Big Counter
Glasgow, Strathclyde
This convivial southside joint is big on personality, if not scale. A large open pass and counter dining blur the lines between chefs and diners while an eclectic crowd of punters perch on high stools or gather around a few small tables, chatting animatedly against a subtle backdrop of retro tunes. The concise but ever-changing menu of just 10 savoury and three sweet items feels like a scratch affair, devised according to available ingredients and the chefs’ fancies that day. You could strike comfort-food gold, although you might feel challenged if you're a vegetarian or a traditional ‘starters and mains’ kind of person; it's pot-luck with a homely feel. To begin, an unfussy but very tasty mackerel pâté liberally garnished with dill, cornichons and pickled shallots is generously piled on a slab of the locally reputed Two Eight Seven bakery’s rustic table bread. Follow this perhaps with slow-braised cockerel in saffron ragù on fat, rib-sticking späztles or an envy-inducing wheel of peasant-style house sausage loaded onto lentils and cabbage for a comforting hug of a dish. If there’s still room for something sweet, the offer of French-inspired baking might include an unctuous butter cake with steeped prunes. Add a short and largely Franco-Italian selection of natural-ish wines as well as some quirky beers and fancy drinks, and you have all the ingredients for an informal supper club with pals.
