Bilson Eleven
Glasgow, Strathclyde
Although recently listed in Time Out’s top 10 ‘coolest neighbourhoods in the world’, Dennistoun is not necessarily where Glaswegians would first look for a fancy night out. Since 2016, Bilson Eleven has occupied a terraced Victorian townhouse in this slightly ‘edgy’ east end of the city. Stylistically, it still feels a little like a pop-up supper club – an eclectic mix of bold colours, vestigial features from its former life, shabby-chic fittings and quirky small-space solutions viz. the whisky corridor and the Harry Potter-esque understair ‘cellar’. Chef/owner Nick Reitz offers a single 10-course tasting menu with no adaptations (although a seven-course 'wee taster' is also available midweek). Despite this narrow focus, he conjures and personally serves well-conceived flavour combinations riffing loosely across Scottish and classical French influences. An initial array of palate-awakening snacks includes a dramatic black crab tartlet brooding against a pebble palette of squid ink and seaweed. Fish courses move from summery cured trout in a delicate consommé with frozen horseradish, celeriac and sorrel to a more earthy cod – sadly rather overwhelmed by the wild mushroom, truffle and duo of fish roe and brown shrimps that cloak it. Rich loin of roe deer marries far more successfully with burnt onion, aubergine purée and pungent purple olives – the glossy sauce tempting many a surreptitious finger across the plate to enjoy the last drops. Desserts are equally accomplished: a refreshing strawberry sorbet comes with honey and elderflower crumb and an intricate bee-pollen tuile; chocolate tart with cherry and liquorice (wittily referencing the local Tunnock's confectionery icon) succeeds in wooing recipients who favour neither cherry nor liquorice – no mean achievement. Overall, good technique and ingredients are not compromised by the occasional cheffy self-indulgence. A mix of casual and trendy diners in the intimate five-table dining room respond positively to the idiosyncratic environs and the odd puff of dry ice, while the drinks list suggests customers prefer Champagne, cocktails or a matched tasting flight. Service is affable and informal, and the overall feel is of high-end food in a casual context rather than so-called ‘fine dining’ with its associated environmental niceties.
Dining Information:
Private dining room, Credit card required
10 Annfield Place, Dennistoun, Glasgow, Strathclyde G31 2XQ
0141 554 6259
