Arisaig, Glasgow - Restaurants in Glasgow | s1play.com

A seafood feast to fall for, hook, line and sinker

Review published on 05/11/2009 © Sunday Herald

On an early autumn Saturday evening, Glasgow's supremely elegant Merchant City is, as they say, hoaching. New bars and restaurants seem to be opening at a rate of knots and bring with them their attendant demographic of smarter and, it has to be said, higher-calibre customer than you often get these days in the west end. Or so it seems. Perhaps that's the rose-tinted view of a jaded westender on a rare trip eastwards.

Now eight years old, Arisaig is one of the longer-established eateries in a fast-evolving quarter. Situated in the old 19th-century fruit market, and adjacent to the Old Fruitmarket and City Halls venues, I'd say Arisaig is a bit of a hidden gem. It's been at this venue for only eight months and is the sort of place you need to know about, which gives it a bit of status.

I suppose I'm about to blow its cover. While it has a groundfloor brasserie, the upstairs balcony restaurant - reached by a glass lift - is just open on a Friday and Saturday to enable it to serve only the freshest Scottish seafood. On the night we visited, this included crabs, scallops, langoustines, mussels, oysters and hake, all delivered direct from the waters around Barra, the Kintyre Peninsula at Carradale, the Sound of Gigha and, especially, the Sound of Sleat just off Arisaig. The restaurant, co-owned by head chef Stephen Bonomi and Naveed Rachid, is named after the picturesque West Highland coastal area that looks out to Rum, Muck and Eigg and was a favourite boyhood holiday haunt of Bonomi. There's also a Scottish-sourced land menu featuring beef, venison and chicken.

Our table in the spacious upstairs restaurant may not have had such a wonderful vista - but it did overlook the courtyard of Merchant Square which is framed by bars and eateries and made for a great stakeout for people watching. A glass of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc (£5.35) and glass of a Temperanillo (£4.65) came with a welcoming linen-wrapped package of home-made soda bread which, rather than sliced from a bigger piece, was presented from the kitchen in four single flat servings. Made with yoghurt rather than buttermilk, it was dense, warm, crispy and salty all at the same time, and a very encouraging start to a sensational meal.

My partner, always a sucker for such things, didn't hesitate to order the market fish and shellfish soup (£6.95). This was not, as he had expected, a smooth soupe de poissons. Rather, it was a full-on tomato-based bisque topped by shell-on mussels, prawns and smoked haddock, and it was immediately pronounced delicious. My crab and shredded prawn potato fritter (£6.95) was just as busy, the delicate fish flavours much more pronounced than the potato. It was served piping hot from the open kitchen, visible from our table.

I was gutted to discover the haddock fillet, stuffed with prawns in shellfish sauce (£17.95), was replaced by hake, due to a poor catch that day. They look similar, but the hake could not compete on flavour and was almost overwhelmed by the piquant sauce. It was light, tasty and very satisfying.

Partner swithered over an Aberdeen Angus fillet with Lagavullin sauce (£24.50) from the land menu, but his choice of king prawns tossed in chilli oil with mixed leaf salad (£16.95) didn't disappoint. Nine huge meaty west coast langoustines thronged his plate and the dressing was easily absorbed by more of the soda bread. A side of Scottish curly kale and baby potatoes (£2.95) was perfect. Bonomi is determined to continue his quest for sourcing the best Scottish produce. He also intends to introduce a wet fish bar to encourage customers to become more involved in the choice and preparation of their meal.

I couldn't imagine what on earth a Cairgein pudding with wild berries (£5.95) would look and taste like, thinking it would be based on deep green seaweed. It turned out to a light and creamy Gaelic version of pannacotta (the carrageen is used only as a setting agent), with Scottish raspberries and brambles and was a stunning end to an imaginative meal. Worth catching.