Gamba
Glasgow, Strathclyde
Derek Marshall's piquant crab and ginger soup bobbing with tiny prawn dumplings was an instant hit with Glaswegians when he started serving it back in the day. Fast-forward more than 20 years and it's still an emblematic fixture of the menu at this loveable seafood restaurant – an elegant, tranquil and softly lit basement haven reached via some steps off busy West George Street. Gamba is Spanish for prawn, although Marshall scours the globe for culinary inspiration, serving Scottish lobster thermidor and lemon sole meunière alongside whole blackened bream with teriyaki prawns or roast monkfish with Puy lentil dhal, smoked haddock, vanilla yoghurt and sesame rice. Fans and first-timers come here for astute and well-balanced seafood cookery leavened with just enough imaginative twists to keep the taste buds alert. For the final flourish, well-sourced cheeses and a cluster of luscious old-school favourites such as sticky toffee pudding or raspberry and vanilla cheesecake are guaranteed to satisfy – although liquorice crème brûlée with milk sorbet sounds even more tantalizing. A substantial list of international wines from Corney & Barrow gives fish-friendly whites top billing, with bottles from £27.
