Restaurant review: Blythswood Square Hotel Restaurant

Published on Sunday 6 December 2009 11:11

Blythswood Square Hotel Restaurant 11 Blythswood Square, Glasgow (0141-208 2458, www.townhouse company.com)

How much?

Lunch for two, excluding drinks 52

You have a few options when arriving at a five-star hotel. One is to glide up to the front door in your Bentley, before smoothing your Prada skirt to elegantly decant yourself from the car. It's not such great etiquette to rock up with a rain-soaked jerkin over your hair, and a partially dissolved paper Primark bag clutched to your bosom, like my wee sister did, on our lunch visit to the restaurant of this swanky new but'n'ben.

After a torrential downpour, with soggy insoles and a broken brolly, I was only marginally less ill-prepared than junior.

The concierge, however, didn't bat an eyelid. "I'll look after that," he said, graciously wrenching the brown papier-mch from my sister's arms.

We felt even more like tramps when we shuffled into the foyer of this building, which was previously the premises of the Royal Scottish Automobile Club. After a 25 million refurbishment by The Townhouse Company, it's a vision in Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud-coloured marble.

The restaurant itself, which is headed by Daniel Hall (formerly of the Pool House Hotel in Wester Ross), features plush black banquettes and bar chairs upholstered in heather tweed, with the inside of oversized red-tasselled lampshades featuring sepia-tinged motor-racing themed snaps. The overall vibe is very Roaring Twenties and the staff, mainly dark-haired men with razor-sharp side partings, look like perfectly cast character actors.

We enjoyed some serious people-watching, while perusing the encyclopaedic menus. I was in the mood for a lighter choice, so I, the Sunday-driver, stuck to a market menu option (15 for two courses, 20 for three) of Scottish wood pigeon, while junior had already taken the handbrake off, with her la carte course of Jerusalem artichoke velout and panko-crusted monkfish cheek (6.50).

She was soon presented with a bowlful of a mouth-coatingly smooth soup with chunks of tender fish topped with a white hazelnut spume. It was a rippingly delish dish, and incredibly filling.

In contrast, my dainty course consisted of only four heavenly bites. There were three slices of beautifully pink pigeon, which were topped with a stack of pearl-topped hat pins (enoki mushrooms). The plate also featured a tiny blob of artichoke pure and folds of a mild pickled beetroot. It was gorgeous, so it seems plebeian to mention it needed a tiny sprinkling of salt.

For her next course, as Louisa is small, but determined (like Bernie Ecclestone), she valiantly opted for the hearty-sounding Gressingham duck breast (18.50).

This featured chunks of rich, rose-coloured meat, alongside bigger wedges of a crunchy-skinned "pastilla of the leg" – spiced minced duck with veg and lentils. There was also a scattering of brandy-marinated cherries and nutty farro grains. They had forgotten to add the parsnips, which is just as well, or a button might have pinged across the room to take a waiter's eye out.

Although full, junior still tasted my fibrous slow-braised pig's cheek, which came with a smear of sweet cauliflower pure, sticks of roast salsify, spinach and spongy slices of a fat king oyster mushroom. Petite but perfectly balanced.

For pudding, my eyes were drawn to the la carte's pumpkin cheesecake foam (7), while my sibling fancied the Howgate brie from the market options. The latter featured meltingly soft brie, a slice of banana bread and a scoop of an intense violet jelly, with petals nestling in its centre. Each element was dreamy on its own but, together, it was a sweet, milky, floral sensation.

I was presented with a champagne glass containing what looked like a raw egg, with its "yolk" a scoop of zingy ginger-ale sorbet and the "white" a foamy pumpkin mousse. Satisfyingly crunchy gingerbread crumbs were scattered over the top.

After all this exceptional grub, we barely managed to stumble back to the concierge, to collect Louisa's sodden bag. And, lo, he'd transferred the contents of this into a slightly more upmarket plastic carrier bag.

My sister said: "We may not have entered this place as fashionably as we would've liked, but we're going to leave in style." Sarcasm, I think.

Three to try

Sutherland Restaurant

Cringletie House, near Peebles (01721 725750, www.cringletie.com)

Part of the joy of visiting this place is being allowed to eat in the grand dining room. The food has a modern Scottish theme.

Chez Roux Restaurant

Rocpool Reserve Restaurant & Bar, Culduthel Road, Inverness (01463 240089, www.rocpool.com)

This eatery attached to Rocpool Reserve Hotel has a menu designed by Albert Roux.

Number One

The Balmoral, 1 Princes Street, Edinburgh (0131-557 6727, www.restaurantnumberone.com)

You're guaranteed a memorable, if pricey, meal from Michelin-starred Jeff Bland.

&#149 This article was first published in The Scotsman on December 5, 2009