W
L
CAIL BRUICH
by Carl Housbey
My ongoing mission is to seek out great restaurants from all corners
of the UK and beyond, and then tell you about them in this column
when I get back, so this month I headed North into Scotland to see
what I could find to tickle your taste buds in the great city of Glasgow.
Glasgow is in my opinion the city that is most similar to Liverpool, other
than a shared obsession with football, both are port cities with a proud
maritime heritage, both suffered great deprivation in the 1980’s due
to the decline in the traditional industries, and both have since used
their status as European Capital of Culture to kickstart the economy by
reinventing themselves as fantastic places to visit.
The other thing that both cities have in common is a huge selection
of great restaurants that never seem to get the recognition that they
deserve. Take Cail Bruich as an example, anywhere else in the world
and this would very likely have a Michelin Star, but despite all the hard
work there’s still no sign of one for Chef Patron Chris Charalambous
and his team.
The name Cail Bruich apparently means Eat Well and if the experience
of me and Mrs GG is anything to go by you will eat very well indeed. We
had booked a table for dinner at 6:30pm with the intention of returning
to our very comfortable room at the Dakota Deluxe hotel for an early
night before the long drive back home the next day. However, that plan
changed the instant we clapped eyes on the menu and decided to choose
the 8-course tasting with all of the optional extras, which meant we were
still sat at the table having a great time when the restaurant closed.
There are two dinner menus available, the seasonal 3-course a la carte
for £50, and the 8-course tasting for a very reasonable £60. The tasting
menu offers another two optional courses for a small supplement, and
when one of those extras is three beautifully fresh Loch Fyne oysters,
and the other is a warm lightly whipped vacherin cheese served with
potato bread, resistance is futile.
46 wirrallife.com
The kitchen brigade forage for a lot of the ingredients, and those that
don’t end up on the plate are put to good use in creating their own
signature cocktails, which I recommend you try to accompany the
snacks at the start of dinner, and if you like something with a bit of a kick
then you won’t go far wrong with the mezcal, grapefruit, and habanero.
A skilled, confident Chef will add just enough elements to a dish to
enhance the overall flavour whilst still allowing each ingredient to shine
through, and as you can see on the photos Chris certainly follows the
maxim of less is more. He uses the very best produce available whether
it’s from Scotland with the fabulous Gigha halibut for example or further
afield such as the Valrhona chocolate.
I thoroughly enjoyed each and every course, but a particular highlight
was the BBQ Crapaudine beetroot with smoked ketchup and walnut
which was the best I’ve had since Tommy Banks’ from Black Swan at
Oldstead, as well as the Orkney Scallop with sea kale, artichoke and
blood orange that was impeccably cooked. My main course of venison
was so tender that I could have cut it with a spoon and the accompanying
black pudding, cabbage, and chestnut made for a very tasty satisfying
dish.
Service throughout was attentive with that typical warm Glaswegian
friendliness, and the sommelier introduced each of the accompanying
wines with the just the right amount of detail to suit each diners
requirements.
Cail Bruich is an extremely popular restaurant, especially at weekends,
so if you are planning on visiting Glasgow make sure you avoid
disappointment and book well in advance by clicking on
www.cailbruich.co.uk or by calling 0141 334 6265
To see what else I get up to, why not follow me on Twitter
@carlhousbey