There must be something in the water as Glasgow’s new restaurants just keep on coming…
First up, all being well, Birdtree & Bellfish will open to the public on Sauchiehall Street this weekend.
Taking its name from the symbols on Glasgow’s coat of arms, Birdtree & Bellfish is part of the Lorne Hotel.
The menus are interesting. The idea is that every dish has a story so the kitchen has played with traditional home-style Scottish cooking and updated it for the 21st century.
It is the sort of food that your granny might cook if she fancied her chances on MasterChef.
Irn Bru batter
Sometimes this means traditional dishes like Cullen skink or clootie dumpling with ‘yer granny’s custard’.
With other dishes, this approach means mixing and matching unexpected ingredients. Think along the lines of lamb shanks with Dundee marmalade; fish in an Irn Bru batter or venison burger flavoured with Buckfast.
Other choices hint at Glasgow’s love affair with Indian cooking. The chicken chaat with Dalwhinnie sweet and sour glaze and the cumin-scented sea bass served with kedgeree, spinach and a spiced coconut cream are good examples.
Chequers Bar & Grill
We also have word of Chequers Bar & Grill, a new seafood and steak place which has opened on Sauchiehall Street.
At the centre of the menu is a selection of steak from an 8oz rump to a 18oz Chateaubriand designed to be shared between two.
The Scottish provenance of many of the dishes is prominently displayed from the plaice landed at Peterhead via the baked Isle of Arran camembert to the Ayrshire ham used in the hock.
Buck’s Bar
Over on West Regent Street, we have an opening date for Buck’s Bar. Come Friday 2 September, the premises will be open for chicken, liquor and rock ‘n’ roll.
A recent ad for staff tells us that Buck’s will be specialising in buttermilk-fried chicken, bourbon and rock ‘n’ roll in the spirit of the classic 1950s era.
Musicians who love Little Richard, Slim Harpo or Jerry Lee Lewis are invited to get in touch.
Buck’s is the brainchild of the team behind SoHo on Miller Street and Little SoHo at Jordanhill.
