Sweet Vallée High

La Vallée Blanche – Byres Rd, Glasgow

A work night out courtesy of the boss took me to La Vallée Blanche last week, thankfully unlike some other work nights out I can actually remember the meal!

La Vallée Blanche is one of my top ten restaurants in Glasgow, I’ve never had anything less than a great meal there and last Friday was no exception.  It’s a pretty restaurant done in a chalet style with lots of wood, warm colours and twinkling tea lights.  Service is always efficient and the staff are especially knowledgeable about the food and wine.

We arrived early for the reasonable pre theatre deal priced at £13.95 for two courses or £16.95 for three.  The pre theatre menu isn’t very long but it does hit the right notes, a few veggie dishes, a few staples and a few surprises, but I would suggest checking the menu online before you go because if it’s not your cup of tea and you stray into a la carte territory your wallet will know about it.

For a starter I decided on the potted chicken with lemon, thyme and parsley and it was utterly delicious.  A cute little pot filled with succulent, herby chicken was elevated by a serious lemony hit which made the flavours sing, accompanied with cornichons and good bread it was the best starter I’ve had for ages.  My fellow diners were equally impressed by the spring pea soup and the cured salmon which were both beautifully presented.

I opted for the classic steak frites main course, the steak was cooked and seasoned to perfection and topped off with crispy fries it hit all the right notes.  The pork chop with Arran mustard sauce was proclaimed delicious as was the pretty sorrel risotto.

The portions are perfectly proportioned so there was room for dessert, a supplement applies to the cheeseboard but the quality of the cheese makes it worthwhile.  The best pud on the table was the blood orange parfait with nut tuille and orange jelly, it tasted as good as it looked and as you can see it looked wonderful.  The only slight disappointment of the meal was the rhubarb crumble with honey oats which was too sweet and a bit sloppy compared to the presentation afforded to most dishes.

The quality of the cooking makes the pre theatre a brilliant deal, the a la carte menu has some fabulous dishes on it but the price makes it more of a special occasion choice.  The wine can also work out expensive regardless of when you eat but the selection is good and abundant with classic French heavyweights that are worth splashing out on.

Good Gluttons go to Church

Church on the Hill, Algie Street, Shawlands, Glasgow

Glutton ventured South this weekend, a rare treat I know.  There are tons of tempting restaurants in Shawlands and I really should visit this part of town more often.  My lunch partner and cousin (a true South-sider) suggested the Church on the Hill and I happily obliged.

It bills itself as a gastro pub, the decor is funky and it has a huge bar which I’m sure will be rammed on a Saturday night.  Our waitress escorted us to a nice booth and provided us with wine and food menus.  On the subject of wine I can strongly recommend the house cava, highly drinkable.

The menu is eclectic and varied, I don’t always like menus that hop from one country to the next but I think it can be appropriate for pubs and this one still managed to have a flow to it.    

I started with the prawn tempura, a respectable dish with crispy, light batter and tasty salad and dipping sauce.  I’m sure the average Japanese connoisseur may have passed comment on authenticity but I still enjoyed it.

My cousin opted for the goat cheese tart which consisted of a puff pastry base filled with red onion marmalade and topped with an oozing slice of goats cheese.   This was a triumph, well executed and generous I was tinged with a bit of the old food envy – thankfully we both ordered the same main course!

For the main course we chose the steak sandwich and I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived.  All too often a steak sandwich seems like a smart idea until you’re chewing for Britain through some doughy, thick bread and tough steak.  It seems the good folks at Church on the Hill have thought of that and so deconstructed it into an open sandwich come canapé.  My tip would be to order the peppercorn sauce on the side as it might threaten to turn this lovely easy to eat dish into a bit of a mush-fest.   If you’re a traditionalist looking for a desperate Dan steak sandwich I would consider another choice but personally I loved it.  The chips were homemade, chunky and delicious and the peppercorn sauce had a great depth of flavour, perfect for dunking.

Next time I’m back in Shawlands I’ll find it hard not to gravitate back to this inexpensive and friendly venue.   The food was good, service was top notch and the wine bordering on addictive.  Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the neighbourhood.

Perfunctory Pony

Bath Street Pony, Bath Street, Glasgow

A wander down Bath Street proved uneventful in the restaurant sense, it feels a little dull these days except I noticed that O Sole Mio has undergone a makeover so I’m looking forward to trying that out.   After having a nosey at every menu on display we settled on the Bath Street Pony which seemed to lean more towards restaurant than bar.

It’s a nice looking place and we were greeted and seated by a cheery waitress, although on a warm sunny day it did feel a bit like the Mary Celeste.  Drinks ordered we perused the menu which is modern European with a heavy Italian bias throughout.  There were a couple of good value deals on, the Pony Express menu at £8.95 for two courses up until 7pm daily or £12.95 for two courses from the main menu up until 7pm daily.   We opted for the latter as it offered a wider choice.

I started with the Gravadlax served with pickled shallots and cucumber dressing which was lovely.  The fish was quite mild as was the pickle but it was well presented and only marred by a burnt piece of otherwise yummy foccacia.   My husband’s dish of Italian sausage was good, the course sausage was done in a tomato ragu and served with more (this time unheated) foccacia bread.  It was disappointingly lazy to serve burnt toast, it could easily have been redone as our starters wouldn’t have suffered from the wait.  

Moving onto the main courses which were hit and miss.  The hit was a steak burger, tasty, well cooked and served with better than average chips.  The miss was the Pork Milanese which seemed to suffer from another bout of lazyitis.  The pork had been stacked on top of cold salad, chips and then topped with wet vegetables so breadcrumbs that had started out nice and crispy ended up as soggy mush.  Had it been more carefully presented it would have been delicious.

The bill was reasonable, the music excellent and the service friendly, frustratingly I would bet during a busy service these silly mistakes wouldn’t have happened which is a shame.  The majority of restaurants on a slow day can easily succumb to lacklustre standards but Bath Street Pony’s has left a wee bit of a bitter taste in my mouth, much like the burnt toast.....