BAGKIJST
Festive fare
Pushed for time before your next show? Ravenous after an evening in the stalls? Catherine Fellows suggests some Mayfest eating ideas.
I Barbizon 40 High Street, 552 2070. 9am-midnight, lOam-lam weekends. Ca j un/Mexican style food on both ‘up-market a la carte’ and cafe menus. Exotic options include baked, blackened yellow crocker fish with citrus salad, king prawn and crayfish étouffée and mustard chicken with hush puppies (deep fried Southern prawn and corn bites), all around £7—£9. The cheaper, cafe menu includes a selection of enchilladas - duck, beef and pepper, fresh veg, tuna — from £3.95. Airy and attractive, if somewhat austere, the Barbizon is an ideal post-theatre destination: there is usually plenty of space , and staff are happy to serve food late. Good for: The Tron, City Hall, Citizens’.
I Blacktrtars 36 Bell Street, 552 5924. Full menu from 11am-9pm; after 9pm when the place fills up with drinkers, you can still get home-made soup and sandwiches if you can find somewhere to sit. The full menu offers standard pub grub — lasagne, baked spuds, burgers, fish — and a variety of specials like beef stroganoff, chicken in garlic and white wine, or stuffed haddock. Lovely big French bread open sandwiches are from £2.50 upwards, and the more substantial dishes are good value at around £4.50. Good for: Comic Club, Tron, City Hall, Citizens’.
I Cate Tres Centre of Contemporary Arts, 346—354 Sauchiehall Street, 332 7521. Ham—late. Opening to the public on Saturday 2 May, with a promise to stay around at least until October, Cafe Tres is being run by the people who brought you Barcelona Restaurant. Before noon and 3—5pm there’ll be a choice of snacks and coffee; self-service lunch noon-3pm; table service meals 5—10pm. After 11.30pm there‘s a programme of late-night entertainment including jazz, blues and comedy. Seeing itself as an informal Mayfest fringe, Cafe Tres aims to be a cross between a tapas bar and a New York deli, serving American sandwiches with a choice of breads as well as Spanish, Cuban and Caribbean specialities. Good for: Centre for Contemporary Arts, King’s Theatre, RSAMD.
I Cathedral Rouse 28/32 Cathedral Square, 552 3519. Food in the
cafe-bar noon-10.30pm. The bar here may be run-of-the-mill marble and wood effect, but if the new chef is as good as her predecessor, the food at Cathedral House is well worth venturing beyond the immediate city centre for. The imaginative flair that marks the repertoire of the sedate upstairs dining room is discernible in the more down-to-earth cafe menu: dishes such as cod baked with potato, onion and cheese, Caesar or savoury fresh fruit salad cost between £5 and £7, and lesser snacks are also available. Good for: Tron, City Hall.
I Cul de Sac 44—46 Ashton Lane, 334 4749. Sun—Thurs noon-11pm; Fri/Sat noon—midnight. The specialities of this atmospheric eaterie are home-made burgers with all the trimmings and crépes with lavish fillings such as Boursin cheese, prawn and pepper, chicken, mushroom and tarragon or spinach, egg and gruyere. Sweet crépes are also crisp and delicious. A good idea for pre-performance meals this, as
. all the above are half price, ie around
£3, between 5pm and 7pm, noon—7pm on Saturdays. More expensive main dishes, £5.50—£10.95, would typically include fricassée of monkfish and mussels, noodles with wild mushrooms and fillet or sirloin steak with various sauces. Booking is advisable for large parties, and on Friday and Saturday evenings.
I Fire Station 33 Ingram Street, 552 2929. Noon-2.30pm, 5—11.30pm, seven days. This voluminous ex-fire station and predominantly pasta house may have gimmicky, American-chain elements, but it has some enticing food at enticing prices, notably between 5pm and 7pm, when all pasta dishes are half price (£2—£4). You can find familiar favourites like carbonara, and vegetable lasagne, but why settle for them when there is pasta with pesto, courgette and cream, pasta with curried chicken, pasta with sausage and bean casserole, pasta with haggis . . . Ifyou don’t like pasta (what!)
, there are plenty other meat, fish and
vegetarian options. Good for: Tron, City Hall.
I Junkanoo 111 Hope Street, 248 7102. Mon—Sat noon—midnight; Sun 6.30pm—midnight (often open till 2am at weekends — at owners‘ discretion). Centrally placed, Glasgow’s foremost tapas bar offers the perfect solution for those absorbing Mayfest culture at ‘meal time‘. Ifyou don’t feel like a binge at six, and would be rumbling by ten, you can nibble at a plate of olives, some chorizo sausage and marinated herring, and come back for the squid after the show. J unkanoo has recently introduced a Mexican flavour into its Spanish menu, with tortillas that can either be served as tapas, or as a full meal with rice and salad. Also, there are daily specials such as sweetbreads pan-fried in olive oil and garlic or tuna steak char-grilled with red chilli butter.
Finish with Austrian apple cake, or, more in keeping, a hunk of manchego cheese, bread and fresh fruit. Tapas are between £1 and £4.60; all main dishes are under £6. Everything is cooked on the premises by the owners. Good for: The Arches, Glasgow Arts Centre, Old Athenaeum.
I Paplngo 104 Bath Street, 332 6678. Sun—Wed 10am—1 1pm; Thurs—Sat 10am-1 1.30pm. This bright and breezy basement restaurant is maXimising its proximity to several arts venues by offering a fixed price pre and post-theatre menu 5—7pm and 10—1 1pm. From the choice of four starters, four main courses and three puds you could have chicken liver pate, followed by mushrooms with garlic, lemon, onions and thyme, and a meringue shell filled with raspberries and orange. £7.50 for two courses, £8.50 for three, both with coffee. Good for: Theatre Royal, RSAMD.
I Rlstorante Caprese 217 Buchanan Street, 332 3070. Mon—Fri noon—2pm, 5.30—1 1pm; Sat, evening only. According to one employee of this authentic and atmospheric Italian restaurant, the food here is ‘standard thing — like everybody else’. But that is not what the regulars think. Italian ‘standards’ are particularly well cooked, and the sea food that alters daily according to the market is a treat. Expect to pay £20 a head for a full meal, but it is quite possible to go in with a fiver for a bowl of penne. Good for: Old Athenaeum, Theatre Royal, RSAMD.
I Tron Theatre Cate-Bar Trongate, 552 8587. Food in the Victoria Bar Sun—Thurs noon—3pm, 5—11pm; Fri/Sat noon-11pm; lam late licence. The obvious place for Tron-goers, but good enough and good value enough to attract those from further afield. The association with J anssens is discernible in the eclectic, international, flexible-eating menu. It is being
FOOD
Tron Theatre: choice others
‘ m
revised at the moment but is likely to include everything from Malaysian satay sticks to fish soup and from cajun chicken salad to bagels and cream cheese. The most expensive dish is £5.80. Good for: Tron, Citizens‘, City Hall.
I Ubiquitous Chip 12 Ashton Lane. 334 5007. Upstairs: noon—11pm, seven days. Downstairs: noon—2.30pm (not Sun). 530—] lpm, seven days. For a quick, modestly-priced pate, soup or salad, head upstairs at this ever-popular West End eaterie and kick off your evening in cheap and cheery style. Once you get there, you could still be persuaded to stop for a more formal dinner in the downstairs restaurant.
e
'.\\ /( \
SPT
bsserie
open seven days
food served all day tri 8r sat
restaurant
tuosday- saturday I900 - 2200
560E
Ml
The List 24 April — 7 Mn}- new: 65