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The best of the new restaurant, café and bar openings in Glasgow and Edinburgh Glasgow
IAN BROWN FOOD AND DRINK 55 Eastwoodmains Road, Southside, Glasgow, 0141 638 8422, www.ianbrownrestaurant.co.uk, £11 (set lunch) / £21 (dinner) Nestled in an affluent Southside enclave, Ian Brown Food and Drink is a small and thoughtfully formed new restaurant from the man who spent the past 20 years as head chef at the Ubiquitous Chip. Brown and wife Sheila have embraced the challenge of opening a new fine-dining establishment in straightened economic times with an enthusiasm that radiates throughout the restaurant. Brown has found a freedom from the stalwart Scottishness of the Chip and, as a result, the menu has a more contemporary feel. Brown’s aim is for locals to be able to enjoy a good meal without fuss or breaking the bank.
KITSCH INN 214 Bath Street, City Centre, 0141 332 1341, www.tikibarglasgow.com, £8 (set lunch) / £15 (dinner) Thai food, cool retro styling and a beach-party soundtrack are to be found at the new Kitsch Inn. All dishes are cooked ‘from scratch’ by the Thai chef, and the dipping sauce and fresh pickle for crackers proves that pre-made sauces are no match. Starters are outstanding – the silky salt and pepper squid comes with zingy green mayo, and crying tiger beef salad has tender red meat with a chilli kick. The green curry is fresh-tasting and creamy, although the fried rice could be helped by some ginger and chilli soy.
LOST SOULS 1st Floor, 150 West Campbell Street, City Centre, www.lostsoulsglasgow.co.uk, £9 (lunch/dinner) This new bar from the owners of Brunswick Cellars and Firewater is fittingly named given its secreted location. Mirrored windows give little away about the cool, modern interior of this self-styled ‘gin joint, bourbon bar and boogaloo’, offering an enticing range of rare and speciality gins,
bourbons, rums (the boogaloo angle) and vodkas. Food is of the no-frills bar variety but the burgers, pizzas and pastas are fresh, homemade and nicely priced.
Edinburgh LOS ARGENTINOS
28–30 West Preston Street, Southside, 0131 668 3111, www.losargentinossteakhouseinedin burgh.co.uk, £6.95 (set lunch) / £22.50 (dinner) The enormous cow hide on the wall says it all. Los Argentinos is about beef. Importing fresh steaks direct from Argentina, this Edinburgh newcomer is an offshoot from its eponymous sister restaurant in Holland. Choose your cut from rump, sirloin, fillet or ribeye, all butchered into shape on the premises by chefs Das and Deb, ambassadors from the Dutch sibling, then expertly cooked and served with baked potato or light golden chips, with the house special chimichurri sauce on the side. Chicken, fish and lamb are there too, but clearly not the main feature.
LA GARRIGUE IN THE NEW TOWN 14 Eyre Place, New Town, 0131 558 1608, www.lagarrigue.co.uk, £14.50 (set lunch) / £26.50 (set dinner)
An appearance on the telly with Gordon Ramsay last year has certainly helped the profile of Jean-Michel Gauffre’s La Garrigue restaurant on Jeffrey Street, to the extent that he has created a second branch deep in the New Town. Smaller and quieter than the original, the new venue has much in common, including chunky tables and chairs, real art on the walls and a very similar menu, albeit with a few more vegetarian options by way of respect to Gauffre’s previous incumbent on the spot, L’Artichaut. The inspiration of the Langedoc remains paramount – a unique attribute of Gauffre’s approach that has much to be admired.
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&Drink Recent Openings
One from the heart Christopher Lord visits Far East-themed Opium in Glasgow city centre for some expert dim sum
T his smart new city centre restaurant mixes traditional dim sum with fusion dishes from Malaysia, Singapore, China and Thailand. It has a modern laid-back lounge feel achieved through a slickly designed interior of dark neutral tones, clean lines and classy design motifs – reinforced by a soundtrack of cool jazz- themed music, and an exciting cocktail menu.
Opium's Hong Kong-trained chef Kwan Yu Lee has taught many UK chefs the technical and laborious art of dim sum cooking. Meaning ‘from the heart’, dim sum require lots of care and attention which is clearly evident here in two dozen choices including delicate dumplings of crab, king prawn and chive, and a lotus leaf- wrapped sticky rice parcel with chicken, mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Genuinely welcoming with high-quality food
Little pricier than most SE Asian places
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The fusion concept is successful across the main courses which are grouped into seafood, meat and poultry and vegetarian. Seafood dishes include steamed seabass, Thai red snapper, and a Malaysian dish of tender squid in a thick sauce that balances the tanginess of tamarind and turmeric with the sweetness of cherry tomatoes and pineapple. From the meats – featuring a Thai green curry, Hong Kong beef claypot and aromatic duck dishes – the highlght is classic kung pao chicken, stir-fried with ginger and whole chillis in a potent sweet sauce, and finished with macadamia nuts and served on a giant sampan-like prawn cracker.
Opened in late 2010, already diners are being greeted by name, signalling how fast it has become a place to revisit.
OPIUM
191 Hope Street, City Centre, Glasgow 0141 332 6668, www.opiumrestaurant.co.uk
Mon–Thu noon–2:30pm, 5–10pm; Fri noon–2:30pm, 5–11pm;
Sat noon–11pm; Sun noon–10pm. Ave. price two-course meal £13 (lunch) / £17 (dinner)
3–31 Mar 2011 THE LIST 25