Category Archives: Glasgow Southside

Cookie, Glasgow Southside

by

We finally managed to visit Cookie after many failed attempts (on our behalf!). We were able to get a seat without any problem on a Saturday around 1pm but it got a lot busier over the next two hours, so if you’re thinking of going for a special occasion I’d recommend booking in advance.

We were a bit confused by the menu, and I’ve read other people say this online. I put this down to the fact that their menu changes daily, and it’d be a bit of a waste to be printing out a new menu every day. Although, they could use the blackboards for this. Anyway, the point is that your waiter will tell you the specials of the day (two courses for £11.50) so make sure you pay attention!

There was a little more confusion as to whether we could order from the meals on the blackboard (we couldn’t) so we went for the lunch deal. We share the antipasti platter to start:

Antipasti platter to share

This had a generous amount of meats and cheese, as well as grilled vegetables underneath the rocket. We really enjoyed this and it was really nice and relaxing just grazing (I do tend to get a bit competitive when sharing food, thankfully Graeme has gotten used to this!).

Chicken with spinach bean stew/casserole

For main, we had the chicken and bean casserole. This was a large portion so I struggled to finish it after the antipasti. I am not the biggest bean lover but this dish was really nice and had a good balance of chicken to beans as well a refreshing spinach and some spring onion.

All their breads are baked in store daily, as well as the cakes. From the dining area you can see into the kitchen and have a spy on the calm, organised and tidy goings on. I was very impressed!

The waiter we had on the day was a little eccentric (“kooky” even, *boomtish*). He seemed a bit overwhelmed at times as he was taking care of all the tables in the restaurant with just a meal-runner to help him. The gentleman on the table next to us even commented on the service to us – but you know what, I like someone who is a little off-beat and not super slick. I think it can make the experience of dining out more fun and interesting.

One final word of praise – their cordials are served in a tea pot with a jug of water, so you can make it up to your own preference. Perfect for weirdos like me who like really weak cordial!

I can’t wait to go back to Cookie to try their dinner specials – they had a pea, wild garlic and blue cheese risotto which I am dying to try. It’s on the menu for a while longer (so they tell me via twitter) so I’ll have to go back soon!

Cookie on Urbanspoon

Nachos, Glasgow Southside

by

We caught up with friends recently and had dinner at Nachos Southside. I probably wouldn’t have known about the restaurant but their twitter person does a great job at social media, so I was intrigued to see what the food was like. I’ll be honest, I was expecting standard Mexican food (and I was ok with that!). When I looked at the menu the day we were going, I was surprised as there was a range of main meals I’d never heard of which sounded delicious.

When we got there, the restaurant was a lot bigger than I was expecting. I wouldn’t describe the atmosphere as fine dining (there is a big Inca temple painted on the wall) but it is casual without being cheap and nasty. Choosing what to eat was really tough! We eventually decided to get three starters (between two) and two mains. Next time I would probably just get two starters as this was a lot of food!

Chicken and Chorizo Tostados £4.50 Spiced chicken and chorizo on a toasted flatbread with garlic.

Calamari £4.25 Mildly spicy golden fried calamari served with salsa ‘n’ salad garnish

Loaded Shells £3.95 A trio of potato shells with Cajun chicken, chilli and Mexican cheese.

These were our starters. As you can see, they are not small portions! I loved the calamari – especially how much there was. This was a huge amount which I was not expecting, and it was lovely and crisp. The potatoes were great with the chicken being my favourite, and I liked the variety.

After the starters, I was worried about how I’d go with the mains. Thankfully we didn’t feel rushed and had some time for digestion between courses!

Camarones Escondidos £12.95 Grilled chicken breast stuffed with tiger prawns, topped with sautéed spinach and chipotle – wine sauce. Served with Mexican house rice and sautéed vegetables

Pabellon Criollo £13.95 Shredded beef marinated with onion, red and black pepper sauce, fresh garlic and chillies, served with rice and beans

The mains were absolutely heavenly – I had the chicken. This was really not the kind of food I was expecting and I was really pleased to see prawns (and shrimp) in abundance. The flavours were really enjoyable and I would love to go back to try this dish again! I also really loved the side of refried beans, which have been something I’ve always avoided. Graeme’s pabellon criollo was also lovely and had a beautiful creamy sauce with it. I have tried to find the recipe for this as I’m really keen to recreate this at home – that’s when you know you’ve had a great dinner!

Churros with chocolate dipping sauce

We even had room for dessert – we shared the churros between us. These were also delicious  cooked to perfection and served with a rich but not sickly sauce.

We had a great meal at Nachos. All up it was around £50 for two people with drinks, which I thought was pretty standard for three (and a bit) courses! I would love to go back soon – and when we were there, I spied that they do tapas Tuesday and Wednesday. All their tapas are priced between £1-£2.95 which I think sounds pretty fantastic! They have also recently started doing takeaway, if you fancy. So we are planning on going back to see what the tapas experience is like. If it’s anything like their normal menu, we have a new favourite place to eat on the Southside!

(Note: sorry for the quality of the photos in this post – the restaurant was a bit dark and the pictures needed some editing to lighten them up!)

Glasgow is quite short of Mexican restaurants – what’s your favourite Mexican in Glasgow?

Nachos Mexican Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Longboard Italian evening at Whole Foods Market, Giffnock

by

We were lucky enough to be invited along for Whole Foods Market, Giffnock’s new monthly night called Longboard. The launch night was Italian themed, and we were treated to a whole range of amazing food.

Longboard Italian Menu

You can read a really detailed description of all the food on their blog, Longboard Giffnock. The idea is that the event encourages sharing from platters and meeting lovely new friends. We had the pleasure of sitting next to Fiona from Eaty Tweety and her husband and I’m glad to report there was no fork-stabbing incidents fighting over food!

After enjoying our welcoming glass of a peach prosecco bellini (yum!) we were then treated to our first longboard – salumi.

This is pretty much my dream dinner. Had we not had to share (or have more food coming) I could have happily grazed on this for a few hours! Everything was delicious and thankfully, the food we didn’t get to eat was boxed up for us to eat the next day.

One thing that really makes Whole Foods stand out to me is their wonderfully friendly and helpful staff. All the items were explained in detail, and they quickly answered any questions we had.

Amalfi lemons with mozzarella

Ohhhfttt these were a real surprise. The cheese popped out of the lemon skin, and was lightly lemon flavoured, but still packed a real mozzarella punch. I really want to learn how to make these as they would be a great and unusual starter!

Insalata – olive, bocconcini & cherry tomato dressed in olive oil with rocket & Parmesan

This is just the refreshing salad we need – a perfect palate cleanser before the main. Also, I loved this salad for it’s extreme simplicity and goes to show that a delicious, healthy salad can be thrown together in just a few minutes with some really fresh ingredients.

Lemon, fennel and marjoram rubbed roast chicken, rosemary & sea salt baby roasts, chilli and herb spiked roasted vegetables, ricotta mushrooms

There were four portions on the longboard so sharing wasn’t required for this course! I loved the chicken but the vegetables were the real stand out of this course. The first thing I ate was the mushroom and it had a really punch of chilli to it, which was a surprise as I was just expecting it to be cheesy. I loved it! Then the potatoes – they were served on a carrot and vanilla purée which was beyond heavily – another item I want to learn to make at home!

Desserts – sweet tarts

Graeme skillfully managed to cut these tarts into four so we could all try all of them. This dessert was the perfect finish to the meal – to be honest, I was totally stuffed by this stage so wouldn’t have been able to eat much more! We were also treated to dark chocolate squares, a glass of marsala (which I wouldn’t normally drink, but loved with the chocolate!) as well as an espresso. It was either the espresso or the fun that kept me awake for hours afterwards!

We had such a great night. It was really a lovely experience to dine at Whole Foods (what other supermarket could you say that about?!) and fun to meet awesome people to share it with.

There will be another Longboard event in September – Whole Foods will be announcing it this week! So keep your eyes glued to their facebook page as I’m sure it will sell out quickly.

The Glasgow Food Blog dined as guests of Whole Foods Giffnock.

Ian Brown Restaurant, Giffnock, Glasgow

by
We’d been keen to try the relatively new Ian Brown Restaurant in Giffnock since it opened, but we hadn’t managed to get a booking. It’s very popular on the Southside, and also quite small so if you want to go for dinner, I suggest you try booking a bit in advance!
We had some Australian friends staying with us recently who got engaged, so we wanted to take them somewhere special for a celebratory dinner. I normally don’t have a problem heading into town, but perhaps it’s the colder weather, I really just wanted to go somewhere local but lovely. We were able to get a booking for dinner on a Thursday night without any problems. 
The restaurant is quite small and can seem crowded when it is full and busy as some tables are quite close together, and you might find it a challenge navigating a path to the bathroom.
We were warmly welcomed and seated right near the bar, where I could spy through to the kitchen to see that Ian Brown himself was cooking that night.   
Complimentary beetroot velouté
We were served this as a complimentary stater and it was greatly appreciated – lovely and warming with the heavenly rich taste of beetroot that I love so much. We decided to diverge from the pre-theatre menu (which is fantastically cheap – £11 for two courses or £14.50 for 3) and go a la carte. I won’t write anything about the dishes individually but here are the photos for your drooling pleasure. 
Slow braised Perthshire pigs cheek with herby polenta and Madeira sauce 

Haggis, neeps and tatties 

Roast partridge breast with saffron barley risotto and herb bisque 

Grilled Perthshire pigeon breasts on a bed of bacon and puy lentils and morel cream sauce

Seared collops of Stirlingshire venison with bramble sauce, celeriac purée, sesame seed potatoes and fried kale   

 Slow cooked Scottish shin of beef with garlic crushed potatoes, honey roasted shallots and spinach 

Courgette and cous cous parcel with red pepper sauce 

We were really full after all of that so decided against dessert. I was expecting the meals to be pricer but the entrées were around £5 and mains around £15 so I found it to be good value. Everything we ate was tasty, fresh, and the menu all seems to be locally sourced. I didn’t leave floating on cloud 9 in food heaven, but I was quite content with our meals and would recommend it to anyone looking for somewhere new to try on the Southside. I would go back to try out the pre-theatre menu as I think that is a really good value deal.

A day at The Cook School Scotland

by

I was lucky enough to get invited to try a class at The Cook School, based in Kilmarnock south of Glasgow. I decided to pick a class that I thought would be a challenge – game cookery has always frightened me because I never know whether it’s actually cooked or not, so I decided that was the class for me.

The day started with tea and scones in the dining room where you got to meet your fellow chefs for the day. Our class was being taken by Gary MacLean with Heather Hood helping out.

 Gary and Heather
I don’t know that you could have two nicer chefs as instructors (I haven’t met the other chefs of The Cook School though!). If you had any questions, problem or needed a hand, one of them was always close by to come to the rescue. It made the whole day relaxing and enjoyable rather than stressful as some people who are new to the kitchen may worry about. 
We then moved into the cooking area – everyone had a station fitted out with a newfandangled induction stove and cooktop (absolute bliss to cook on) with all your ingredients ready to go. Each recipe was demonstrated by Gary before you were let loose to have a go yourself. 
Gary demonstrated bread making (foccacia) and a vegetable tagine, and then we made the tagine.
Vegetable tagine (uncooked)
The tagine was a combination of sturdy root vegetables like squash, celeriac, carrot and pumpkin and was then slow cooked in the tagine at 140 degrees for as long as you could. The vegetables held together during the cooking process really well and really developed their flavour. 
Saddle of roe deer with walnut dressing and beetroot salad
This was my favourite dish to make – it was really easy but looks very flash, and would be a great dinner party dish to serve up as it is really quick. The walnut dressing was great, even though I added too much vinegar to mine! 
Apple tart tatin on the induction stove
Focaccia
I’ve made focaccia myself at home before but it didn’t rise as much as this one – Heather’s tip of the day was to add more sugar which gives it some extra rise. This was light and soft and a really nice accompaniment to the main dish of the roast pheasant. 
Roast pheasant resting from the oven (sorry for the somewhat gruesome photo!)
The roast pheasant was a real challenge – especially learning how to truss it. I’ve never bothered trussing poultry before when I roast it but I always will now – the legs can stop the breast meat from drying out when they are trussed. Also, I never realised how easy poultry is to carve when you take out the wishbone!
I don’t have a photo of the apple tart tatin and sadly I’ve eaten mine already – I will make another one and post a picture though as I think it was my second favourite thing of the day!
Roast pheasant with vegetable tagine

Gary showed us a range of game animals pre-processing to see what kinds of animals they get in, I haven’t posted the pictures here in case anyone is a bit queasy about that kind of thing – but leave me a comment if you do want to see them and I’ll add them in a separate post! The course made me a lot more confident about cooking game and I will be definitely be trying a different kind of meat when we have people over next. Scotland is a real treasure-trove of delicious meats and it’s a shame to stick with the supermarket standards. If you’re not sure where to get your meat from, The Cook School Shop can sort you out. They sell cooking supplies as well as game meats, cheeses and sauces.  
The cooking stations
The Cook School was a great experience and it was lovely to meet the chefs as well as the people enjoying the class. I really enjoyed sitting in the dining room at the end of the day and getting to sample the foods we’d made, as well as have a nice glass of wine. We got to take home our leftovers from the day, including our whole tart tatin which was lovely for dessert the following night, as well as a goodie bag with the recipes, folder and our apron home. The Chook School Shop has a great supply of hard to get items – including my long-lusted for panko bread crumbs. 
I had a brilliant day at The Cook School and would recommend the class to any level of cook – if you have an interest in game meats, this is the class for you. If you’re interested in the Market Kitchen class, Leila recently visited for that one, you can read her post over at Leil’Appetit to see the tasty things she made.

Thanks to Taste Communications for arranging my visit and to Gary and Heather for being so lovely and helpful.

The Cook School is at 7 Moorfield North Industrial Park, Crosshouse, Kilmarnock, KA2 0FE

Revisiting the Farmers’ Market at The Avenue, Newton Mearns

by

The Avenue’s Farmers’ Market was on again this morning so we trecked down for a visit to see what was on offer today. Sadly there was no fruit and vegetable stand, but we took some great pictures and got some interesting food:

An amazing selection of fudge and tablet

Graeme couldn’t resist Death by Chocolate

My favourite stall – Edenmill Farm 
We picked up a couple of chicken breasts (£4.50 for two) some venison sausages and some beef burgers

We didn’t buy anything from Tarelgin today but I really love their selection of seafood 

Pinchy!
A sample of the mild chilli really woke me up!
A beautiful stall of cupcakes – all baked yesterday and too hard to resist
I have one of these waiting for me for post-lunch dessert

The next Farmers’ Market is on Sunday 22 May – maybe we’ll see you there!

Farmers’ Market, the Avenue, Newton Mearns

by

This morning we visited the new farmers’ market at the Avenue Shopping Centre in Newton Mearns. Our local markets (Clarkston and Silverburn) can be quite variable in terms of variety and supply so we were keen to check this one out.

It was held in the Marks & Spencer carpark, but on the sidewalk so as to make good use of the empty space without taking up precious carparking spaces. We arrived around 12.30, the market had been going since 11 but there was still a great supply of meats, fish and vegetables available.

We found there was a really great supply of stalls – including beers from Houston Brewing Company, cheeses, breads, a few fish stalls and 3-4 meat stalls.

We picked up some meatballs from Edenmill Farm (sadly they didn’t have any chickens – by far the best chicken I have ever eaten was from this stall at the Silverburn Farmers’ Market), 4 smoked sea bass fillets from Tarelgin Farm Foods & Smokehouse in Ayr (as well as a smoked garlic bulb!) and some fresh vegetables. A big thank you to the stall person at Edenmill Farm for giving us really helpful guidance for our dinner party too – it is that kind of service that makes you really appreciate the added value you get at a farmers’ market.

I was really impressed with the variety on offer and am really looking forward to the next farmers’ market at the Avenue. The farmers’ market will run from 11am-4pm on the fourth Sunday of every month – I will take the camera along next time!

Latte-Tude, Newton Mearns

by

Excusing the cringeworthy name, we were very excited about the recent opening of Latte-Tude as I am a big fan of eating out at breakfast/brunch (ok, well I enjoy eating out for all meals). Newton Mearns, apart from at the Avenue, is seriously lacking cafés.


We saved our first trip to Latte-Tude for my birthday as we both had the day off, and thought a Tuesday afternoon would be a good time to try it out without a weekend rush. It has a lovely downstairs seating area, with a not-so-attractive view over the carpark. Nonetheless, the environment is relaxed and casual with comfy couches if you are so inclined. 


We ate: 

 Baked potato with cheese, cress & pickle – £5.60

Coronation chicken panini – around £5.00

We also had a piece of cake which sadly I don’t have a picture of, but which was pretty good. 

I really couldn’t fault the food or service as both were excellent. What was disappointing was getting the bill and realising we’d spent nearly £20.00 on a very casual lunch. We had two drinks each (cans of coke are priced around £1.50 each), and the aforementioned cake, but I still rank that as quite an expensive lunch for what we ate.  As a comparison, for the same amount you could have a 2 course lunch with a glass of wine at the nearby Clark & Sons, a couple of pizzas at Il Pavone Sud (albeit without drinks), and its prices aren’t significantly different from the Country Club up the road.  While we might stop off at Latte-tude for a quick coffee and a cake, I think we might go for the better value for money options in the area.


Latte-Tude on Urbanspoon

Barbarossa Restaurant, Cathcart

by

I’d always wanted to try Barbarossa after passing it so many times through Cathcart station. We decided to head there with a group of friends for Sunday lunch – enticed by their lunch special of 3 courses for £13.50 (some dishes attracting a supplement).

Barbarossa is a impressive looking building in Cathcart – lots of dark wood, lots of stairs and hidden corners for dining. I like that it isn’t just one big open space and makes for an interesting restaurant to explore. We ate in the restaurant area but they also have a wine bar downstairs to dine in – we are definitely going back soon to try it.

I started with the smoked salmon and king prawn salad with marie rose sauce. I’m sure I’ve mentioned it in the blog before, but an Australian’s definition of a king prawn and a Scottish king prawn are two very different things! Despite the size of the prawns, this was a really enjoyable, light starter and the flavours were balanced really well with not too much sauce but a generous serving of salmon.

Graeme had the pasta special – spaghetti with beef and Parmesan meatballs. For an entrée, this was a good sized dish and packed a lot of flavour into the sauce, without being overly rich.  The meatballs were also excellent – obviously handmade, and distinctive enough to compliment the pasta.

This dish hasn’t photographed too well! This was my main – artichoke ravioli with cherry tomatoes and asparagus. I thought perhaps this was a bit light on asparagus (there was maybe one or two chopped up stalks in the sauce) but the ravioli was silky and delicate and worked really well with the artichoke and ricotta filling.

Graeme’s main was pan fried pork medallions. I didn’t try too much of this but the pork wasn’t overly soft like I was expecting, although the overall flavour was delicious.  The sauce worked well with the pork, as did the accompanying vegetables, and the pork had been well seasoned, with pepper dominating nicely.

We both went for the same dessert which is really unusual for us! I would have tried the cheese platter but it had too many creamy cheeses on it for my liking, so we went for the chocolate and orange pudding. This was a nice dessert with segments of orange and chocolate sponge at the base.

Some things we really liked about Barbarossa – for our friends with a child, they asked when we booked if she needed a high chair (I learnt a child of nearly 5 does not need a high chair!); and then they checked whether she would like her main meal with starters or mains, which her parents really appreciated. The service was really good here, the staff were all very friendly and attentive, and when it came to ordering desserts they even told us how many portions of each dessert were left so that we could organise it between ourselves, which was really helpful. Even though I wouldn’t say the food amazed me, it was a good solid meal and I would be glad to go back to try the wine bar again soon.

Barbarossa on Urbanspoon

Tinto Tapas Bar, Southside, Glasgow

by
I’d been hearing about Tinto Tapas Bar from a few different people (and with the limited amount of people I know in Glasgow, that’s saying something) so I was really excited when friends of ours suggested lunch there on Sunday. We took up prime eating position in the window seats.
Tinto has a huge range of deals – Sunday is 3 tapas for £8.95 per head. We ended up with a huge amount of food and it was a real delight to be able to sample so much of the menu. We have written this review together – so don’t think that one person ate all this food alone! 
Tabla de Embutidos – mixed Spanish meat board with olives
A great range of meats which went well with the Manchego cheese (see below). I’ve a newfound love of olives and these were lovely, even enjoyed heartily by our 4 year old dining companion. 
Carne de ternera – flash fried beef strips with garlic, chilli and red onion
This was a real highlight of the meal for me and I wish I had of ordered my own portion. The meat was deliciously tender and full of flavour – I can see why our dining companions order this every time they eat here!
Pollo – chicken breast sliced and topped with chorizo and Manchego cheese with tomato sauce
This was an obvious choice, as I love chorizo, and would happily have it with anything.  The chicken was succulent, and all the different ingredients combined well, although I would have preferred the chorizo to be higher up in the mix of flavours.
Canelones – pasta tubes stuffed with meat and vegetables baked with tomato and cheese
Another solid dish.  The sauce was rich without being overly filling, and the beef wasn’t too dry.  Not mind-blowing, but is certainly worth including in any tapas session.
Conejo Guisado con Cebollitas – rabbit, baby onion, tomato and white wine
The sauce was the highlight of this dish – the onion flavours were strong, but not too overpowering.  The rabbit was OK, but didn’t leave a great impression; I’m not too sure if I would order this one again.
Gambas pil pil – king prawns with chillies and garlic oil
These prawns were delicious – and a proper size, which is a real delight for me (too many times I have order prawns, only to receive shrimps!). They were succulent and flavoursome, my only qualm would be that they were slightly overcooked for my tastes. 
Apio con Manchego – braised celery hearts and twelve months aged Manchego cheese
I ordered this purely on the basis of the high praise from Wine Splodge - the idea of celery and cheese wouldn’t appeal to me otherwise. I’m so glad I did, the mild taste and slippery texture of the celery was refreshing and set off the sharpness of the cheese perfectly. 
Crema Catalana – traditional sweet cream custard topped with caramel
I pride myself on always being the person at the table to order the dish that everyone else envies. It’s a skill I have, and I’m proud of it. However, I didn’t order the crema catalana and had instant food envy when it arrived at the table. I hate that feeling, that someone is tucking into a really delicious dessert and you went and ordered pancakes.  
Tarta di Limon – homemade lemon tart with soft whipped cream
Really, really good this, so good I broke the main tapas rule and didn’t share it with my fellow diners!  Below the crispy caramelised topping, the lemon tart was of a great consistency and had the right balance of flavour; not too tart (if you pardon the pun), but still with enough of a lemon flavour to make it interesting.  The cream was well made as well, and complemented the tart perfectly.
Tortita – saffron pancakes with strawberry and marscarpone ice-cream

The aforementioned pancakes. Luckily for the pancakes, they were soft and delicate and immediately resolved my food envy. These are on the very sweet side so they may not be to everyone’s tastes. Don’t be mistaken though – next time we visit Tinto I will be ordering the cream catalana!

We enjoyed our lunch at Tinto. It was relaxing, the food was tasty and the service was friendly and quick. Tinto is definitely a place we want to visit again, and their excellent value takeaway deal (3 tapas for £6.95) means we have an exciting new takeaway option for lazy nights at home.

Tinto on Urbanspoon