Category Archives: Clarkston

Eat Deli, Clarkston

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What I really loved when I lived in Melbourne was going out for a late breakfast or lunch along Carlisle Street or Chapel Street. It was almost a weekly ritual to catch up with friends for a debrief over death benedict (eggs benedict served on hashbrowns). I haven’t really found similar places in Glasgow but perhaps I am looking in the wrong areas (so recommendations are appreciated!).

I popped into Eat Deli in Clarkston the other day for a late lunch. I was on my own so I wasn’t looking for anything over the top, but I was starving and needed something uplifting. Eat Deli is always packed on the weekend, so I was glad to be able to get a seat at the window on a weekday afternoon (which is so good for people watching). I had a while to kill, luckily, as it took them a while to get around to taking my order. I had French Toast with fruit.

French toast with fresh fruit drizzled with maple syrup – £6.95
An incredibly generous portion that I think would have happily served two people. I, of course, ate it all on my own. While I feel that £6.95 is very steep for French toast and fruit, I couldn’t find fault with this at all. It was absolutely perfect, the fruit was so fresh and succulent, the toast was cooked perfectly and there was just the right amount of syrup and sugar. A really lovely afternoon pick-me-up. I also loved being able to bask in the sunshine in the window seating (such a rarity in Glasgow I’ve discovered). 
I really enjoy Eat Deli, I just wish it wasn’t so popular so that we could eat there more often on the weekends. 

Eat Deli on Urbanspoon

Clark & Sons, Clarkston

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Being locals to Clarkston, we were very interested to see what Clark & Sons would be like when it opened. In the site previously occupied by the Rascasse, it re-opened under a slightly twee new name and after a makeover in late June/early July 2010. Clark & Sons is operated by the owners of Citation, the Merchant City bar that I’ve always wanted, but never made it to visit. Mostly because I think the building it occupies is beautiful, but I’ve heard it’s also good.

Back to Clark & Sons. It unrecognisable from the fit-out of the Rascasse. It has separate areas for the bar, restaurant and private dining but all these areas feel spacious and luxurious, without ever feeling cramped or secluded from the overall ambiance. Decorated with dark wooden materials, booths and couches, it feels very homely without being too formal, or too casual.

We dropped in for lunch on a Saturday. There seemed to be an extraordinary amount of staff on for a Saturday lunch however I would expect that’s just to see how many covers they are going to do. Clark & Sons offers a fantastic deal every day to 7pm of a Wine & Dine menu consisting of either two courses plus a glass of wine for £9.95 or three courses for £12.50. To me, this is an excellent deal, especially for the quality of the food.

We ate:

Entrée of fish cakes. To be honest, this (and the wine which was dry and unpleasant) was the only part of the meal I found disappointing. The fish cakes tasted a bit like the pre-made ones from M&S and I didn’t find them to have too much flavour. 

Main of pork belly and cous cous. Wow, the pork belly was delicious, really packed with flavour and lovely and succulent. 

Salmon with mash potato. The salmon was absolutely lovely and I really enjoyed it. The mash potato seemed to have potato skin through it, which I found a bit strange. 
For dessert we all had chocolate puddings which were more like a hard mousse, but they were still delicious.
All up, £12.50 for three courses and a wine is a really good deal to me. The main and dessert made up for the slightly strange fish cakes and wine. I would really love to try Clark & Sons again, perhaps for an early dinner – as the Wine & Dine menu is available until 7pm every night. I think this could become a real favourite of ours for a quick, simple, tasty dinner with friends or family. 

Clark & Sons on Urbanspoon