The best of the new restaurant, café and bar openings in Glasgow and Edinburgh

Glasgow MASALA TWIST INDIAN

192–194 Byres Road, West End, G12 8SN, 0141 339 3777, £18 (lunch/dinner) Masala Twist’s proclaimed use of local ingredients and natural flavourings seems much less gimmicky once you get inside the place. Genuinely warm staff show an obvious pride in the food plus there’s venison and rabbit on the menu, and a chasni coloured with beetroot (yes, real beetroot). The well- seasoned lamb seekh kebab has toasted cumin seeds adding depth, while duck tikka is perhaps too rich and sweet for the tandoor but the tangy green sauce holds things together. There are popular dishes such as Goan fish curry and butter chicken, also rarer choices in Bombay bakra and the playful ‘mince and tatties’ an accomplished minced lamb curry with spiced potato cubes. A welcome addition to the West End’s curry scene.

SARAMAGO CAFÉ BAR ARTS VENUES @CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, City Centre, G2 3JD, 0141 352 4920, ccc- glasgow.com/cafe, £7.50 (set lunch, £12 (dinner) Once the domain of mass caterer’s Cordia, the CCA’s impressive atrium space has new owners, a new name

(after novelist José) and an attitude that immediately feels much more in tune with the centre’s independent and creative spirit. The animal-free menu has tapas dishes including baba ghanoush, bruschetta and vegetable tempura, while mains feature a Thai noodle salad that is a real pleasure deftly balancing soft noodles and crunchy vegetables with vibrant flavours. There are various sandwiches,tarts, pastas, and pizzas using dough made daily in-house as is the bread. An eclectic, arty crowd coupled with a frequent lively buzz makes it an attractive option for drinkers, too.

MARTHA’S CAFÉS 142A St Vincent Street, City Centre, G2 5LQ, 0141 248 9771, mymarthas.co.uk, £7 (lunch) Martha’s is on a mission to bring healthy fast food to the notorious eating habits of Glaswegians. Armed with salads, soups, flatbread wraps and hot mains, their food is prepared fresh by in-house chefs using quality local suppliers. Icons inform diners of dishes low in badness and high in the good stuff, and there are lots of decent flavours considering the speed of delivery, from mildy spiced Moroccan lamb meatballs with brown rice and ‘Martha’s slaw’ to a tasty chipotle chicken wrap. It’s pleasantly utilitarian inside with a few design flourishes, although the disposable packaging used for sit-in customers - albeit recycled and compostable - detracts a little from the quality agenda established elsewhere.

Food&Drink Recent Openings

Family values It may not be the most glamorous location for a young chef’s first restaurant, but that’s suburbia’s gain, as Malcolm McGonigle finds out

A five-minute walk from Great Western Road, through the leafy suburbs of Kelvindale, takes you to this little hideaway in a row of shops on Cleveden Road. A modern twist on old favourites is what La Famiglia does best, with the accent on bright flavours and creative flourishes. The small and manageable menu allows for seasonal changes and a focus on the fine detail, prime ingredients and maximum flavour that is evident in every dish. To start, pan-fried scallops are served on a bed of pearly Israeli couscous sparkling with lemon zest and dabbed with fresh beetroot purée that bring sharp edges to the creamy dish, while a main of poached pork belly is sweet and brackish from its stew of soft red peppers, onions and crisp pancetta rounded off by a reassuringly expensive sweet balsamic. Puddings include five flavours of ice cream and sorbets made in the kitchen. Chef Nico Simeone honed his techniques in the kitchens of mentors such as Brain Maule and Craig Sandle, gathering awards along the way. The only thing testing his wisdom is choice of location. Time will tell if Glasgow foodies will move (ever so) slightly out of their comfort zones. A very pleasant surprise awaits all who do.

LA FAMIGLIA

111 Cleveden Road, West End, Glasgow, G12 0JU 0141 334 0111, lafamigliarestaurant.co.uk

Ave. price two-course meal: £8.95 (set lunch) / £21 (dinner)

56 THE LIST 15 Dec 2011–5 Jan 2012