Photo of
January 28, 2015
The Honours at Malmaison Glasgow.
The Honours at Malmaison Glasgow.

The 5pm Dining blog had a fine lunch at The Honours in Glasgow’s Malmaison last week.

We blogged about the latest Martin Wishart restaurant when they held a soft opening night last year but it was good to return and see how it had all settled in.

Shy chefs

There have been a couple of new design tweaks since our last visit.

As well as a mural showing Glasgow’s industrial past, there was another new addition in the form of a see-through wine rack across the window into the kitchen.

According to Chef Wishart, the chefs are shy and, while guests can still watch them at work, the wine rack meant that the kitchen brigade felt a little more under cover.

On the kitchen side of the window, the glass has been treated with a mirror finish so that the chefs can’t see out.

It was all done at the request of the chefs. For all the perception of chefs being macho, knife-wielding pirates of the kitchen range they can still be sensitive souls.

Anyway, it’s all been going great guns since the November launch. The Honours has welcomed some 5,200 diners in under two months and it is estimated that the restaurant is on track to turn over in excess of £3 million in its first year.

Diners can see into the kitchen but the chefs prefer not to see out.
The kitchen is behind the bottles on the wall. Diners can see into the kitchen but the chefs prefer not to see out.

Glasgow Edinburgh differences

Martin reckoned that there were some differences between his Honours customer base in Glasgow and that of Edinburgh.

For a start, Glasgow diners were more likely to choose from the grill section.

The biggest selling dish in Glasgow has been The Honours 500g Chateaubriand. Designed for sharing, the cut of tenderloin fillet is cooked on their charcoal-burning Josper Grill, which heats to a temperature of 650 degrees Fahrenheit.

In December alone, 252 people chose the £69 dish which is served with duck fat chips, fried onion rings, green salad and Béarnaise sauce.

[Tweet “And the best seller at The Honours in Malmaison Glasgow is… the 500g Chateaubriand steak”]

Other main course dishes which have been flying out of the kitchen include the crispy fried halibut, sautéed fillets of John Dory, rabbit a la moutarde and ox cheeks a la Bordelaise.

Chef Wishart commented:

‘I am really pleased with the way Glasgow has welcomed The Honours restaurant to the city. We have found a happy home at Malmaison and are really looking forward to the future. It is great to see that our Chateaubriand Donald Russell steaks are so popular and shows the discerning palate of the Glasgow diner!’

The kitchen is led by Head Chef Andrew Greenan and his wife and Sous Chef wife, Zoey Greenan; both of whom have relocated to their native Glasgow having previously worked at The Honours in Edinburgh.

Martin Wishart's restaurant has settled into Glasgow.
Martin Wishart’s restaurant has settled into Glasgow.