111 by Nico

Classical cuisine with an experimental Italian twist, offering wine parings, tasting menus and overall value for money.

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

Update Since this review was written, 111 by Nico now runs a 5-course tasting menu, priced at £28 (inc. supplements).

Perched atop a hill in Kelvinside is chef-proprietor Nico Simeone’s original restaurant – the focal point of an otherwise sleepy suburban street. It’s all monochrome interiors, sleek sounds from the speakers and sharp-focus pictures of food and the man himself. The kitchen turns out colourful and sportive plates of Scottish-inspired cuisine, such as ham hough served under a smoky cloche, with rainbow carrots and a yellow burst of piccalilli. Or a playful take on sashimi in the unusual guise of sea trout, verdant avocado and wasabi sauce, spheres of tapioca and cubes of soya. But things come into their own with the big plates – Scrabster cod is as well executed a seafood dish as one could hope for; perfectly cooked slices of fish melt apart into a parsnip sauce, with saline samphire, mussels and wine-soaked grapes. There's much choice on the drinks menu, too. With experimental yet affordable food, highly solicitous staff and the hubbub of a busy kitchen, this is a restaurant that knows just what the customers want.