Fabulous lunch at 111 by Nico, West End in Glasgow

My husband, myself and my daughter Emily have just been to 111 by Nico (http://111bynico.co.uk) in West End in Glasgow for lunch today.  It was a fabulous dining experience!

Ever since I read the restaurant review by Marina O'laughlin in The Guardian's Weekend magazine, I have always wanted to go to this place and finally the time has come!

We booked our table for 12.30 in case we could not get in. It turned out that we were the first customers and we could choose any table we wanted. There was a booth next to the kitchen. It looked nice and cosy but we opted for a table by the wall as it was a lovely day and we would be sitting in a natural day light from a warm sunshine.

Cosy corner .....

We sat down and perused our menus.

Nico and his Head Chef Modou

We were then faced with a big dilemma - everything on the menu sounded so good we did not know what to choose!

Eventually we decided. Emily and I ordered Smoked Mackerel for starter and Stone Bass for main course. My husband ordered Langoustine and Squid for starter and Artichoke for main course.
We also ordered Warm Bread Loaf, Paprika Butter.

Emily and I were really excited to try their food.... and then the Warm Bread Loaf and Paprika Butter arrived.

The bread was delicious AND paprika butter was really creamy texture and flavoursome.

Whilst we were enjoying this, the staff brought us demitasse cups of mushroom veloute with rapeseed oil as amuse-bouche.

According to Wikipedia (What do we do with internet!), the word, amuse-bouche, is 'mouth amuser' in French, offering a glimpse into the chef's approach to the art of cuisine. We did not expect this at all and this was met by our absolute delight; mouth amuser indeed. I almost wanted to clap my hands with huge grin on my face. This was really delicious and we could not wait what comes next.

Our starters then arrived.

This is Emily and my Smoked Mackerel with Asparagus, Quail Egg and Radicchio.  Beautifully presented on a beautiful plate. Look at the contrast of vivid colours of purple radicchio and fresh green of asparagus. It's like spring has come!

This was a very refreshing starter. Radicchio was not bitter at all and asparagus tastes lovely green with bite. You cut into the quail egg and it was yokey inside.

My husband had Langoustine and Squid with Farfalle Pasta, Olives and Shellfish Bisque.  This was gorgeous to look at and gorgeous to taste. Shellfish Bisque came separately and the staff poured it onto the plate at the table in front of us. I love the blue plate too. It just make me want to go to The Mediterranean Sea.

When all the stuff on the plate finished, you still just can't help not finishing up the bisque too. Yes, that's why the staff brought him a spoon with the dish. It was really flavoursome.

My husband didn't want to lick the plate clean [Yes, we were in the restaurant] but it was so tasty he managed to polish the last trace of the bisque with his spoon.

Wow, everything was really delicious so far and we still have main course and dessert to go. We can't wait.....

Whilst we were waiting for our main course, other customers started to come in. Some of them ordered Smoked Ham Hough that came in a glass dome piped full of applewood smoke over the ham hough. When the staff lifted the dome, the white smoke escaped and wafted throughout the restaurant, enveloping around the diners. I bet Emily would order this next time.

Our main course arrived.

Emily and my Stone Bass with Miso, Cucumber and Horseradish Cream.  Beautifully presented again.

The staff then poured light miso flavoured broth over the dish ....

... and is ready to eat! Love the plate again.  Fish was cooked to perfection.

Of course, you finish off the broth to the last drop .... yum.

This is my husband's Artichoke with slow cooked egg, sprouting broccoli and leak. Artichoke was really tasty so was sprouting broccoli and this is a fusion of different flavours and texture. Love the plate again too.

Underneath, there was a slow cooked egg hidden....

My husband loves artichoke. He really enjoyed this dish and finished all. He said he would order this again. Look how clean the plate is!!! Even the empty plate looks really good...

We love the plates. They compliment the dishes they serve really well. Emily looked at the back of the plate and learned that they are Steelite plates (http://www.steelite.com).

We thoroughly enjoyed our courses so far. What we liked about this place is that the portion size of each course is just right. Not too little, not too much, and timing and pace between the courses are also just right. This means that we still have some room left for desserts....

My husband tried Chocolate with salted caramel, hazelnuts and rhubarb.

I tried Pear with cheesecake, lime and amaretti. This is a deconstructed cheesecake with lovely pear and tart but lovely lemony jelly.

Emily had the flaming Coffee creme brûlée. This was really tasty.

We then finished off our meals with great coffees.

Macchiato and cappuccino

We finished our coffees and asked for the bill. What's the damage? 3 course meal is £20 - for the quality, this is not bad at all.

When you visit their website, the first thing you notice on the Home page is Nico's philosophy:

"A JOURNEY OF PASSION"

"My vision is simple:

Firstly to create a unique dining experience for my guests.

The second is to give young people who've faced 

enormous challenges the opportunity to share my

passion and drive for cooking, to teach them 

my gift and philosophy and hopefully

change their life for the better.

This is my vision

This is my passion

This is our journey"

Apparently Nico has a training academy for young people to give them the opportunities to gain skills to be a top chef one day.  On the wall it says ....

However, such altruism aside, the restaurant serves fantastic food. You eat their food with eyes - colours and contrasts, and then aromas of different ingredients and then taste - flavours and textures, etc.  And some fun too .... a glass dome filled with applewood smoke and a flaming creme brûlée.
All staff were very courteous and friendly too.

111 because the restaurant is at 111 Cleveden Road ....

We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch today. We realised that we were in the restaurant for 3 hours!!!
We did not even realise that we were there that long. Such a leisurely lunch, what a fantastic dining experience.  We would definitely go back.

We went outside and walked back to our car. Emily noticed a cherry blossoms. Beautiful. What a fantastic day we had today. 

Have a nice day and that's all forks!

Excellent brunch at Montgomerys Cafe, West End, Glasgow

You got to try Egg Florentine for brunch at Montgomerys Cafe (9 Radnor Street, Glasgow) in West End. My husband is quite particular about coffee and even he has admitted that Montgomerys does a very good coffee. I love their Egg Florentine so much I have managed to coax my husband into going back there again two consecutive Sundays!

The cafe is very near to Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery and Radnor Street is sandwiched between Sauchiehall Street and Argyll Street. As we went there on Sunday, there is no problem to find parking spaces.

It's a lovely place. The decor itself makes you feel happy.

and when you look up, you see a colourful map of the world on the ceiling.

As soon as we were seated, the staff brought you a bottle of water, which was well cooled. 

Before we went to the cafe, I had already decided to order their Egg Florentine and a Vietnamese Coffee, however I checked the menu anyway to see what else they have to eat. Well, there are so many delicious sounding dishes on the menu it could be quite difficult to choose ...

... Yes, Portobello Burger sounds nice but so as Mushroom Salad, and Hot Smoked Salmon Salad too.

Tuna Melt also sounds good.... Haggis Melter!  That would suit Emily's husband Craig, definitely!

Well, I shall have Egg Florentine - the dish I came to the cafe for and my husband had Veg Stack when we went to the cafe for the first time.

He then ordered large cappuccino and I ordered Vietnamese Coffee. It uses a small coffee pot that looks like a hat and sits on the top of a coffee cup. Coffee and hot water slowly trickles through into the cup with condensed milk. Why condensed milk?  French colonists introduced coffee to Vietnam and in those days the French could not easily get fresh milk so they used condensed milk instead.

So I shall just wait for the black liquid trickled into the glass cup. When it's ready, I just stir up all the condensed milk to enjoy but you could leave it for the end.

And my Egg Florentine has arrived!!! Two big thick and fluffy slices of toasted brioche bread with buttered spinach atopped with two perfectly poached eggs with delicious hollandaise sauce that has some kick to it. It's just perfect!

This is my husband's Veg Stack - There is a big portobello mushroom hidden behind the stack ...

I enjoyed my Egg Florentine so much during our last visit, we both ordered this again this morning... and for me, with a cup of Vietnamese Coffee again too ...

I love it ... there are lots of spinach in between the toasted brioche and the brioche is just perfect - big chunky slices yet so fluffy and sweet and delicious.

My husband quickly checked internet to see what's in the brioche or how to bake it. He found Paul Hollywood's recipe on line and I noticed a photo of his book cover. I said, "I think I got this book at home." He said, "I am sure you do.", hinting that I shall start thinking of kneading the dough and bake a lovely brioche loaf. Nice try, but I do have a bread maker and I am sure I have seen the setting for brioche in its recipe book. I may try it....

Anyway, after our first visit to this cafe, we went to Tantrum Doughnuts shop nearby and bought a box of 10 doughnuts, which I will promise that I talk about in my blog another time but soon.

View from downstairs ....

Today, I said to my husband that I want to 'cake away' desserts instead of going for doughnuts as I can see delectable looking cakes are beckoning me ...

So, we then walked over to the counter and see what we can try ....

We got to try those big strawberry tarts ....

and Salted caramel tart with pistachios ....

There are just too many to choose from ....

My husband want to try Mango and Raspberry Delice ...

So these are our desserts at home ....

I have just had the strawberry tart and it was yummy. There are lots of cream in the tart, glazed all over with sweet and sticky strawberry sauce, AND, I found a huge whole strawberry right in the centre hidden amongst the cream. What a lovely surprise. 

I can't get enough of their Egg Florentine. I want to eat it again... 

It's definitely a trip worthwhile for brunch. Staff are very attentive and service is very quick. All the dishes they are carrying to tables look all fantastic. We need to go back again .... yummy ....

That's all forks.