Le Chardon D'Or, Glasgow - Restaurants in Glasgow | s1play.com

Going for gold

Review published on 03/04/2006 © Sunday Herald

I’m sure you’ll all agree we’ve seen quite enough of winter for the time being, thank you very much. One recent Monday morning, I had an early-morning appointment in Glasgow and had to brave the kerbside banks of snow, the pavement slush, the relentless rain and biting gale.

Staggering up West Regent Street, looking like we’d stepped straight out of the film Doctor Zhivago, boots squelching ominously, an icicle forming on the tip of the nose, it seemed like a slipping, sliding eternity until we sighted the creamy portico of Le Chardon D’Or.

This is an establishment which has always had a feeling of quiet luxury and comfort about it, not to mention a reputation for sound, professional food in the classic French tradition.

The interior has been remodelled somewhat to feel more modern and streamlined but avoids being chillingly minimalist. It felt like the ideal cocoon and in no time at all we were dabbing excellent unsalted butter on to hot, crusty home-baked rolls with the savour of French breadmaking flour about them.

Nothing could dissuade me from the cream of parsnip and carrot soup, this being soup weather. The risk in choosing soup is the boredom factor, but this one was a reminder of how a carefully made potage, based on proper stock, blended, then patiently sieved, not once, but twice, can be heartening yet elegant at the same time. It was silky and voluptuous but not overly creamy, truly a textbook example of its kind.

Across the table, my partner was being served thin slices of seared, but otherwise rare or ‘mi-cuit’ (half-cooked) beef, served on a fine green salad with shavings of Parmesan and reduced balsamic vinegar. The beef would have been better served as a traditional Italian carpaccio treatment, the meat being tasty and tender enough to take the rawness. The assertive vinegar and spring onion dwarfed it somewhat. It was a perfectly nice dish but, smugly, I felt I had chosen better.

The boot was on the other foot with mains. My medallion of pork disappointed, although it came with a marvellous, clear garlic jus and more than competent gratin Dauphinoise, because lean cuts of pork are nearly always too dry and tasteless. You have to get outdoor pork from traditional breeds like Berkshire or Gloucester Old Spot if your pork loin is to shine.

I was enviously eyeing up my partner’s compote and fillet of lamb, the compote in particular a fantastic, rich, sticky stew served with impeccable mash, pungent wild mushrooms and a lip-smacking gravy. Chef-proprietor Brian Maule has a definite way with sauces.

The delights of warming desserts beckoned. An eggy clafoutis made with dried apricots and sultanas was thin and, therefore, had a greater ratio of batter-crisp crust to custardy centre, but served with a powerful vanilla ice cream, stippled with seeds, it was light but satisfying at the same time. A generously proportioned pear tarte Tatin with three luscious poached pear cheeks nestling in its flaky depths might have been caramelised more but a buttery caramel sauce compensated.

To eat like this, in these surroundings, for £18.50, is a great bargain. It certainly lifted our mood. The same cannot be said for two out of the three staff who served us. It was hard to tell what was bugging them but they had a definite attitude: a distant, perhaps snooty, possibly resentful demeanour. Maybe they were having a bad Monday, too.

Attention to detail makes fine dining experience a hit

Review published on 07/01/2010 © Sunday Herald

Most people accept the fact that when eating out in December, service will be poor and the food warm at best. Restaurants that normally do a reasonable set menu for about a tenner hike their prices high to make up for the Christmas crackers and festive music they're providing for their punters.

Oh yes, all that tack comes at a price. A Tuscan city centre haunt was even charging £40 per head for its festive menu, and for gnocchi and rustic sausage that's just not on.

Being well prepared and booking in advance can solve these little wintry dilemmas, however, as a quick scour on the internet can make sure you're not getting ripped off and in fact are pretty much getting the deal of the month.

In the week preceding Christmas I received great dining and excellent service in three places in town (thanks to John Quigley, Jim Kerr and Brian Maule respectively) and no set menu was more than £20. Yes, really.

In fact, John Quigley in Red Onion was so attentive that he came up to the mezzanine level to talk one of our party (a gluten-free diner) through the entire menu. And I received the best service I've ever had from the dining room team too.

But back to Brian Maule where we were slightly worried that, although getting a very good deal, the place might be lacking a bit of "mistletoe and wine" cheer. We arrived to find we were in the fine dining restaurant upstairs and once seated were furnished with beautiful leather menu books (yes, the attention is all in the detail).

Ordering gin and tonics all round, we were then given enough time to peruse both pre-theatre menu and extensive wine list. The attentive yet not over-bearing staff struck a nice balance and were canny enough to seat us in the emptier side of the room, away from anyone enjoying a quieter early bird special experience.

Furnished with more bread rolls than we could consume, we were then served an amuse bouche of rillette of salmon with cucumber, lemon and dill dressing which was a tasty yet simple way to warm up the palate. The menu looked quite adventurous and between us we went for the grilled chorizo and garlic sausage with a chickpea and sunblushed tomato salad, the ham hough terrine and perhaps the tastiest cauliflower soup I've ever had.

Greg, at the far end of the table, opted for compote of lamb with wild mushrooms, creamed mashed potatoes and light jus for his main course and when I return I'll be ordering that, as I must admit I did experience some serious food envy.

Three of us chose the medallions of beef, which our knives just slipped through and were melt-in-mouth perfect (and there were no quibbles when Iain wanted his well done either). The least successful dish was the seabass which was served with a slightly bizarre pasta accompaniment: "mac cheese in a cutter," Iain proffered and although not quite right, I could see where he was coming from.

Resisting total temptation, the girls then shared the inevitable sticky toffee pudding which we had all clocked when first furnished with the menu. It was absolutely divine and worth £19.50 alone. Having booked online (on a well-known restaurant booking site) coffees and handmade chocolates were also included in the set price of £16.50 for two courses and £19.50 for three courses. Our first bill arrived and they had charged us for the coffees but after a quick nod, it was quickly changed and I'm convinced it was an oversight rather than standard practice.

It had occurred to us that we would be stung with the drinks bill but it was fairly reasonable at £17.25 each for bottles of red and white house wines and under a fiver for a gin and tonic.

Having arrived at about 6pm on an extremely frosty night two days before Christmas we managed to not only experience some of the finest food in Glasgow but escaped any hint of Christmas party mania that was undoubtedly present in the city that evening.

It's a going out experience I'll be repeating - and very soon.