Our annual summer jaunt up to Scotland came around once again in recent weeks, and while this time we didn’t have time to stop off at the Edinburgh Fringe (shame), we did make time for visits to family and have an easy few days in one of our very favourite cities: Glasgow.

It is the place of hubby’s birth and there are still family links there, which means we get treated to a stay in the already-come-up district of the West End now and then. Also, last year he was sent there for a fortnight for the Commonwealth Games by work, and I accompanied him for a fun-filled break in a city that was brimming with sunshine (yes, really. It was baking hot), excitement and pride. It cemented my love for the place.

During our time there, we got to try plenty of fantastic places to eat, and we were looking forward to our next visit and finding somewhere new to try. We had family there to babysit, so realising we hadn’t had a good night out in ages, we even toyed with the idea of going ‘out-out’ in celebration of our return to the city. I took to Twitter to ask fellow food blogger, the brilliant and informed Glasgow Food Geek, for recommendations. When she offered up a few names, Cail Bruich piqued my interest as I’d heard about it when were here last year.

And so, Friday night, date night, a precursor to our ‘out-out’ night, saw us enter the inviting, romantic and stylish setting of the two AA Rosette-d Cail Bruich on the Great Western Road.

IMG_4239The cosy atmosphere was just right, almost like a really well decorated living room, and at once we felt part of trendy Glasgow. Our desire to live the high life for the evening saw us rather over-excitedly order the six course taster menu… with wine to match! Get us.

I do love putting my menu choices in the hands of the professionals, mainly because I don’t have to make difficult decisions and I get to taste things I wouldn’t usually pick. We’re unfussy eaters and trust chefs implicitly, so any kind of tasting menu (in the right kind of restaurant) gets the thumbs up. Especially when we’re feeling inexplicably extravagant.

What followed was a wonderful balance of flavours and cooking styles; inventive canapés and refreshing gazpacho, meat and fish, tartare and tenderly cooked, works of art and perfectly timed and portioned – all interspersed with outstanding wines which took us on a little tour of the globe. But at the heart of it was Scotland. Wonderfully presented, served and executed modern cuisine which tasted, quite simply, out of this world.

A nod must be made towards the staff, largely made up of young, bearded and rugged Scotsmen – both front of house and in the kitchen – which we could see from where we were sitting. They created a relaxed, unpretentious and cool delivery of excellence that makes Cail Bruich a breezy, easy, intimate and altogether ace place to be on a Friday night in Glasgow.

We never did manage the next stage of our ‘out-out’ mission. After two complimentary amuse-bouche and six courses, accompanied with wine for each dish, were only just managed one more quick drink and a stroll back to our beds. But no more satisfied we could have been.

Cail Bruich
725 Great Western Road
Glasgow
G12 8QX

0141 334 6265
info@cailbruich.co.uk
Twitter: @CailBruich

IMG_4243