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The best of the new restaurant, café and bar openings in Glasgow and Edinburgh
Glasgow SLOUCH 203–205 Bath Street, 0141 221 5518, www.slouch-bar.co.uk, £6.95 (set lunch) / £13 (dinner) This half-sister to Maggie May’s is hoping to add some longevity to the Bath Street basement where a procession of bars have come and gone recently. Rock’n’roll is a big theme, from the regular free bands to cocktails named after famous songs. Slouching is easy in the various cubby holes and corners with gentleman’s club-style sofas, while big groups can use a curtained private space. Diners can sit in bar-side booths or enjoy the live music while tucking into a menu laden with pizzas, burgers, steak and fajitas, while a market menu offers more sophisticated specials and desserts are full of Glasgow kitsch such as Tunnock’s snowballs with ice-cream. PERSIA 665 Great Western Road, 0141 237 4471, www.persiaglasgow.com, £6.50 (set lunch) / £15 (dinner) The corner of Great Western Road and Cecil Street seemed destined to be forever occupied by unremarkable takeaways, but after Grillicious disappeared the premises were given a smart makeover, a mezzanine was added and Persia opened its gleaming doors, winning over diners with a blend of fresh, authentic Iranian cuisine, a smart, modern and comfortable interior and friendly service. Mains include
various grills of lamb or chicken, stews and polos (rice dishes), and a big handful of seafood and vegetarian options. THE PELICAN CAFÉ 1377 Argyle Street, West End, 0844 573 0670, www.thepelican cafe.co.uk, £9 (lunch) / £15 (dinner)
Dominated by a central bar flanked by cosy booths, the Pelican makes the most of the prime spot opposite Kelvingrove museum — but this is no tourist trap and is more likely to be filled with locals realising they’ve found a real neighbourhood treasure. The varied and seductive menu of Scottish and Mediterranean dishes is awash with local provenance such as Orkney Gold beef, Isle of Bute rose veal and lots of West Coast seafood, not least the creel-caught langoustines. Even better, the kitchen is making the most of this fabulous produce with accomplished cuisine and conspicuously reasonable prices. Edinburgh THE RADICAL ROAD 229 Willowbrae Rd, 0131 661 1116, www.radicalroadpub.co.uk, £9.50 (set lunch) / £16 (dinner)
Despite its rather nondescript location on a road out of town, the Radical Road is an exercise in not judging on looks alone. Split between two uses, its public bar at the rear is a friendly, locals’ kind of place, with sport on telly and regular live music nights. The style of the main restaurant is somewhere between homely china chintz and a sturdy Celtic theme, with tartan adorning the wall hangings and dishes such as Rob Roy’s Platter (haggis and potato wedges with a pleasingly flavoured Drambuie dip) or woodpigeon breast and black pudding in red wine sauce.
PORT OF SIAM 3 Pier Place, Newhaven, Edinburgh, 0131 467 8628, www.portofsiam.com, £9.95 (set lunch) / £21 (dinner) The main road may divide it from the working boats and lobster creels of Newhaven Harbour, but the slap of waves and open views to Fife all provide a suitably salty setting to this intimate Thai place with a single room broken into discrete areas, most of which manage to capture the view to sea. Seafood dominates the contemporary-styled dishes: razor clams – gleaming, tender and fresh – work well in an unusual coconut and sweet basil soup (which you’ll treat like sauce), while tradition is confidently upheld by the larb moo – exquisitely spiced minced pork in crunchy lettuce leaves. TAPA 97 Hanover St, New Town, 0131 623 1934, www.tapaedinburgh.co.uk, £5 (set lunch) / £13 (dinner)
A sister restaurant for Robert Scobie’s successful Tapa in Leith, the city- centre sibling is a charming red-walled space where pictures of bulls and matadors hang on the walls and images of the restaurant’s make- believe patron, the toothless and smiling Abuela Carmen, are stamped on the menu. A lunch/afternoon deal has seven tapas for £10, which is plenty for two. Plump croquettes contain a melting centre of ham and cheese, while thick breaded squid rings arrive with a homemade aioli. For pudding, a wobbly crème caramel goes down smoothly.
Independent write-ups on all the restaurants worth knowing about in Glasgow and Edinburgh are available on our online Eating & Drinking Guide at list.co.uk/food-and-drink Prices shown are for an average two-course meal for one.
EDINBURGH ■ Edinburgh Farmers' Market FREE Sat 23 Oct & Sat 30 Oct, 9am–2pm. Castle Terrace, 652 5940. ■ A Feast of Dreams: Storytelling Supper Mon 25 Oct, 6.30pm. £20. Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 226 8181. Tales and tasty grub courtesy of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival.
FOOD & DRINK EVENTS GLASGOW ■ BBC Good Food Show Scotland Fri 22–Sun 24 Oct, 10am–6pm. £16.50–£20.50 (VIP tickets from £65). SECC, Finnieston Quay, 0844 579 3184. The food and drink extravaganza heads north of the border for another serving of celebrity chefs including Tom Kitchin and Gordon Ramsay.
■ Mansfield Park Farmers' Market FREE Sat 23 Oct, 10am–2pm. Mansfield Park, Partick, 287 2500. ■ Silverburn Farmers', Speciality Foods and Craft Market FREE Sun 31 Oct, 10am–4pm. Silverburn, Barrhead Road, 287 2500.
24 THE LIST 21 Oct–4 Nov 2010
BBC Good Food Show
■ Half Canned Cooks Book Launch Mon 25 Oct, 7–10pm. £12. Bennet's Bar, 8 Leven Street, 228 6241. Book launch and tasting event from Lupe Pintos deli. ■ Supper with the Wise Fool: Storytelling Supper
Thu 28 Oct, 7pm. £18. The Lot, 4–6 Grassmarket, 225 9922. A three-course fixed-menu supper accompanied by folk tales from the Middle East. ■ The Pomegranate Tree Thu 28 Oct, 6.30pm, £48. Hanam's Restaurant, 3 Johnston Terrace. Book at
www.torturecare.org.uk or phone 0207 7697 7755. Fundraising meal for the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture. ■ World Café Fri 29 Oct, 5.30–7.30pm. £5 (children £2.50). North Edinburgh Arts Centre, 15a Pennywell Court, 315 2151.
Monthly community world cuisine night, with a guest storyteller as part of SISF. OUTSIDE THE CITIES ■ Trossachs Mushroom Festival FREE Thu 21–Sun 24 Oct. Various venues, Aberfoyle, 01877 382276. A Hong Kong-theme for the festival this year, including Chinese cookery demonstrations.
■ Peebles Food Festival 2010 FREE Fri 22–Sun 24 Oct. Eastgate Theatre & Arts Centre, Peebles, 01721 725777. Events include wine and beer tastings, demonstrations, junior and adult Ready Steady Cook and an indoor and outdoor food market.