The new restaurant and bar will launch in The Western Club
and promises 'modern-Scottish fine dining and a sophisticated new bar'.
The menu makes the most of Scottish produce. Gigha halibut and Loch Tay trout are freshly sourced by local fishmonger Bernard Corrigan, while Finnieston’s Stuart Wilson brings crustaceans and oysters to the table. Local family butchers Alan Davidsons supply beef from Lanarkshire farms and Ailsa Craig goat cheese and Katy Rogers crème fraiche are the cream on top.
Dion Scott will be leading the kitchen. All pics are by Naomi Vance Photography.
The Glaschu kitchen is run by chef Dion Scott, who honed his skills in Heston Blumenthal’s kitchens.
Previously Head Chef at one of London’s finest French restaurants, Racine, he steered the team at infamous London haunt The Anglesey Arms and closer to home, worked as Head Chef for Glasgow’s Spanish Butcher.
Celebrate Scottish produce
Dion Scott said: 'This menu has Glasgow at its very heart. Like the building we stand in, its roots are in Scottish history, traditional cuisine and cooking. But like the city around us, it has evolved, reflecting the brighter multi-cultural hub Glasgow has become. We celebrate Scottish produce at the centre of the plate, but I’ve drawn on international influences and experience from kitchens I’ve worked in to truly enrich the food with knowledge and flavour.
'I want people to be surprised when they devour the dishes at Glaschu. We’re doing deliciously different things with ordinary produce. The menu reads "venison loin with sweet potato", but this isn’t sweet potato as the customer knows it.
'Our vegetarian main course of chickpea panisse, confit violet artichoke and smoked aubergine. It draws on Moorish, North African influences and is so filled with flavour, it’s not an after-thought, it’s the star of the show.
Chickpea panisse, confit violet artichoke and smoked aubergine.
'Sometimes I dislike this term modern, because all cooking is not modern, it draws on experience, age-old techniques and what we’ve learnt before. For example, we follow traditional fermenting to create the pickled mussels, cockles and whelks, but instead of using brown sweet vinegar, we draw upon the flavours of cinnamon, star anise and cloves. Trust me, this is unlike anything you’d pick up at your local chippy.'
Dear green place
The new restaurant celebrates its heritage and links to Glasgow in its name, Glaschu (pronounced Glas-a-hoo) which is the Scottish Gaelic for Glasgow, meaning ‘dear green place’.
The premises it is set in also go back a long way. The Western Club is a private members club, established by traders and merchants of Glasgow in 1825.
Speaking about the venue, General Manager Scott McLean, formerly of Gleneagles, Grand Central Hotel, One Devonshire and The Rusacks in St Andrews, said:
Scott McLean, GM at Glaschu.
'For years it seems people may have been under the perception The Western Club restaurant is just for members. Now under new ownership and bringing the incredibly talented Dion Scott into the kitchen, we can throw open the doors to Glaschu and invite people to come inside and enjoy a taste of fine-dining in the heart of the city, at any time of day.
Something special
'We will offer a seasonal prestige menu of Bibendum wines, which has been specially selected by ambassador and expert David Prow... There will be a wide range of premium wines available by the glass and an exciting cocktail menu to be enjoyed. Customers are welcomed to join us in our new bar, even if they don’t plan to eat, making Glaschu the perfect place to stop on a night out in the city.
Scott McLean said, 'We are truly hoping to host something special in the heart of Glasgow, for the people of Glasgow and visitors alike'.
Desserts at Glaschu are looking good.