Food&Drink Recent Openings
The best of the new restaurant, café and bar openings in Glasgow and Edinburgh Glasgow
CRITERION 568 Dumbarton Road, West End, Glasgow, 0141 334 1964, www.criterioncafe.com, £12 (lunch) / £14 (dinner) Nostalgia has currency in Glasgow, and the newly opened Criterion in Partick (which describes itself as a ‘grand café and saloon’) undoubtedly offers a sepia- tinged warmth. Owner Allan Mawn – who also runs the two neighbouring establishments of Velvet Elvis and Pintxo – has installed vintage wooden booths and a soda fountain, and even the name is reclaimed from a much-loved West End café. With the menu come contemporary twists: Italian beers and cocktails, bruschetta and risotto balls, pizzas with grilled aubergine and smoked chicken. Families will enjoy it, with most dishes served in small portions and classic sundaes decorated with frothy cream and squeezy sauce. THE PELICAN CAFÉ 1377 Argyle Street, West End, 0844 573 0670, www.thepelicancafe.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 YES SUSHI 89 Hanover Street, 0131 220 1887, www.yessushi.co.uk, £11.50 (set lunch) / £20 (dinner) Tasteful and traditional red lanterns, boldly printed wallpaper and pictures of kimono-clad ladies slot this place comfortably in among the growing sushi competition. The crisply illustrated, comprehensive Japanese menu includes everything you would expect, as well as some less-frequently represented dishes – Donburi sets, for example, and white tiger roll sushi. Sushi prices are somewhat above the average, especially when it comes to tempura and yakimono skewers, but main plates are better value and the seafood special (expertly crispy panko-covered prawns, squid and fish on wok-fried noodles) will cure most ills.
LOOPY’S AT THE CHURCH HILL THEATRE
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33A Morningside Road, 0131 477 3042, www.loopylornas.com, £8 (lunch/dinner) Success with Loopy Lorna’s Teahouse at the lower end of Morningside Road has led to a sister teahouse located within the Church Hill Theatre up the street. A spacious but startlingly feminine interior make the surroundings something of an acquired taste, but large tables with benches can accommodate six rugby/golf/football widows comfortably to congregate and talk about pashminas. A few hiccoughs (no butter, cream or jam with the scones, and less forgiveably, low-fat spread on sandwiches) detract somewhat from skilled home-baking and an impressive tea selection. The rest of the menu is worth a look too – goats cheese, sundried tomato and mozzarella ravioli is surprisingly tasty. HONG FU 3-7 Waterloo Place, 0131 556 7597, www.hongfubar.com, £11.50 (lunch/dinner) Working the canteen aesthetic to within an inch of its life, Hong Fu Noodle proudly wears its ‘no more fusion’ heart on its sleeve. Beijing roast duck is exceptional – fragrant, slightly sweet yet
savoury, a huge bowl of braised beef noodles is so simple yet so tasty, while the home-made dumplings and noodles help create a meal that’s a world away from the more ersatz Chinese food available in Edinburgh. While the unintentionally hilarious menu translations may confuse rather than clarify, the friendly servers happily explain and recommend. If you want to fill your boots with simple, hearty and real soul- food then this is a pit stop that’s well worth making. 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.
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.
FOOD EVENTS GLASGOW ■ Queen's Park Farmers' Market FREE Sat 6 Nov, 10am–2pm. Queen's Park, 520 Langside Road.
■ Bread Baking at Heart Buchanan Tue 9 Nov, 7–9pm. £45. Heart Buchanan, 380 Byres Road, 334 7626. A hands-on lesson in the basics of breadmaking led by master baker Andrew Wilson of differentbreid. Collect your own home- made loaf the following morning. Other classes this fortnight at Heart Buchanan are on 4 Nov (Seafood) and 16 Nov (Slow Cooking). ■ Mansfield Park Farmers' Market FREE Sat 13 Nov, 10am–2pm. Mansfield
20 THE LIST 4–18 Nov 2010
Fri 5 Nov, 6pm. £20. Eastgate Theatre & Arts Centre, Eastgate, Peebles, 01721 722500. One of Scotland's biggest wine tastings, with a wide selection of wines from around the world. Ticket price is refundable against orders of £95 or over. Also taking place in Edinburgh on Fri 19 Nov. ■ New Lanark Winter Food and Gift Fair FREE Sat 6 & Sun 7 Nov, 11am–5pm. New Lanark World Heritage Village, New Lanark Mills, New Lanark, 01555 661345. Feast upon the festive delights on offer, from scrumptious local produce to hand-crafted stocking-fillers, paintings and jewellery.
Park, Partick.
■ Glasgow's Whisky Festival Sat 13 Nov, 1–5pm. £15. The Arches, 253 Argyle Street, 565 1000. The first ever whisky festival based in Glasgow. EDINBURGH ■ Edinburgh Farmers' Market FREE Sat 6 Nov & Sat 13 Nov, 9am–2pm. Castle
Terrace, www.edinburgh farmersmarket.co.uk. ■ Portobello Organic Market FREE Sat 6 Nov, 10am–2pm. Brighton Park, Brighton Place, pedal-porty.org.uk.
30–36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, 555 7100. Who says austerity can't be fun? Certainly not Douglas Roberts from You Can Cook, who'll be offering up tips on how to turn uninspiring leftovers into a feast at least as tempting as the original meal.
■ Cooking Masterclass – Transform your Leftovers! Sat 6 Nov, noon–1pm. £1. Out of the Blue Drill Hall, OUTSIDE THE CITIES ■ Villeneuve Wine Tasting