdale's operation. It is 15 years since
the doors first opened, and quite a few since Clydesdale himself was behind the stoves: managing the family's small group of restaurants in Glasgow now takes up his time. Today Daniel Blencowe runs the kitchen, an Australian who has
brought some Pacific-rim style to the always eclectic food. My starter was pretty resolutely European, a fricassee of duck livers and rabbit served with a truffled brioche. This was a great dish, the livers
soft and buttery in creamy sauce, two perfect morsels of moist rabbit served to the side and the warm brioche perfect for mopping it all up. There was more of an Oriental influence in my main course of duck breast
roasted with a Tamari glaze (a turbo-charge soy sauce) and served with a little tower of roasted yam and kimchi. The duck was beautifully cooked, and the rest of the flavours where hugely powerful - perhaps even a touch
too powerful. The sweetness of the yams (roasted with sesame seeds) and the vinegary sourness of the kimchi (Korean pickled vegetables) were wonderful in their own right and with the duck, but the combination was
pretty explosive. A rich anise-flavoured gravy was yet another component in a dish with perhaps just one ingredient too many. Still, this is bold, confident and original food and far too many places manage none of those.
For dessert, toffee apple delice with green apple sorbet was very good, managing to simultaneously cleanse the palate and provide some sweet-toothed comfort. Wine-wise, Stravaigin prides itself on a list chosen by the staff
from regular tastings and there are some very interesting things in the selection of around 80 bins. It is all well-chosen, with names like Domaine A and Jean Marc Brocard in the mix and a good sprinkling of esoteric stuff
like sparkling Austrian wines, Picapoll from Pla De Bages in Spain and the brilliant Vina Pedro Gonzalez Malbec from Trapiche. I let our waiter recommend a bottle of Cline Cellars Zinfandel to match my duck and my companion's
slow-braised pork which it did very nicely for £24.45. Stravaigin is a real survivor in Glasgow's often quite transient restaurant scene. There's a reason for that, and that reason is the adventurous and honest cooking, welcoming staff and
relaxed, buzzy atmosphere. More power to them. (2009)
Open daily for dinner (£80 for two). Lunch Thursday - Sunday. The upstairs bar serves food daily.
The Ubiquitous Chip, 12 Ashton Lane, Glasgow. Phone: 0141 334 5007
It had been a while since I'd eaten at 'The Chip', the venerable linchpin of the Glasgow fine dining scene started over 30 years ago by owner Ronnie
Clydesdale, whose son Colin now oversees a group of restaurants including Stravaigin above, and the Chip. The ambiance here is
still unique, with its huge glass-roof over the main dining room, cobbled stone floor and the lush vegetation and trickling water of the fish
pond bringing a little calming oasis into urban Glasgow. The wine list here has always been one of Glasgow's best, with real strength in
depth, including lots of German and Loire wines, and moderate prices. St-Estephe's Lafon-Rochet 1988 at £59.95 was tempting,
as was Lafite 2005 at £550 (on some other ocassion) but we opted for the delicious Mas la Plana 2003 from Torres, layered with
cedar and smoky blackurrant fruit at a very
reasonable £44.00. A little amuse bouche of Cullen skink is an old favourite here, a creamy soup filled with chunks of salty fish
and smooth, waxy potato.
To start with I opted for seared, hand-dived scallops on tasty slices of sautéed potato, savoury tuilles with hazelnuts and
fantastic little slivers of toffee apple. It was a really good choice, and a glass of Fiano at £4.25 washed it down nicely.
My main course was another typical Chip offering, where food is based around wholesome Scottish ingredients, substantial portions and
just a few curve-ball touches. Roast loin of freerange Perthshire pork was soft, tasty and orthodox enough,
especially with a side dish of braised, creamy Scottish chanterelles with tarragon, and came with wilted greens including spinach,
broad beans and courgette. The pork had been stuffed with apple and something smoky, and an accompanying potato cake was
pungently rich with garlic. For dessert, Ayrshire shortbread came layered with strawberries and basil cream. This was clever and
subtle, with pepper and spice and the basil prominent against the sweetest strawberries. Coffee with homemade
ginger snaps and peppermint fondant chocolates rounded off a meal that shows this institution can still deliver authentic Scottish food
with some creativity and style. Here's to the next 30 years. (2009). £60 for lunch, £100 for dinner for two. Open 7 days.
Ayrshire
Braidwood's, by Dalry, Ayrshire. Phone: 01294 833 544 Map
A recent makeover has given one of my favourite British restaurants a glamorous new look, but Keith and Nicola Braidwood are doing exactly what they do best; serving up some of Scotland's
greatest cooking in a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. Braidwoods gained a Michelin star in 2000, and were simultaneously the
AA's "Best Restaurant in Scotland". Their informal restaurant is in a converted farm cottage which nestles in the lush Ayrshire country side. They use the best
seasonal local produce and traditional techniques to create really superb food. A typical meal might include a brilliant lobster ravioli in a rich, herb infused, shellfish jus,
a beautiful, palate-cleansing terrine of citrus fruits, melt-in-the-mouth roast loin of red deer on a bed of caramelised shallots and finally, a trio of raspberry desserts: three jewel-like little
miniatures of perfection. The wine list has been evolving over recent years and is now one of Scotland's most interesting, including a very well chosen selection of half bottles and a
selection of mature Bordeaux and Burgundy at reasonable mark-ups. There is always a very warm welcome and touches such
as home made chocolates with coffee add even more to the experience. I'll declare an interest here as the Braidwoods and I present special food and wine dinners together, but make no mistake: this is a gem of a place that displays remarkably
high and consistent quality. It has become the standard by which I measure all Scottish restaurants. (2009)
£60 for lunch, £100 for dinner. Open Tuesday dinner to Sunday lunch.
Another extremely fine seafood restaurant, this one spectacularly sited right on the working harbour of this West Coast town. Gulls
wheel over-head and a charming back-drop is formed by the fishing boats that to-and-fro constantly. The restaurant itself is
a converted pumping station, with a vast, vaulted ceiling. Bare stone walls are almost entirely taken up with a collection of yacht-building and Americas Cup memorabilia.
The menu is seasonal, reflecting the best of the current catch. Choices are restricted to 4 or 5 per course, very heavily biased
towards fish and seafood. I had a plump, soft, ravioli of lobster, bound with salmon mousse, and served in a seafood sauce. For my
main course I opted for char-grilled tuna on a bed of noodles with a sauce nero (cuttle-fish ink sauce). The tuna was a little
over-cooked (I like it pink) but it was tasty. My partner's pan-fried brill was pronounced excellent. A dish of market vegetables was
included. Puddings and cheeses are pretty good too, though maybe not McCallum's real forte. The wine list is short, sound but not
exciting. In all, a restaurant that is strong when it keeps things simple - and has a great situation. (2005)
£45 for lunch, £65 for dinner. Closed Sunday dinner and Monday.
Argyle
Port Appin: Airds Hotel, Argyle. Phone: 01631 730236 Map
The Allan family raised their small luxury hotel to international fame, and since they sold up, new owners Shaun and Jenny McKivragan have continued the good work with 3 AA rosettes for the restaurant and a
Hotel Chef of the Year award for Paul Burns in the kitchen. Airds sits facing the ruggedly beautiful Loch Linnhe with views from its delightful gardens to a little lighthouse and the
slate-blue Morven hills beyond. The picture-postcard setting and simple whitewashed exterior belie the luxury within. Public rooms are traditional
with plump sofas, books, games, the tick of grandfather clocks and a multitude of cosy corners to take tea or sip an after-dinner malt. Rooms were already extremely comfortable (this is a Relais & Châteaux property)
but there has been a substanial programme of upgrading to bring 21st century chic, with limestoned 'spa' bathrooms, falt-screen TVs, wi-fi, et al. The restaurant is excellent, with an innate understanding of balance and
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techniques, married to
definite flavours and emphasis on the finest Scottish ingredients. My starter of seared breast of squab pigeon in a pastry shell, doused in wild mushrooms and with a lobe of seared foie-gras on top, was typical
of two dinners studded with highlights. Baked halibut with a crab crust, came with a pungent but never over-powering herb mash. Desserts included a beautiful pistachio and
chocolate soufflé, served with a jug of chocolate sauce to pour into the freshly cracked crust. Coffee and petit-fours are taken back in the cosseting tranquility of one of the lounges.
Airds is a very grown-up sort of place, and whilst the welcome could not be warmer or more charming, it has a hushed atmosphere that some might describe as
rather formal. I'd disagree: formality is often a state of mind, and a weekend break at Airds is one of the most relaxing and restorative ways I can think of to blow the bank balance.
Room, dinner and (brilliant) breakfast for two starts around £260 per night off-season, £300 and up from Easter to September. (2008) |
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This venerable seafood venue is now a national chain, but this is where it all started. Expanded over the years, this is a large, airy and comfortable restaurant and a retail shop. As well as the oysters (which are truly delicious) a whole range of seafood and fish are the specialities, with their own smoke-house producing wonderful smoked salmon, trout, kippers, etc. The restaurant can be very busy at weekends and holiday periods, and only a limited number of reservations are accepted. My personal favourite dish is the "Bradon Rost" - a plump piece of salmon fillet, roasted in a oak-fired kiln making it tender and flaky inside, smoky and blackened outside. Prices are a bit steep, the wine list is uninspiring, and the non-fish dishes are nothing to write home about. But it's well worth trying for the seafood (and delicious brown bread and butter). (2005)
£65 lunch or dinner. Open 7 days a week lunch and dinner
Helensburgh: Storm, 82 West Clyde St, G84 8BB. Tel: 01436 678318
Helensburgh is a seaside town 40 minutes from Glasgow, and popular with day-trippers. But it is also home to many affluent commuters, so it is surprising that is seems to have found it difficult to sustain a 'fine dining' restaurant over the years. Latest to make an attempt on the summit is Storm, a chic and classy bar and restaurant run by experienced Hugh MacShannon (ex-Rogano and One Devonshire Gardens). I enjoyed a starter of haggis, neeps and tatties, presented as refined little morsels, but full of flavour. For my main course, I chose seared halibut, that came with Jersey Royal potatoes (which were in season) and a tangy fennel relish. The fish was really nicely cooked, with crisp skin and soft, moist, pure white flesh. From a playful menu, I couldn't resist a dessert of Turkish delight parfait with Persian candy floss and candied pistachio. This was terrific, the delicate rose-scented parfait topped with spicy, exotic and nutty candy floss and crunchy pistachio brittle. There's a pretty good one-page wine list here too, with house wine starting at just £12. NOTE: Since writing the original review a second visit suggested the kitchen was under pressure and the food had lost a little of its edge. So a slightly inconclusive opinion at this stage. (2007)
Dinner around £27, fixed-price lunch £8.95. Open Wednesday - Sunday. Achiltibuie, By Ullapool: Summer Isles Hotel. Phone: 01854 622282
The Summer Isles kitchen has a Michelin star, and is presided over by chef Chris Firth-Bernard. Scallops, lobster, langoustines or crab from the cold offshore waters feature nightly, along with venison and lamb from the hillsides and big brown eggs from the Irvine's hens. Delicious breads come straight from the oven, and the 400-strong wine list runs the gamut from £15 southern French and Chilean quaffs, to trophy wines like Pétrus, Romanée-Conti and Screaming Eagle. Though there's a certain formality about the dining room, this is a place to wear walking boots and wind-cheating clothes by day, and dress up a bit for dinner after a long soak in your over-sized bath. There's also a busy bar at the side of the hotel, where you can rub shoulders with locals and sample the Skye Brewery's excellent cask ales. The set, no-choice dinner is not cheap at £47, but offers good value for five course, coffee and service. One starter I particularly enjoyed on my two-night stay was a fine fish soup, creamy and light, touched with saffron, and studded with chunks of locally netted salmon, turbot and lobster. Though a haunch of Roe Deer venison was dark and delicious, it was a scintillating poached lobster that stole the main course show. This was an object lesson in simplicity, with copious, impossibly fresh meat presented with minimum intervention. Puddings and cheeses are brought round on trolleys, followed by coffee served in the lounge. By 10:30 we had the place to ourselves: all those hearty hill-walking guests had retired early. (2009)
Closed November - March. Rooms from £130 per night, bed and breakfast
Dumfriesshire
Kirroughtree House, near Newton Stewart. Phone: 01671 402141
This handsome private country house dates from 1719. Robert Burns was once a frequent house guest and recited poetry from the staircase to fellow guests in the oak-panelled lounge. A hotel since the
1950's, this is an absolute retreat from the stresses of modern life. It is a very grown-up hotel, with a rather mature clientelle by and large where the emphasis is on
relaxation. There is a croquet lawn and tennis court (both teaming with red squirrels, rabbits and grouse rather than people on my visits) and cosy lounges stuffed with
books and games. Rooms are fantastically comfortable and huge, and filled with light from large bay windows that afford stunning
views of the Galloway countryside. The evening menu and wine list is placed in your room each afternoon, so you can do a little forward planning. The food is sophisticated and
good. Little appetisers and amuse-bouche are included, then recently a boned quail stuffed with foie-gras on a bed of garlic creamed potato, followed by an excellent fillet steak with
thick-cut chips and sautéed vegetables. A fine pear tart with cinnamon ice-cream led on to petit-fours taken in the lounge with coffee. The wine list is very good, with some rare and well-priced gems like
Leoville-Poyferré 1961 or d'Yquem 1979, both leaving change from £150 if you are feeling rich. It may be too middle-aged and qiuet for some, but attention to detail makes Kirroughtree special,
with good food a bonus. (2005)
Dinner, bed and breakfast from £80 - £100 per person per night.
Undeniably expensive, Knockinaam is the kind of intimate, country house hotel that is low-key, comfortable and majors on personal service. With only 10 rooms it is the antithesis of big corporate hotels. There are no swimming pools, spas or conference facilities, but there are lots of cosy corners, log fires and tranquillity. Knockinaam stands in 30 acres of its own woodland directly above its own rugged and windswept beach. The restaurant (one Michelin star) offers a no-choice, four-course menu features local ingredients and is best described as "modern Scottish". The kitchen here has a very deft and light touch; the dishes are beautifully composed and perfectly cooked. A salad of local lobster with pink grapefruit and plum tomatoes was sensational - the entire claw meat taken out of its shell. The roast breast of chicken with confit garlic and asparagus came with a light and frothy coriander sauce that was extremely delicate. Even the normally rustic pudding (tart tatin) was somehow light and full of finesse. If I have one small criticism it is that the flavours don't always strike home as they should - some of the combinations are a little bland for my taste. Coffee and petits-fours are served in one of the several cosy lounges. The wine list is extremely good, with 400 choices. Mark-ups are rather high but some bargains can be found if you know what you're looking for, like Lafon-Rochet 1990 for £40. The bar has an astonishing selection of fine and rare malt whiskies. A very special and romantic place that offers complete relaxation. (1998)
£130 and up per person, per night bed, dinner and breakfast.
Trigony House, Closeburn. Phone 01848 331211
The Moore family took over this handsome sandstone Scottish house in autumn 1999 and set about a revolution in the kitchen. Whether dining in the snug bar or low-key but more formal dining room, you will be treated to food that falls squarely into the "comfort" bracket. Adam Moore is passionate about food and about organic methods. He has tracked down local contacts with a vengeance to source the best natural produce, like black-face sheep and Tamworth pigs, often working with other artisans in the area to realise his ambitions. The Moore's are also showing their commitment by replanting the charming old walled garden just to the side of the hotel. They aim to be largely self-sufficient in organic herbs and vegetables. Food is substantial and good for the soul, like braised shank of lamb, the meat falling from the bone and served with three perfectly cooked pink noisettes of lamb. Having spent time working in Spain, Adam brings unexpected Mediterranean influences to many dishes, but still based in peasant cuisine. As a real bonus, there's a very nice little wine list, strong on southern France and Spain, and offered at a standard low mark-up. Only an hour or so from Glasgow, Edinburgh or the North of England, this is a fine place for a weekend break (2001).
£65 for dinner in the restaurant, moderate room prices.
