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Allan Brown at The Shandon Belles
From The Sunday TimesAugust 10, 2008
Restaurant review: Allan Brown at The Shandon Belles
Allan Brown
I found myself in the Brighton branch of YO! Sushi the other week, attended to by a pleasant young fellow named Oscar who hailed from one of the Japanese islands. The Japanese, I’ve often found, harbour a curious fondness for Scotland, particularly its contemporary music. At university many was the time those of us in the office of the student newspaper took delivery of letters from Osaka and Kyoto — exquisite, calligraphically elaborate missives on scented rice paper — enquiring with unintentionally hilarious sincerity into the health and well-being of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions or the Pastels.
It seemed very much an article of faith among the youth of Japan that these superstars were treated with the highest degree of idolatry in their homeland. One rather got the impression the Japanese pictured the Scots supplicating with the devotion once accorded to the Emperor Senka whenever Deacon Blue or Altered Images deigned to walk among us. I never had the heart to relay the information that more commonly the musicians of the Scottish beat scene were to be found working in record shops and living on Weetabix. The disillusionment may well have precipitated outbreaks of Mishima-style hari-kari.
In a similar spirit, meanwhile, and having registered my accent, Oscar was keen to disclose that he’d been saving up for years in order to treat himself to a cook’s tour of the Highlands. I’m not sure how discriminating Oscar’s palate is; he was excited beyond reason, for instance, to hear that there’s branch of YO! Sushi in Glasgow; this exciting news clearly redoubled his commitment to the entire scheme.
But otherwise what Oscar yearned for, in a manner bemusing to those obliged to live with such stuff all year round, was restaurants with tartan carpets and clan family trees and stags on the wall and prestige salmon that had been slaughtered by an honourable warrior wielding his sword in the time-honoured manner of Bonnie Prince Charlie and Del Amitri. The Japanese have a love of difficulty and obscurity and doomed fortitude against all reasonable odds; hardly surprising, then, that they have a soft spot for Scotland.
I was reminded of Oscar and his odd project on visiting The Shandon Belles. The place doesn’t play the Caledonian card too stridently but I’m sure it’s precisely the type of place Oscar dreams of when being served lunch by robots amid the neon noise of Tokyo. It’s in the basement of The Buttery, or Two Fat Ladies at The Buttery as it’s known now, itself the epitome of clubby, oak-panelled, overstuffed hush. The Buttery has always done hip-baronial better, more discreetly and discerningly, than everywhere else, and more so since the sympathetic tidying-up it has received since being taken under the bingo-wing of the Two Fat Ladies chain several years back.
The Shandon Belles is the next stage of the project, a revival of what used to be known as The Belfry, the bijou cafe space in the restaurant’s basement. The fixtures and fittings come from the same church that provided the pews upstairs but, heretically some may say, they’ve been painted a light grey. The prevalence of exposed chunky brickwork gives the place the feel of an Ideal Homes Flintstones cave though there are all manner of well-judged decorative touches lightening the ambience. The mixture of ancient and modern updates with some considerable style the template of the upscale Scottish eating place.
More so given the menu. The Shandon Belles is designed to be a cheaper, faster version of the parent restaurant but the menu is spun from much the same sort of stuff: seafood and named-supplier meat. Even if the recipes are more rudimentary and the dishes less fiddly, the standard is equivalent. The cullen skink is not the gloopy soup-stew you find commonly but the purist’s admixture of potatoes, cream and judicious flecks of haddock. There was the welcome presence of chicken livers, presented on a nest of diced Stornoway black pudding and bacon. The mains offered slow roast pork belly, lamb chops and Cajun-spiced Shetland salmon. I went for the seafood linguini in a garlic and parmesan sauce and was gratified by the freshness of the pasta and the ample presence of mussels and squid. Dessert was the Shandon chocolate and ginger pot, a thick, lethally flavoursome paste of spicy sweetness.
For a cafe, meanwhile, the service was 60-quid-a-head standard, as impeccable as the food, which came in some considerable distance south of 60 quid. As with all the Two Fat Ladies restaurants you were left with the suspicion that you were in the hands of restaurateurs who really know what they’re doing. Oscar really ought to stick it on his itinerary forthwith.
The Shandon Belles, 652 Argyle Street, Glasgow, 0141 221 8188, dinner for two with wine £50
posted on Sun 10th August
The Herald "Going Out"
Two fat ladies at the buttery, Glasgow
CATE DEVINE January 10 2008
652 Argyle Street, Glasgow
0141 221 8188
Style: Laid-back and unpretentious
Food: Mainly fish and seafood
Price: Starter £5-£9, mains from £17
Wheelchair access: No
A miserable Monday evening in winter may not seem the wisest time to visit a fish restaurant - let alone one which is still unknown to certain Glasgow taxi drivers. But the minute we burst into Two Fat Ladies at the Buttery (a strong gust of wind ensuring our entrance is far from elegant), any fears we have of eating alone in an empty dining room are put to rest. The place, as they say in Finnieston, is hoaching. Not packed, but not filleted either. Phew.
It’s immediately clear that the formality of the Buttery - which was built in 1860s, had its most recent heyday in the 1980s under Ken McCulloch and was bought from Ian Fleming last year by Ryan James’s Two Fat Ladies group - has vanished. In its place is a less starchy vibe. The darkly imposing mahogany bar and original wood panelling are still there but the bar area has been reduced in size to accommodate more tables, and the welcome is a collegiate staff affair rather than a single “good evening” from a lone maitre d’.
We are allocated a lovely wooden booth, complete with dedicated lighting, which offers both privacy and a ringside view of proceedings. Unfortunately, I can see too much of the coffee machine which seems to dominate the main dining room. But a swiftly served glass of house red sorts me out: mine’s a mellow Languedoc Cabernet Sauvignon at £4.50 while my companion’s is a Chenin blanc. We choose a slice of parmesan and rosemary bread from a communal basket; it’s tasty and unusual, but doesn’t feel newly baked.
posted on Thu 10th January
Joanna Blythman
Buttery on top
By Joanna Blythman
Restaurant review TWO FAT LADIES AT THE BUTTERY
ORIGINALLY BUILT in 1861 as a pub for Irish dockers, the once proletarian Buttery has long been regarded as one of Glasgow’s top restaurant addresses. In that time it has see-sawed from having expensive good food to expensive bad food. Each time it goes bust, you cross your fingers and hope that someone will take it over who is sympathetic to the architecture of the building, and who will give it the food it deserves.
And you know what? We might have got there. The Buttery has been taken over by Ryan James, better known for his duet of Two Fat Ladies, both reliable, affordable restaurants that manage to pull off the trick of feeling a bit of a treat. Now that he has got his hands on the Buttery, it has been transformed. It is still very much the Buttery, though James has stripped it back and dispensed with gloomy, cluttered, faux Victoriana in favour of a less straight-backed, more Edwardian style.
James knows how to integrate traditional with modern, and this shows in the wrought iron and leaded glass work, characteristic of Two Fat Ladies, that he has added to the exterior. The original unwelcoming partition that used to stand inside the door has been divided and redeployed to create more intimate nooks and corners within the bar. The paintwork is light. Stunning original Arts and Crafts centre lights with fringed shades complemented by homely standard lamps make for a mellow mood. Now you can really appreciate the simple lines of the Arts and Crafts oak panelling throughout.
advertisementThe dining room retains its clubby, conspiratorial atmosphere. White linen napery shows off antique cutlery, bought at auctions then restored to its former glory. Post-prandial hot drinks come in pretty bone-china antique cups. The Buttery has not had some quick-fix makeover from a flashy designer, but has been brought to life by having lots of small things done, lovingly and patiently, by someone who had a clear vision of what he wanted to achieve.
For anyone who has eaten at Two Fat Ladies, the menu is familiar. The weakest parts of the food on offer are accompanying vegetables and desserts, but everything else is extremely sound. This lovely, newly restored Buttery makes a perfect setting for classic food, so I went for Cullen skink followed by lemon sole meunière. The soup was impeccable. The liquid element spoke of good fish stock and, unlike many others by that name, did not rely on surplus cream for body or flavour. The leeks were soft but retained their colour, the haddock flakes were translucent and the potato agreeably floury. You couldn’t fault the sole either, a prime fish in mint condition, immaculately seasoned then cooked to perfection on the bone in nut-brown butter.
My dining companion hit gold too. His starter - a meal in itself for me - was a rugged slice of rustic game terrine. There was the odd bit of chewiness to it, but the taste was good and the meat was succulent, despite being lean. The light, aromatic pear and raisin chutney that accompanied it provided just the fruity note it needed. The main course fillet of beef was supplied by the Mey estate, up in Caithness, where farmers have got together to market their produce in an initiative fostered by the Prince of Wales. I cannot remember eating more pliant, fine-grained, deep-flavoured beef. Wild mushrooms, given a creamy, peppery Stroganoff-style treatment, made an ideal partner.
The side vegetables - slightly sautéed chunky potatoes, carrot, courgette and parsnip - felt routine and lacked a sense of seasonal excitement. The staple Two Fat Ladies tasting platter of desserts contained some toothsome elements, like the sherbety, tangy fromage blanc sorbet and a super-soft, fudgey, sticky toffee pudding. But the grainy creme brûlée, with granular caramel and a solid lemon tart, indicated that there is still work to be done in the pastry department.
In its new incarnation, the Buttery is a very attractive proposition. Both food and wine are now priced at a level that means that it need no longer be seen as a “special occasion” outfit. The current owner has the sense to go after repeat business and, with this unique setting and steady performance, he will doubtless get it.
Two Fat Ladies At The Buttery, 652 Argyle Street, Glasgow 0141 221 8188 Lunch £13.50-£16 Dinner £24-£30 Food rating 81/2/10
posted on Thu 10th January
Tam Cowan
Two Fat Ladies At The Buttery
Dec 22 2007 By Tam Cowan
Tam’s Christmas Present To Saturday! Plus Readers Is Another Frontrunner For The Next Hot Plate Award Two Fat Ladies At The Buttery 652 Argyle Street, Glasgow
Seeing as you’ve all been good little boys and girls throughout 2007 - a genuine thanks for all the great restaurant recommendations, folks - I’ve decided to adopt the Santa role today and give you an extra-special Christmas present.
Yes, I’m going to point you in the direction of Two Fat Ladies at The Buttery.
The recently opened Glasgow restaurant is now favourite for our next Hot Plate Award and, once all the festive cheer has disappeared quicker than your granny’s bottle of Bertola Cream, I suggest you try this excellent eaterie for the perfect pick-me-up in January.
I’ve already made a return trip to Two Fat Ladies at The Buttery (a great choice for my father-in-law’s 70th birthday bash) and I know for a fact I’m going to keep going back.
But, hey, don’t just take my word for it. This restaurant has already been given the Royal seal of approval.
Yes, I went with my pal Tommy Gilmour - the Scottish boxing promoter recently awarded an MBE - and he absolutely loved it.
But even more significantly, perhaps, we were joined by our mutual mate Chris - a Glasgow restauranteur who’s been involved in the family business for donkey’s years - and I can tell you he was hugely impressed.
You’ll find the restaurant (actually, it might be easier trying to find Osama Bin Laden) on the bit of Argyle Street next to the motorway that time - and the city planners - apparently forgot.
Lovely inside, it boasts an old world charm and there’s a real cosy atmosphere courtesy of the 1930s music and the excellent array of snug booths.
While you should expect to pay about £30 a head for an evening meal, the lunch and pre-theatre menu is a steal at £16 for three courses.
Talking of prices, Chris was astonished to discover a top restaurant offering a whole page of wines under £20 and the one he chose - a crisp, cold Albarino - was apparently “a steal” at £21.
The one-page, easy-toread menu features eight starters, nine main courses and seven desserts - plus a couple of daily specials - and you’ll appreciate the little freebies (garlic croutons and olives) as selecting from this list of goodies is hungry work.
I’m going to stick my neck out and more or less guarantee you won’t go wrong no matter what you choose.
But here’s a rundown on the stuff that really tickled our fancy on this particular night. The Cullen skink - nice and chunky with lots of fish - was one of the best I’ve sampled.
If you like risotto, you’ll love the butternut squash variety served with plump, juicy king prawns in garlic and chilli butter.
And the steamed Loch Etive mussels with Thai curry sauce were superb.
Moving onto the main courses, the whole sea bass stuffed with fennel, red onion and basil was sensational and the beautifully cooked, pearly flesh simply fell off the bone.
The scallops were also very good, overshadowed, perhaps, by the Stornoway black pudding. But you really must try the monkfish.
The oatmeal and black pepper crust works a treat and as for the amazing creamed savoy cabbage… let’s just say you definitely won’t sleep in for your work the next morning!
The grand dessert - a platter of sticky toffee pudding, chocolate cheesecake, chocolate mousse, brandy basket with ice-cream and lemon tart - costs £14.50 but I reckon it’s more than enough for six people (or two sweet-toothed women).
We finished a great meal with coffees and handmade chocolates which, if you can suffer one more Christmas cracker joke, you should try to eat in moderation.
Otherwise you could end up at the Petit Fours Clinic. Ach, suit yourself…
TAM’S HOT PLATE AWARD
TWO FAT LADIES AT THE BUTTERY
Address: 652 Argyle Street, Glasgow
Tel: 0141 221 8188
Open: seven days for lunch and dinner
Wheelchair access: Yes
Bill for three (with wine): £130
Food: 5/5 - a fishy feast
Service: 4/5 - very professional
Decor: 5/5 - great atmosphere
Toilets: 5/5 - faultless
Value: 4/5 - top nosh at fair prices
Total: 23/25
posted on Thu 10th January
New website launches
We are pleased to launch or new website.
You can find information on each Two Fat’s venue along with contact details and menus.
posted on Fri 30th November