Trends in dining come and go, with the most recent plethora of small plates seemingly everywhere. Another that seems to be slowly gaining traction is the tasting menu.
Once just the offering of high end restaurants, venues like Six by Nico have spearheaded the democratisation of this multiple course experience. Edinburgh in particular is becoming the home of the tasting menu, with new restaurants such as Cardinal, Montrose and Lyla offering tasting menu only sittings.
But one Michelin recommended restaurant in Glasgow is moving away from the tasting menu. The Gannet in Finnieston has been a celebrated restaurant for over a decade, and is now set to focus solely on a la carte. Chef patron Peter McKenna spoke about this move to GlasgowWorld, saying: “We're moving away from tasting menus.
"We will continue to have a good value set menu for lunches and early evenings. But what I want is a comprehensive, a la carte menu individually priced so somebody can come in and they can have a bowl of wild garlic soup with Maryhill cultivated mushrooms or a rack of hogget or a whole lobster.
"Obviously it'll be done to our standard. We've built up a reputation for our high standards, and you know what? We're not sitting on our laurels. We're going to exceed those high standards, but it's going to be in a more relaxed and a more accessible way.
"People will be able to come in here whatever their budget. The Gannet has always been a neighbourhood restaurant and I want to reassert that.” The refreshed direction appears to be in reaction to changing dining attitudes, post covid, as well as the ongoing cost of living crisis.
I’ve lived near the Gannet for years, but have been one of the many who sees it as a ‘special occasion’ restaurant therefore, regrettably, have only visited a handful of times. We book in for an early Saturday dinner during Glasgow Restaurant Week, as this includes an extra course and a glass of Gusbornne sparkling wine on arrival, priced at £65 per person.
We’re warmly greeted by restaurant manager Kevin Dow, and shown to our seats within the busy dining room. The bar staff are busy bottling homemade syrups and checking pre-batched cocktails, as well as pouring drinks.
Our meal started with a mini sausage roll served with brown sauce. These meaty morsels were topped with a splodge of delightfully aromatic sauce, and were bursting with flavour.
These were followed by a bread board of two towers of soft focaccia and two slices of slightly sweet wheaten bread served with whipped butter and a wooden knife for extra smooth spread. Next were our starters, mine the leek terrine and my boyfriend’s the soupe au pistou.
The leek dish was a deconstructed number, with soft white and light green circles of leek grouped together, and surrounded by mouthfuls of flavour in the quail’s egg, potato puree, thinly sliced radish and tapenade.
The leeks, cooked al dente to give bite were used to mop up the various additions on the plate - all of which added their own flavour.
The seafood soup was a vibrant taste of spring, with squid, mussels, wild garlic, peas, broad beans and asparagus, and was both light and refreshing and absolutely decadent. Our surprise course was a beautiful pickled halibut with yuzu gel, radish, wasabi ice cream and sweet and sour fukaki
Mains were Barra skate, served in a rich beurre noisette sauce with mounds of foam, piquant capers that cut through the sauce, and more of the delicious potato puree from my starter.
Across the table, the thick cuts of gravy-topped aged Scotch beef was served with two grassy green spears of asparagus - topped with tiny flowers - a diamond of crisp portato, a macadamia puree and cubes of coffee jelly.
This almost deconstructed Sunday roast was well cooked and the coffee element, interesting, but didn't add anything.
After a palate cleanser which was like lemon posset with coconut cream and ginger crumb, desserts were served - mine the tart and light cherry souffle, topped with a sinking of vanilla ice cream and my boyfriend’s the ‘best dessert he’s ever tasted’ choux filled with chocolate cremeux, dulce de leche, topped with pecans and served with a fragrant tonka ice cream.l
I’ve never really understood why The Gannet has never gained a Michelin Star, given the quality of dishes, service and style and skills coming from the kitchen.
But this move to a la carte only doesn’t take away from any of these things and, instead, will make this gem of a restaurant more accessible to all, and not just for special occasions. With food like this, that can only be a good thing.
