Cail Bruich

A strong focus on seasonality, exceptional sourcing and top quality cooking make this one of Glasgow's finest restaurants

The 2019/20 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

Cail Bruich’s 10th anniversary brought with it a comprehensive renovation that has seen it adopt a far more organic look through a brighter colour scheme and tables stripped back for a natural wood finish – signalled on first entry by a bespoke maître d' station, hewn from the trunk of a fallen Scots lime. This recast has cultivated a more informal dining area and is symbolic of a restaurant that is assured in what it is doing. A £50 three-course evening menu is generously disingenuous as the meal is sprinkled with various pre-starter snacks, commencing with a pumpkin gougère and closing with a chicken consommé of considerable depth and clarity. An opener of Orkney scallops with sea kale and artichoke is exceptional – great sear on the mollusc while its components are brought together by an emulsified, blood-orange butter. Perfectly pink Goosnargh duck, with its skin peppered with fennel and coriander seeds, arrives with an earthy carrot purée and toasted pumpkin jus to make for an equally impressive main. If it is Cail Bruich’s intention of securing a much-vaunted star, the level they are operating on now suggests they don’t need to reach much further.

Listed in the Glasgow Larder – order a print copy (free + p&p).