Two Fat Ladies at the Buttery

I haven't kept my Top Ten updated for a while - I must try and get back to that at some point. I do have a few perennial favourites though; Sarti's on Bath Street for hearty city centre Italian fare, Battlefield Rest which is my 'go-to' restaurant, having never had a bad meal there, and Two Fat Ladies on Dumbarton Road.

I recently ate at the Blythswood Street branch of this Glasgow chain and wasn't disappointed. Everything I loved about the Dumbarton Road branch was there, with a few flourishes to make the restaurants distinct.

So, last night, I decided to whisk Mr Gastro to the only one I haven't visited - Two Fat Ladies at the Buttery. The owners have also opened a 'little sister' restaurant, The Shandon Belles, round the corner. Everything about the Buttery exudes class and warmth. We were greeted at the door by the friendly waitress, who took a drinks order and we sat in the front bar perusing the menu and enjoying a drink before being shown to our table.

The bread we were given was so fresh, it was either cooked in-house or from Tapa, there are so few places in Glasgow that make such good bread. Mr Gastro ordered the scallop and black pudding starter, served with some smoked haddock and a chive veloute.

I started with the confit duck ravioli, which had a madeira jus, and little cubes of tomato. Absolutely delicious, and just the right start to my wonderful main - scallops again, but this time served with a velvety cauliflower puree, asparagus and parma ham.



Mr Gastro had the venison saddle with braised red cabbage and juniper - looked lovely but a wee bit autumnal for me at this time of year - and we both had honeycomb ice cream with chocolate and pistachio wafers and milk gelato (think Mini Milk ice creams from when you were a kid!) which were lovely.

I would definitely recommend this place, along with the other two TFL restaurants, this one is a wee bit grander, for that special occasion! It will be on my mind when I draw up my top ten!

Butterfly and Pig Burger

Brilliant burgers at The Butterfly and The Pig on Bath Street... you can have them loaded with Dunlop cheddar, Brie or Cashel Blue...rather lovely homemade burgers, with decent skin-on chips and creamy mayo. I had (of course) the Cashel Blue burger and it was the best I've ever eaten!

Lunch at Sarti's

Yesterday Mama G and I went for lunch at Fratelli Sarti's on Bath Street. The atmosphere is wonderful, you feel like you could be in a trattoria somewhere in Italy. The smells coming from the open kitchen tease and tantalise the senses while you browse the menu and the specials board.

We ordered a bottle of Sangiovese, which came with two balloon glasses and was dangerously drinkable. Then came some garlic bread and two bowls of spaghetti loaded with mussels, with a white wine and parsley broth clinging to the pasta and resting in the shells, spiked with cherry tomatoes. We could barely finish the meal as the portions were huge, and we couldn't believe the amount of mussels in the bowl.

Absolutely delicious, and for a city centre lunch it is really difficult to think of a better option. Fratelli Sarti (Bath Street) is now on my Top Ten - I will have to decide which restaurant is losing out!

Picture from Flickr, user crichton2007.