Restaurant review: Two Fat Ladies In the City Centre, Glasgow

Published on Friday 6 November 2009 17:26

WHEN New Zealander Mark Sweet started up Two Fat Ladies in 1990 – naming his restaurant after the bingo slang for 88, the address on Glasgow's Dumbarton Road where the first restaurant still lives – the place was a maverick presence in the city.

Cultured, innovative and with a stunning array of New World wines, it was ahead of its time and an instant hit.

Two decades ago, Glasgow might have been doing its best to play the part of European City of Culture, but when it came to food the city was a culinary desert. So Sweet thrived until he headed back to the Land of the Long White Cloud in 1996, when his love child passed to Calum Mathieson, who sold it on to entrepreneur Ryan James in 2002. Since then, what was an idiosyncratic little restaurant in an unfashionable part of town has become a culinary powerhouse in a city where the gastronomic landscape has changed beyond all recognition.

Under James, the restaurant was given a makeover and had tripled turnover within two years, not to mention winning the Auchentoshan Restaurant of the Year. In 2005, the restaurateur doubled the number of premises in his group when he opened a second restaurant in the financial district, taking over the John Mitchell bar in Blytheswood Street.

But he wasn't done yet: in October 2007, the brand expanded yet further with the acquisition of The Buttery, the grand old dame that had its last heyday in the 1980s, rebranding it as Two Fat Ladies @ The Buttery. The final cherry atop the whole wobbling gteau came with the opening of Shandon Belles, a sort of Two Fat Ladies Lite, in the vaults below The Buttery.

Such a successful expansion programme is a phenomenal achievement, especially as James has managed to keep the original restaurant's bohemian soul intact while forging three other distinct characters to his restaurants. If The Buttery remains an unashamedly pukkah and proper grandmother and the Shandon Belles (presumably named after some Helensburgh sirens of James's acquaintance) is the cheaper, cheekier and cockier little sister, the purpose of Two Fat Ladies In The City Centre is to play the boring eldest sibling, a slightly dull straight man to the rest of the unruly family.

Compared to its noisier, more characterful sisters, the low-key and orderly Blytheswood Street branch of the Two Fats clan is an altogether more understated presence. But then that fits well with the pinstriped financial types to be found debating the anomalies of their latest spreadsheets from its smart banquettes.

The one thing that doesn't change, happily, is the quality of the food. Although Two Fat Ladies In the City Centre has an entirely different ambience from its free-spirited sister in the West End, there is still ample flair where it's most needed – in the kitchen. That much was obvious as soon as we arrived and looked at the menu, seeing gems such as grilled sardines stuffed with raisins, pistachio and capers, and roasted red snapper stuffed with sweet peppers, feta cheese and paprika. Who could ever call such an ambitious line-up boring?

Given that we live in such straitened times, both Malcolm and I were happy to fancy dishes off the lunch/theatre set menu, immediately halving what might otherwise have been a hefty bill. Neither of us came to regret it – especially not me.

I took the plunge and started with the sardines. I'm a huge fan of strong-tasting oily fish like mackerel, sardines and kippers, and this was a joyous occasion in which the tender brown meat from the two plump sardines meshed perfectly with a combination of raisins, pistachio and capers that I had half-expected to be inedible. I would recommend this dish to anyone.

Malcolm, meanwhile, was busy with his starter, which consisted of a large, square, spring-roll-style parcel stuffed with roasted butternut squash, apricot and goat's cheese. It was perfectly enjoyable, but if we were being critical – and if not here, where? – then I'd have to say that, while it was a well-conceived dish, it would have been improved by using a less pungent goat's cheese, which wouldn't comprehensively overwhelm the flavours of the butternut squash and apricot.

I had the better of the main courses too. The pan-fried fillet of sea bream was beautifully moist, while the creamy horseradish, chervil and cabbage sauce was nicely judged and allowed the subtle flavours of fish virtually free rein. Malcolm's cumin-coated salmon was strangely tasteless and a little oily, although a zesty coriander, tomato and lime dressing went some way to redressing the balance.

As for our puddings, these were solid enough. My orange and almond chocolate pot was a mite cloying and extremely dense, and would have benefited from a bit more chocolate. Malcolm's sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce and crme anglaise was a pretty good version of this classic: light and airy, served with a pleasantly large pool of butterscotch-laced custard.

All in all, the meal was a qualified success, with no disasters and several high points worth storing away in the taste-locker. Despite a menu with prices right at the top end of acceptability (25 for a fillet of beef and 15 for moules marinire), it's not difficult to see why the Two Fat Ladies juggernaut keeps trucking along.

Vital Statistics

Two Fat Ladies In the City Centre

118a Blythswood Street, Glasgow (0141-847 0088, www.twofatladiesrestaurant.com)

OUT OF POCKET

Two-course set menu 13.50 Three-course set menu 15.50 Starters 3.95-8.95 Main courses 14.50-24.95 Puddings 5.50-16.50

RATING: 7/10

&#149 This article was first published in Scotland on Sunday on 08/11/09