Chef’s tables are an intimate way to really immerse yourself in the food and cooking techniques, and became all the rage in the 1980s.
Based in a Japanese tradition of omakase, which means "I leave it up to you" and originating from the practice of chefs entertaining their family and friends where they worked, you can just imagine the relaxed atmosphere of the meeting of good friends and family in the kitchen.
Chef’s tables slightly fell out of favour as dining trends changed. Now some of Scotland’s best restaurants, including the Three Chimneys on Skye and The Table in Edinburgh are offering this dining experience once again.
The latest chef’s table dining concept in Scotland is Fallachan Kitchen, which opened in a railway arch in Glasgow’s Eastvale Place in March after a run in the Acid Bar at nearby arts and events venue SWG3. It’s the brainchild of chef Craig Grozier, who is known for his innovative, wild Scottish cooking.
With a career spanning nearly 26 years, Craig honed his craft working in high-end restaurants in Scotland and around the world before coming back home and creating Fallachan nearly 12 years ago.
Inspired by the philosophy of Fallachan, the open kitchen, with a 12-cover communal chef's table, is a multi-functional dining space hosting a variety of culinary experiences on selected dates throughout the year. These include changing seasonal tasting menus, guest chefs, workshops and tastings as well as the space being available for private hire.
We booked in for the late summer menu, which runs from early September for four weeks. The location was bustling, and we passed cowboy-hat wearing Bongo's Bingo goers heading into SWG3 while the Scottish rum festival goers were heading home.
This site was once home to a Customs & Excise bonded warehouse and warehouses that serviced the Clyde, and is still very urban due to its proximity to the North Clyde railway line and Clydeside Expressway, but it’s within walking distance of the Finnieston strip with its bars and restaurants.
There are also newly approved plans to open an SWG3 hotel, making the choice of location for Fallachan serendipitous given the future footfall.
There are a number of railway arches that are home to a number of local businesses. The destination serves as a bustling hub of entrepreneurs ranging from bakers, artists, galleries, independent shops, fashion designers, florists and musicians.
It’s a very cool spot, as each arch showcases the diverse creativity that thrives in the community. Because of this you might initially not find Fallachan, but once inside you’ll find a sleek use of all available space, with a large wooden table taking centre stage, in front of the open plan kitchen where the pass is within touching distance.
None of this is an afterthought. The table is made from recycled scaffold boards, made by local makers Glasgow Wood.
The drink pairings are curated by sommelier, Conor McGeady and bartender, Ally Kelsey. Conor, who was previously assistant manager at The Gannet and has a WSET level 3, works closely with Craig to create each drinks pairing, seeking out unique wines, drinks and creative non-alcoholic serves, ensuring they complement the delicate flavours of his dishes.
Ally, who has over two decades of experience, of which includes leading the team of White Lyan under cocktail specialist, Ryan Chetiyawardana, creates a range of seasonal cocktails and drinks that pair brilliantly with Craig’s menu.
There’s three options for paired drinks, wine, coravin and non-alcoholic, which was great to see given how popular low and no drinks currently are. I went for the wine pairing while my boyfriend chose the non alcoholic option, and we started our evening with a dirty fig martini (for me) and a refreshing spritz (for him) ideal for the late summer sunshine.
Each member of the five-strong staff on the night chatted easily to guests, served food and drinks and introduced each dish and drink with the ease of friends at a dinner party, which made it easy to strike up conversation with other diners.
That, and the food, which during our meal included dishes such as golden fried Chipirones, from the Firth of Forth (these baby squid are not commonly seen on menus in Scotland as the bulk of them are shipped to Europe to the likes of Spain where there is a bigger appetite for them so it was a delight to try them); Scottish girolles, Lerwick monkfish, Balcaskie estate mutton, served as a kind of taco but what looked like a giant flying saucer sweet and the Fallachan cured meats, which he perfected the art of during lockdown by utilising space behind a storm door.
Highlights included: the unami-tastic girolles, served with walnut leaf, Wiltshire truffle and wild leek bulbs, with texture coming from a sourdough tempura; the Balcaskie Estate mutton, which was served carpaccio style (gently smoked over juniper on the pass) then placed on a corn taco style base made using Scottish malts, tomatoes from The Free Company Farm made into a ferment, jelly and dust.
Finally the dessert of a cherry mille-feuille topped with white Valrhona chocolate white that was infused by locally foraged fig leaves, meadowsweet cream, poached cherry in salted cherry blossom tea with Alexander seed.
Craig has had a relationship with Bruichladdich distillery on Islay, which is reflected in the signature robust and nutty Octomore sourdough, made using draft from this, Scotland’s peatiest whisky, and served with butter made using wash from the whisky-making process.
This butter contains the flavour compound Diacetyl which is known in brewing and distilling as "the butterscotch compound" giving it an incredible flavour. It’s bread and butter that’s like being able to eat the distinctive smells from the production rooms.
Our night drew to a close with Bere barley madeleines, bite-sized, warm, sugar coated and lightly spiced morsels of utter joy, made using this ancient grain also used by Bruichladdich distillery, coated in salted wild blaeberry with a mix of two sweet and slight savour dipping jams - bird cherry milk jam and salted Blaeberry.
The wine and soft drinks pairings too are worth a mention as they were superb, with Conor having made as much effort on the non alcoholic drinks as the wines.
If the chef’s table comes from entertaining friends and family in a convivial space, Fallachan nails this while offering truly exciting dishes that tell the story of their Scottish locations in each bite.
The fact that the menu changes so often isn’t gimmicky, it’s a perfect excuse to return to hear the next chapter in this culinary tale.
