][1]There are only a couple of weeks to go before the prize-giving ceremony at the Scottish Restaurant Awards takes place and excitement is mounting among the finalists.
Today, we’re going to cast a beady eye over the three bars competing in the Best Bar Food of the Year category.
It wasn’t so long ago that food in Scottish bars meant a peanut point of sales display that doubled as a dodgy strip tease and a few angry looking pies in a hot cage on the bar. These days, many bars could give a lot of restaurants a good run for their money.
Kelvingrove Cafe
Taking them alphabetically, the first up is the Kelvingrove Cafe. Billing itself as ‘Glasgow’s 1st proper Cocktail Bar Diner’, the KG claims to ‘channel the spirit of Brooklyn and Paris’.
It opened in the run-up to Christmas last year. Mal Spence, formerly the head barman at Blythswood Square, is closely involved so, as you might imagine, the drinks list is pretty impressive. An entire page is dedicated to fortified wine, bitters and Italian aperitifs, many of which feature prominently in the tempting cocktail list.
The food menu would be the envy of many a full service restaurant. With sliders, dogs, ribs and smoked fish tacos, it dips into the American classics but also features racks of Shetland lamb and charred monkfish with a fennel slaw – a dish which no-one imagined would ever be on a bar menu say, oooh, ten years ago? Five?
][5]The Bon Vivant
Next into the fray is The Bon Vivant. With a well established branch in Edinburgh city centre and a newer branch in Stockbridge, The Bon Vivant brand represents an interesting menu; classy surrounds and a rather splendid drinks list. Your blogger had no involvement in the judging of this category but I can recommend the cocktail skills of the bar staff.
The menus are very flexible in terms of portion sizes which mean that the Bon Vivant is as handy for a light lunch or mid-afternoon snack as it is for a sit-down-work-your-way-through the menu evening celebration. The selection changes regularly but you may find yourself deciding between the monkfish, lime and chilli miso broth served with egg noodles and pak choi or the duck breast with sweet potato purée, wild garlic and a goat’s cheese fritter.
][7]Bungo bar and kitchen
The team behind Glasgow’s bungo bar and kitchen have form at the Scottish Restaurant Awards – their left bank bar won the Best Urban Restaurant award in 2009.
The left bank was followed by the two figs at the bottom of Byres Road while the bungo, another lower case-loving venture, opened in Strathbungo in the heart of Glasgow’s Southside in 2011.
A groovy, neighbourhood hangout, the bungo hosts regular comedy shows, quiz nights and even choir nights along with short film evenings and burlesque cabarets. It’s lively.
Open for breakfast through to dinner, the kitchen produces dishes which, as far as is feasible, are local and seasonal.
With small plates, all day mains, special weekend menus and brunches, the bungo is a flexible bunny. It’s also a well travelled one. Dishes on offer might include a Bangladeshi dish of lamb badami; the halloumi and courgette shawarma; scrambled eggs Spanish style or chilli pork ribs.