Emma Dining with tomorrows stars at Scholars’ Training Restaurant
It has been far too long since we have visited Scholars’ Restaurant. Here is a review from way back in 2011 before the new City of Glasgow College building was constructed.
We were greeted promptly at the door and shown to our table. Jackets safely added to the cloakroom and fresh water for our table.
Menu
Drink Menu
What we ate and drank
I liked the sound of the gin orange blossom cocktail – gin, vermouth and orange whilst Mark picked a glass of Albarino. Granbazan Albariño – Pale lemon colour with a peach aroma. Lemon and honey taste. The cocktail was refreshing and easy to drink.
Some bread to start, sadly no mention of what kind of bread it was.
Two unequal pieces of not the freshest feeling bread. Spreadable butter bonus.
Duck liver parfait, gingerbread, cherries, hazlenut dressing. An extremely smooth parfait, could have been thicker and “duckier” for me. Moist gingerbread which I reallt liked, although as is always the case be it parfait or pate – never enough bread to parfait!
Caramel sea trout, nuoc cham salad and cashew dip. Spicy and certainly eye catching. Woke up the winter tastebuds.
Lamb shoulder, barley salad, onion ketchup, sprouts. A seasonal dish here with an excellent balance of flavours.
Mark ordered a Santa Ema Cabernet Sauvignon, mainly due to the Santa Ema name. Ruby colour with a tawny tinge. Earthy vegetal aroma. Tastes quite heavy, veering towards Port but without the sweetness as it’s very acidic. With flavours of cherry and vanilla.
The plaice was re-plaiced (sorry bad one!) with sole, caper and brown butter sauce, peas and pancetta. Perfectly cooked fish with easy to pull away from the bone flesh and a crisp skin. The caper and brown butter sauce had just that right balance of tang and creaminess.
Tiramisu – espresso, mascarpone and cocoa. More of a deconstructed tiramisu. The sponge was like a clootie dumpling – which isn’t a minus.
Pain perdue – Brie and poached pear. This would have been delicious warm..and with less “toasting”. The Brie didn’t bring anything to the dish as it was such as small amount. A perfect pear, again served warm would be better.
We had ordered two coffee with our dessert order, as the red wine order took a while to arrive. Prompt coffees which were strong and warm.
Verdict
Obviously leeway is given as it is a training college, however we felt let down by items that should be checked by the lecturer such as freshness of bread and the temperature of the dessert. Overall, the food was good, especially for trainees. We’ve all got to learn and we were asked for feedback right away so the students can learn.
We’ll be back, however, to try out the other pop up events.
From Wednesday 31st January they will offer special themed lunches for 12 weeks, on a Wednesday. Please see the list below for the available dates.
Then from Thursday 15th February until Thursday 23rd May, Scholars’ will offer a Brasserie Menu, only available on Thursday and Friday each week.
To reserve a table on the themed dates (Wednesday lunch), please email Scholars directly, as a £5 deposit is required. Their email address is scholars@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk
Pop up lunches
Modern Scottish Gueridon, 31/01/24
Northern India Small plates, 07/02/24
Greek Table d’hote, 14/02/24
Brasserie Tasting Menu, 21/02/24
Gastro Pub Service, 28/02/24
Fine Dining Silver Service, 06/03/24
Regional Italian Table d’hote, 13/03/24
So-Cal Small plates, 20/03/24
Seafood Tasting menu, 27/03/24
Vegetarian menu Tasting, 17/04/24
British Fine Dining, 24/04/24
Eastern European Family style, 01/05/24
All themed lunches are £23 per person, with a themed drink included with lunch.
Where
Scholars Restaurant, City of Glasgow College, 190 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G4 0RF
Contact : 0141 375 5236
Website
https://www.cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk/studying-city/campus-facilities/scholars-restaurant
