Côte Brasserie, Glasgow

The lassies were in dire need of a catch up and we decided on Glasgow's newest brasserie, Cote.

The 68th in the country, the restaurant is also looking to expand to Edinburgh, Aberdeen and St Andrews over the next year, but Glasgow is Côte's first Scottish location. While we all love to gorge ourselves on French food on holiday we don't often have French food in the city so we were excited to have a bit of our holiday favourites at home.

 

The menu is full of so many options to choose from and it's fair to say we are all notoriously indecisive when it comes to food so we took a while to order. So much so we were kindly given a pissaladière with caramelised onions and reblochon cheese as well as some olives to munch on while we contemplated our choices.

After making light work of the flatbread and with some help from the staff, we finally decided on the calamari, chicken liver parfait and charcuterie board to start. 

They were wise choices.

Even though I am not the biggest fan of seafood, I couldn't stop digging into (and reluctantly shared) the crispy squid with garlic, lemon and tartare sauce. 

The parfait with toasted brioche and apple chutney was equally delicious and was quickly polished off by us all. The chutney was warmly spiced and made the perfect counter point to the pâté. 

For the main I chose (again, with help from the waiter) chargrilled chicken with a mushroom, creme fraiche and thyme soon and potato gratin. 

I hate to say I left a a little on my plate. However this is because I work in an office where there is an allocated shelf for biscuits and cake only and I have no willpower. It could also be because I didn't stick to my own plate, sorry girls!

It's safe to say I had major food envy when Blondie's fillet steak was served. Vegetarians look away now:

In her words, it was perfectly cooked and melt in the mouth. I'll vouch for that as I had a 'couple' of bites. The bearnaise sauce was perfectly creamy, but if we are honest the fillet was so good on its own so we didn't use much!

Wee Lorz opted for a healthy option of haddock wrapped in bacon with pea purée which she said tasted very fresh and firm. Again, I'll agree with that after having a forkful...

The choice of healthy eating was quickly ruined with some wine as Wee Lorz explains: 

"We were given a choice of wine. Poor Blondie was driving so Steph handed the privilege to me, and I was more than happy to oblige. As we were both having chicken and fish, I headed straight to the whites. Now, some of my favourite white wine is French, a Chablis or a Sancerre. With a little persuasion from the excellent staff I opted for the Chablis - crisp with citrus notes and a mineral finish. This wine did not disappoint and went perfectly with our dishes."

The dessert menu was presented with immediate reactions of rubbing our stomachs and shaking our heads declaring we were too full, knowing full well we would cave and at least share one. 

The lemon tart was amazing - extremely citrusy with a slight crispy topping. Tarte au Citron is clearly a French classic and Côte paired it with Normandy Cream and fresh raspberries to make it absolutely perfect.

We wiped the plate clean.

I'll definitely be making another trip here. Working on George Sqaure means I can take full advantage of the lunch and pre-theatre menu which seems like a steal at £9.95 for two course and £11.90 for three. Côte also have a breakfast club that comes with a super cute croissant keychain that gets you a free hot drink with any breakfast on a weekday. Croque Madame anyone?

Staff at Côte could not have looked after us more. The lassies left extremely happy, not just because of the overdue reunion but also because of the fantastic service and delicious food. If you are looking for French food in Glasgow, Côte is the place to go! 

Côte

41-43 West Nile Street 

Glasgow, G1 2PT 

0141 248 1022

Opening Hours:

Monday- Friday 08.00 - 23:00 and 18:00-22:00 Saturday 09.00-23.00 Sunday 09:00 - 22.30

The Lassies were provided a meal by Côte for review but all opinions are our own.

HARD ROCK CELEBRATES ITS BIRTHDAY WITH ORIGINAL 1971 PRICES

On Saturday, June 14, 2014, Hard Rock will celebrate its 43rd birthday by turning back the clock to June 14th 1971 and will offer guests the opportunity to sample the original 1971 menu at the original 1971 prices for one hour between 11am-12pm!

Guests can enjoy the original menu of HRC Burger for 50p, Roadhouse Ribs for 80p and the Original BLT for 60p. For dessert those lucky enough to dine in the first hour can enjoy ice cream for 25p and the original Sundae for 40p!

What: Hard Rock Cafe celebrates 43 years with original 1971 menu

When: Saturday, June 14, 2014

Event begins 11am and ends at 12 midday

Where: Hard Rock Cafe Glasgow

179 Buchanan Street

Glasgow

0141-353-8790

Original 1971 Menu

*To avail of the special-priced 1971 priced menu on June 14 2014, all guests must be seated by the door host by 12 midday in the restaurant. The offer is valid only for dining-in at participating Hard Rock Cafe locations, limited to one item per person and restrictions apply. Not valid with any other offers, based on first come first served basis, drinks at regular prices. The original 1971 menu will be offered at Hard Rock Cafe Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Cologne, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Florence, Glasgow, London, Lisbon, Madrid, Manchester, Munich, Nice, Paris, Prague, Rome and Venice.

For more information, visit www.hardrock.com.

Cupcakes for You, Glasgow

Having started out as a cake shop, Cupcakes for You is now a quaint, vintage tearoom that is like a throwback to the 1940's.

Situated on Dumbarton Road it will soon be temporarily closing in order to expand the premises to meet the demand.

And it's no surprise why.

One of my lovely 'besties', Kirsteen, kindly offered to take me to afternoon tea and after not long returning from a fortnight in rural Ghana living on noodles, sweet bread and powdered milk, how could I resist?

Before I even tasted the cakes I instantly loved the place. It is very small, squeezing in three tables at most, but yet there is so much to look at when you arrive. There is a wireless, a gramophone, fine china to eat and drink from and also books about what Glasgow looked like back in the day which I always love.
               

Another thing I love is you are surrounded by cakes and I mean literally surrounded as there are lots of little cupcakes dotted around the shop. 

After being warmly welcomed we were shown to our table and our afternoon tea quickly arrived. There was a good selection of sandwiches ranging from beef, egg, ham and tuna as well as some sausage rolls but more importantly there was a great mix of amazing looking treats.

                                       

The first one I jumped for and reluctantly halved was the crispy cake. Anyone who knows me also knows I have a weird obsession with these and this one did not disappoint with chewy oats, flakes and chunks of chocolate throughout. 

I'd say the meringue was my favourite though; surely nothing can beat it when there is a chewy center and raspberry coulis on top. The lemon cupcake was definitely a close second but if I'm honest everything tasted great. I even scoffed a piece of gingerbread which I'm not usually a fan of.

It's safe to say after all this we were burst and I deliberated with myself whether it was socially acceptable to undo the tie belt around my waist... Kirst had wisely opted for a loose top, she's clearly been in this predicament before.

                      

But we were told there was still more to come (!) in the form of scones straight out the oven. Purely down to feeling my dress was about to rip in two I could only manage half.

Cupcakes for You was definitely good value for money, not just because Kirst paid! The food was a delight and the voucher deal we had was £20 per couple which included bottomless tea and a glass of fizz. I  like that the tearoom also makes cakes to takeaway as well as for events and weddings. Looking online I also see the gramophone and the crockery are available to hire out which is a great idea for anyone looking to host a vintage themed party.

It was by far a Sunday well spent; listening to old songs on the wireless, being provided with excellence service from Wendi, eating some lovely homebaked treats and drinking strong, warm tea... without powdered milk (Hooray!).

Cupcakes for You

1251 Dumbarton Road

Whiteinch

Glasgow

G14 9UU

07983 553 738

Opening Hours:

Tue - Sun: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

@cupcakes4youx

facebook.com/cupcakes4you

anCnoc Scotch Whisky

I was actually really looking forward to going along to the anCnoc event last night. Having been brought up with a dad who loves whisky I'm always looking for a nice new brand for him to try. He's very much a lover of a peat smoked whisky which made this event perfect. 
I brought along the other half, who has recently acquired a palate for a good quality whisky, as a 'lassie's' stand in.
The event, ran by jelly and gin, was held in The Arches and as soon as you walked into arch 2 the smell of peat just hit you! My family who are from the Isle of Harris and having spent many a summer there as a kid, this is a smell that is very close to my heart and brings back many memories. So straight away I was excited to see what was on offer and knew my dad would love this!! 

There were 3 whiskies being showcased flaughter, tushkar and rutter!
The first table we came to was the 'flaughter' and stand in lassie 'rawsco' was straight in for a sample of this peaty whisky. 


Tasting notes - pale gold with an initial smoky and ashy aroma. Underneath that, fresh vanilla with a sharper hint of sticky toffee sweetness. An intensely smokey, peaty smooth finish.
Not only was there a sample of 3 whiskies, each has some accompaniments to go alongside. Personally, the ones at this table where the best....macaroons! They were delicious, with a slight hint of the peaty whisky! 
Next up was the edible peat bog: edible soil made with dried olives and malted barley, containing a smoky aubergine dip, planted with micro-herbs. 
Yes, this sounded like a very strange concoction, that actually worked very well and was very tasty.
'tushkar' was the next delight to sample. This particular whisky had an interesting story in that it will only be sold in Sweden. The Swede's supposedly go mad for the 'peaty' blends!
Tasting notes - polished gold in appearance with a rich sweet honey and vanilla heart is wrapped in a veil of warm peat smoke and pierced by overtones of fresh green apples, orange peel and cut spring flowers. Rich and full-bodied, the taste is bursting with powerful wood smoke. Opens up to exotic spices, honey, delightful toffee sweetness and a hint of freshly squeezed lemons. Waves of peat smoke accompanied by a distant reminder of warm leather.
Last by not least, 'rutter', which was accompanied by canapés served under smoke filled domes using the tastes of the anCnoc collection.

anCnoc whisky and treacle cured salmon, crowdie mousse and squid ink pasta rolls topped with salmon roe
Venison carpaccio smoked over whisky soaked hickory chips with celeriac remoulade on walnut crostini
Dunsyre blue shortbreads and mousse with spice beetroot and pear pickle
Wakame and hijiki seaweed salad
Squid ink crostini, black sesame and poppy seed crackers and tarator almond dip


The first thing you notice when you came to this table was the smell, the peaty aroma instantly tickled your senses. I can practically smell it again writing this, wafting from the smoke filled domes.



This was Rawsco's least favourite whisky though.

Tasting notes - sparkling gold, initially very smoky, quickly unveiling the unmistakable anCnoc character with delicate spices, juicy pineapple, peardrops and gentle vanillla. Full bodied, bursting with peaty richness. Soft undertones of honey, creamy vanilla, toffee and leather are punctuated by the freshness of green apples.

All in all I thought this was a very well organised event and I'll certainly be purchasing a bottle for Father's Day for TK! (And no doubt Rawsco will be wanting one for the drinks cabinet now too).













anCnoc

visits to Knockdhu Distillery on appointment only

01466 771223

twitter.com/anCnoc_whisky

facebook.com/ancnoc-single-malt-whisky

Las Iguanas, Glasgow

Blondie always seems to know when a new restaurant in town is going to open (probably before the owners do themselves) so when she mentioned a new South American style restaurant would be opening we knew the lassies had to have a much needed get together and go.

When we arrived at Las Iguanas it was fairly quiet but I am sure on a busy night it would have a great atmosphere. With the interior you can tell it is part of a franchise but I still really liked it. 

Wee Lorz and I ordered the Cana Royale which is Magnifica cachaça, raspberry liqueur & elderflower, topped with Cava. The waitress warned us on two occasions the drinks were quite strong and suggesting that for this reason we might not enjoy them. This was met with a confused look from myself and wee Lorz and I'm sure it comes as no surprise to most that we could have happily had a second.

I definitely can't fault the staff on their friendliness as well as their willingness to help Blondie with her coriander allergy. However the time to take orders was a little too long and no one wants to be sitting across from wee Lorz when she's hungry... "I'm going to eat the table!"

We finally got to order our food and Blondie decided on the cayenne chicken and avocado torta. Myself and wee Lorz went for the cayenne coated fried chicken flatbread served with salad or fries.. I nearly made the mistake of ordering chips until I realised you could get curly fries (!). Luckily we didn't have to wait too much longer for all of this to arrive on our table.

The chicken had a lovely crispy coating with a nice kick from the cumin and mustard that it is tossed in and the creamy cayenne mayonnaise in the flatbread was a delight; so much so we ordered more to dip our curly fries into. We definitely made light work of the curly fries as well since you can't really go wrong with them.

There was a of eating in this meal, we were told the lunch portions are the same size as the a la carte, but I still felt it was on the pricey side. Especially when so many places in town offer good lunchtime deals. I would always rather have a cheaper, lighter option that doesn't make me want to put my head on my desk and have a quick, sneaky snooze. Most of the cocktails are reduced to £5 on the lunch menu but again I don't feel is that much of a steal since I expect to pay roughly that amount regardless of the time. 

I'm not sure if this restaurant is the first place that would spring to my mind for South American food, right now that place is still held for Viva Brazil on Bothwell Street and Las Iguanas stood out to me as more of a Mexican cuisine.  However you know you've been given a decent meal when the smallest of the three lassies literally wipes her plate clean and the remnants of mine...

                                       

Las Iguanas

16-20 West Nile Street

Glasgow G1 2PW

0141 248 5705

Opening Hours:

Monday- Thursday 12.00 - 23.00 Friday & Saturday 12.00-23.30 Sunday 12.00 - 22.30

@lasiguanasglag

facebook.com/iguanasglasgow

Rogano, Glasgow

Situated in the city centre and specializing in Scottish fish and seafood Rogano has been a Glasgow institution since 1935. Known for its art deco decor, Rogano is the oldest surviving restaurant in Glasgow serving the finest fish and seafood in the world from Scottish waters.

Wee Lorz and I were recently invited to an indulgent bloggers lunch at Rogano. I'd heard amazing things about Rogano over the past nine years and looked longingly at ladies sipping wine surrounded by piles of shopping bags as I walked past the terrace, but had never actually been before.

We were greeted with a glass of champagne and a selection of Scottish and Irish oysters.

The oysters looked amazing; I love oysters but unfortunately have developed an allergy so had to miss out. I tucked into some warm, fresh-baked rolls while everyone else debated whether they preferred the Irish or Scottish oysters. It was a split crowd but everyone who had them enjoyed them as I looked on longingly.

Our starter was Marrbury Sliced Smoked Salmon with Caperberries & Lemon. So simple but so delicious! I love smoked salmon and Scottish smoked salmon is so good you really don't need to do much for it to be amazing. I looked around the table and everyone was part of the clean plate club--always a good sign!

We had a choice of two mains: Fillet of Sea Bass with Parmesan Polenta & an Olive, Sunblushed Tomato & Shallot Dressing or Venison & Red Wine Pie with Mashed Turnip & Buttered Baby Carrots. Lorz and I decided to be klassy and went halfsies! We both loved the sea bass; Rogano are known for their seafood and it was obvious why. The venison pie was nice as well but for me it could have been beef pie as it didn't taste particularly venison-y to me.  I'm not a pie person really in general but that being said it was still really good and Lorz all but licked the plate clean of her half!

Lorz had to scoot back to the office but luckily I had a bit of time to stay and have some Clootie Dumpling with Drambuie custard. If you haven't tried it before Clootie Dumpling is a traditional Scottish dessert named after the cloth it's cooked in. I'd never had it sliced like this before but it wasn't heavy like a lot of fruit cakes can be.

Since we were gluttons for punishment of course that was followed up with petit fours and coffees.  I can not say enough about the level of service at Rogano.  Their staff was extremely friendly, efficient and professional. There were a few food allergies at our table and instead of just finding out if the food was safe to eat or not the servers brought up a separate plate they knew was 100% allergen free. As someone with a random allergy and a child with an allergy it was great to see this.

It was an amazingly indulgent lunch and I'm looking forward to going back again soon!

The Rogano Christmas lunch starts at £25 Saturday-Thursday, £35 on Fridays.

If you can’t fit all your festivities into the month of December, take advantage of a fantastic January offer to prolong the seasonal spirit for less at Rogano, with a 2 course lunch for £13 or 3 courses for £17, available throughout January and February! Excludes February 14th.

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Rogano

11 Exchange Place
 Glasgow G1 3AN

0141 248 4055

Open daily for lunch at noon with last reservations at 2.30 pm. 

Afternoon tea is served from 3.00pm with last orders at 5.00pm.

Dinner served from 6.00 pm with last orders at 10.30 pm. 

@roganoglasgow

facebook.com/roganorestaurant

Bread Meats Bread: Gourmet Street Food, Glasgow

When we hear about a new restaurant opening in Glasgow the lassies can't wait to go give it a try. When we hear there is a new gourmet street food offering burgers, sandwiches, grilled cheese and more we start salivating. We first headed to try Bread Meats Bread at their pre-launch at the end of last month where we got to have tasters from the menu.

Stephie and Wee Lorz fell madly, crazy in love with their chips and Scotchbonnaise, a spicy mayonnaise dipping sauce--those two love a bit of spice! Bread Meats Bread has three types of burger: House Blend, Red Label (beef & pork) & Black Label (premium aged beef). I personally loved the Spartan, a red label burger topped with tzatziki. I LOVE tzatziki. I dip potato chips in it but I'd never thought to stick in on a burger before.

All three of us agreed that the star of the night though was the BBQ beef brisket. Slow cooked until it falls apart it was absolute perfection. Being a good half-Jewish girl I'm a sucker for proper deli sandwich meats like pastrami, brisket and corned beef (not your gross packed UK stuff, PROPER stuff) so this was great to see on a menu in the UK. Bread Meats Bread gets their amazing buns from Bavarian Bakehouse in Kirkintilloch who make the best pretzel rolls I've had in Glasgow. They are not to salty and really hold up to the burger without going soggy or being too chewy.

We got to speak to Bread Meats Bread owners on the night and their passion for good, quality food really shines through. Everything is fresh--no microwaves and the only thing in the freezer is ice cream.




We enjoyed the taster night so much we decided to come back with our colleague Laura for the soft launch two days later. Obviously word had gotten around because it was packed! Our waitress let us know that several items on the menu were not available, had run out or weren't ready yet. Slightly disappointing but it was still a soft launch so you have to expect that things won't be smooth sailing. We all went for cheeseburgers (mine on a pretzel bun of course) and decided to split a portion of regular chips and sweet potato chips between the four of us.

It took quite awhile for our order to come and when it did we ended up having to send the chips back as they were cold and we had to ask twice for Scotchbonnaise sauce. Not ideal really. The sweet potato chips however were amazing and all of our burgers were cooked perfectly. It wasn't a mind-blowingly (yes that's a term) perfect lunch but we all really enjoyed our burgers and could see the potential that Bread Meats Bread has.

I'm still dying to try the poutine and pulled chicken so I'm sure we'll be back again. I've worked in kitchens, waiting tables and bartending so I know how it can take time to iron out kinks in a new restaurant and get things running smoothly. Bread Meats Bread has all the right ingredients: good food, friendly staff and enthusiastic owners; I'm just hoping that with a wee bit of time they live up to all they can be.

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Bread Meats Bread

104 St Vincent Street

Glasgow, G2 5UB

0141 847 0396 

Open 12pm to 10:00pm Monday to Saturday, 12.00pm to 6:00pm Sunday

@breadmeatsbread

facebook.com/breadmeatsbreadglasgow

Martha's, Healthy Food in Glasgow City Centre

To celebrate the launch of Lassies who Lunch we decided to head out for our first official lunch date. It would be rude not too!

Us lassies are all on a bit of a 'health kick' so wanted something delicious and nutritious. Where can you get such treats in the city centre? Scottish Restaurant Awards' Takeaway of Restaurant of the Year Martha's of course! It is only two blocks from our office so we didn't need an excuse to try out their new autumn/winter menu.

Stephie opted for the soup of the day, which was Carrot and Cumin and must have been delicious as we never got much chat out of her until it had been completely devoured. It did smell amazing. Along with the soup you get a slice of freshly baked bread which goes perfectly. 

Blondie and I opted for the flat bread wraps. Blondie chose the new autumn menu Pagado Chicken with veg, Indonesian coconut, peanut and ginger dressing. Whereas i chose the Chipotle Chicken with a smoked jalapeno dressing and avocado salsa. I was in absolute heaven some of my favourite things all contained in the same wrap...GET IN!! The chicken also had a right good kick, which is always a winner in my books. (Blondie would disagree with me here - not so much a fan of the spice.)

What I also love about Martha's is the fact they put all their nutritional values next to all items, which makes deciding what to have for lunch somewhat easier at times. My wrap was 485 calories however, if you are looking for something a bit lighter you could skip they wrap and have a main box or go for a noodle crunch salad which is only 111 calories. :-)

As you can probably tell I'm a massive Martha's fan and can't wait til my next visit. Since we went Stephie & Blondie have both been back for soup, too. Next time I'll be indulging in a smoothie; can't believe I haven't had one yet. How amazing do they look??

My new favourite lunchtime hangout....see you there!!

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Martha's

142A St Vincent Street

Glasgow, G2 5LQ

0141 248 9771 

Open 7:30am to 4:00pm Monday to Friday, 11.00am to 4:00pm Saturday

@mymarthas

facebook.com/mymarthas