Restaurant review: Ian Brown Restaurant, Glasgow

‘IT IS the perfect local restaurant: couthy and comfortable in it’s own skin.

For more than two decades, Ian Brown was one of the most well-kent faces in Glasgow, the man who kept Glasgow's foodies fed as head chef at the West End's favourite watering hole, the Ubiquitous Chip. As the culinary alchemist beavering away in the boiler room, he held the good ship Chip on a steady course for 21 years, until the death of Ronnie Clydesdale, the man who Brown called “my friend, mentor, boss and ally”.

Almost exactly a year ago, Brown and his wife Sheila resurfaced on the Southside of Glasgow, in the affluent suburb of Williamswood, a metaphorical stone's throw from the honey pots of Giffnock and Clarkston. Unlike the Chip, which was one of the first restaurants to fetishise and package culinary Caledonia, doing so on a grand scale within a huge building and with Clydesdale's showman personality to sell the concept, Brown's new operation is an altogether different beast.

Sited in a renovated Greek taverna in a small row of shops near Eastwood station, it's so low-key that it's easy to miss it and just keep driving (as I did). Nor does the menu promise the same brand of upscale Scottish-dominated fare that was on offer at the Chip, with the menu at Brown's new home having a more contemporary feel. Most notably of all, though, the prices at his friendly little restaurant are a world away from those of Ashton Lane, with the two-course set menu costing just £11.

Ian Brown Restaurant is, in every sense, the perfect local restaurant: couthy, limited in scope, providing excellent value and conspicuously comfortable in its own skin. All of which explains why it's invariably packed: indeed, for most of that first year you'd have needed to book a couple of months ahead to get a table on a Saturday night, and a couple of weeks ahead for a Friday-night berth. Trade is brisk even at lunchtimes, which speaks volumes given that this is a predominantly residential area with relatively few businesses.

If Brown has made a success of his eponymous new venture, he has done so on the back of wildfire word of mouth, which has been fanned by some glowing reviews. There's no question, either, that his mix of good value and thought-provoking dishes is enough to tempt even the most recalcitrant Southsider out of an evening. The menu certainly impressed on first viewing, with classic starters like salt cod brandade, crab mousseline and ham hough terrine vying for space with main courses that revolved around good local produce, but which also suggested enough interesting flourishes to pique any diner's curiosity.

We started off with a rather bland amuse bouche of butternut squash velouté with crème fraïche before moving on to our starters, with Susan choosing the roast partridge breast with saffron barley risotto and a herb broth, while I opted for the slow-braised pigs cheek with herby polenta and Madeira sauce. Both were excellent, my pig’s cheek turning out to be a surprisingly dark ball of meat that wasn't the most tender I've ever had, but which atoned for that with a deep, resonant flavour that, in tandem with a gloriously sweet yet peppery Madeira sauce, set the tastebuds jangling. Susan's partridge breast came compacted, rolled and sliced into disks, sitting on a bed of nicely judged barley risotto. Most of all, though, it came tender. If we’d had any doubt who was manning the stoves (we didn’t because Brown’s head bobbed past the opening to the kitchen every few minutes), this would have set our minds at rest. After two assured, well-judged and understated starters, we could already see why the place is so often rammed.

If our starters were good, our main courses were even better. At the suggestion of our waitress, I chose the grilled pigeon breasts on a bed of bacon and puy lentils, with a cream and morel sauce, and didn't for one moment regret the decision. The pigeon was perfectly cooked: so red it looked almost raw, it had a succulence and subtle gameyness that meshed perfectly with the puy lentils and the old-school, coronary-on-a-plate cream and morel sauce.

Susan decided to go for the baked sea bass fillet with clapshot and lemon hollandaise, a dish that was every bit as accomplished as my pigeon. Lemon and white fish is a ubiquitous combination, but adding the acidity to the hollandaise sauce was a nice touch that, with the addition of the clapshot, introduced a whole new raft of textures to produce an intriguing dish.

I rounded off with a beautifully simple and moreish warm pineapple and strawberry salad with balsamic and black pepper dressing and meringue biscuits, while Susan's super-sweet caramelised rice and coconut pudding with rum-soaked baby figs was one of the best puddings I've tasted in ages.

All in all, this was a well- judged meal of great charm, served in comfortable surroundings and with a price tag that wouldn’t make even the most abstemious spender think twice. After all, where else could you get a fantastic two-course meal with a glass of wine for little more than £15? No wonder the place is stowed out.

Ian Brown Restaurant 55 Eastwoodmains Road, Glasgow (0141-638 8422, www.ianbrownrestaurant.co.uk)

Bill please

Set menu (except Friday and Saturday) £11-£14.50 Starters £3.60-£6.10 Main courses £8.20-£23 Puddings £5 Cheese £7

Rating

8/10