SIDE DISHES News to nibble on Some celeb name- dropping in the restaurant world with news that chef Darin Campbell will be moving from One Devonshire Gardens in Glasgow to head up the Chez Roux restaurant at Andy Murray-owned Cromlix House by Dunblane, while at the Aston Hotel in Dumfries they’re getting ready for the arrival of Marco Pierre White, who’s helping to set up a brasserie under his Wheeler’s of St James brand at the end of November.
Glasgow’s Butterfly and the Pig have opened a West End venue at the foot of Byres Road in the former Bruadar site, and a bit closer to their Bath Street base they’re also involved in an interesting basement location on Garnethill to be called Singl-end.
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The Gannet has been carrying a share of Finnieston’s gastronomic eminence without serving a meal. Jay Thundercliffe finds the wait was well worthwhile
T he slow burn of Finnieston’s reputation on the eating and drinking scene has exploded over the last year or so. Indeed, the trend looks set to continue with whitewashed windows advertising future eating establishments, attracted both by rents a fraction of those on more illustrious thoroughfares and the opportunity to join the growing band of local dining attractions.
The Gannet is the latest to bolster the area’s allure. And it’s had quite a draw, with an extended wait (it took two niggling years to get the door open) meaning all manner of itching food critics, bloggers and culinary neophiles were through its door within days of opening, giving owner-chefs Peter McKenna and Ivan Stein little tweaking time. It is a sign of their skill, not just on the plate but in attitude and organisation, that their restaurant exceeds the hyperlinked hype.
Surprisingly informal for a place professing affordable fine dining, the Gannet is meatpacker meets engineer with elemental stone, brick, and wood dominating the front bar area and cosy mezzanine, while white walls light up the back room, industrial metal seemingly holding it all together.
Food is powerful and the best can be transportive. The Gannet’s faultless, imaginative cooking with well-
sourced Scottish ingredients produces moments that simply dissolve any baggage of hype or considerations of postcode and fashionable stylings. Pigs’ head croquettes are wonderful, mouthful-sized bombs of shredded meat that infuse one’s own head with deep, savoury pork flavours and hints of apple, sharpened by a herby caper dressing, while the thin- skinned, crispy black pudding Scotch egg contains an oozing duck yolk. Pheasant risotto, with slow- cooked meat running through, topped by crisp-edged succulent slices is rich, creamy and addictive.
A Speyside sirloin seems a little workaday by comparison, though perfectly cooked, crisp on the outside, pink-tinged inside, with an exemplary béarnaise sauce. Desserts too, are adept, a perfectly pastried pear tart, for example, heavy with almond, is joined by top-quality homemade ice-cream.
The astute decision to close for two days a week means a happy hardcore of staff are there all the time producing the same quality and consistency whenever diners turn up - or manage to book a table.
+ Food that can resonate long in the mind - Reasonable prices can balloon with specials
THE GANNET
1155 Argyle Street, West End, Glasgow, G3 8TB, 0141 204 2081 Food served: Wed–Sat noon–2.30pm, 5–9.45pm; Sun noon–8.30pm. Closed Mon/Tue
Ave. price of a two-course meal: £15 (set lunch) / £25 (dinner) 32 THE LIST 14 Nov–12 Dec 2013