The Old Fish Bar

Glasgow

Ask, I whisper to my wife who has been chatting away with the waitress, if they make these crisps in here themselves. “Yes, we do. Very easy,” the waitress confides, “just fine slice, fry and dust with paprika.”

I had been a bit surprised that they even serve these, plus seaweed chips and pickles as their only side dishes. But there are a few surprises tonight. And yet it’s my fingers which are in that crisp bowl last, scooping up the moreish remnants.

We’re Italian, from Sicily, we’ll be told much later, in that bit when the bill is arriving. Planned to open a cocktail bar in here, with food. A year later and they’re still trying to get a drinks licence. Ooh. Welcome to Glasgow.

Anyway. That tuna steak I’ll have for a main, a little barrel of it, seared til golden, like butter under the knife, bathed in a pool of onion cream - it surely hinted at Sicily. But then…there will be an Ajo Blanco on the table too; a puddle of garlicky almond, southern Spanish flavours, surrounding pert, fat Scottish mussels, those sitting regally in their shells, that sauce being scraped from the plate long after the last mussel had been gone down.

The Old Fish Bar produces attractive fish dishesThe Old Fish Bar produces attractive fish dishes (Image: free)

And beside me Cal will have a cake of black rice, moist but at times deliciously crunchy from the pan, a slather of Burrata to smooth things on their way and all that crowned gloriously with two pale, pink, actual proper, I mean unprocessed, straight from the sea, and therefore really sweet, prawn tails.

So flair then, lots of it. Little silver picks handed out with the bowl of whelks that Seona ordered earlier. Shells to be poked into, picks to be wriggled about, a proper poaching in wine and tomato making this somehow much, much better than it should be.

Now, that lack of a drinks licence was greeted with glee by the table behind us, the men immediately heading out to the off-licence, no honest they didn’t nip into the pub on the way back, and no corkage charge in here either.

I remember this place very well incidentally when it was a chip-shop with seats. I used to, occasionally, come and perch over there in the far corner at a tiny half-table. Just for a fish tea whenever the family was away and I couldn’t be bothered cooking.

(Image: Colin Mearns)

Not a sign of the chipper place remains today amongst this stylish whitewashed brick, marble topped tables and black leather banquettes.

The chef, the owner we presume, came out from the kitchen earlier, we could see him working away through the open hatch, to talk us through the menu. I’m not usually a big fan of this yadayada but it was done with so much enthusiasm, charm and pride that even the incoming messages in my head – can we just eat – were silenced.

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It’s three courses, well, four if you include the sides, for £29. That menu changes regularly, and we can hear other diners talking about what they had last time.

Tonight, Matthew, we’re having mainly fish. With a bit of pizza dough thrown in here and there.

Honestly? The pizza balls we had to start, on a blob of marinara, laced with a bit of anchovy, as they should be, came out the fryer too fast and were just on the wrong side of doughy.

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And pizza balls? The Baccala, Italian salted cod, that I had to start was effectively two pretty delicious fillets of just lightly seasoned fish, encased in a heavy batter that, for me anyway, was just too thick and gooey.

We booked for 6.30pm so maybe, just maybe, the fryer had not had the chance to get itself up to proper temperature. I say that because there’s also pizza dough in the dessert (enough pizza dough already) sweet this time, sugared balls, cocoa nibs and mascarpone. This does work. Not that it really had to. We’ve got enough of a vibe from this place and its people to already be wishing them  nothing but the best.

The Old Fish Bar

74 Coustonholm Road

Shawlands Glasgow

07551 558756

Menu: It changes regularly and we ate on an evening with tuna, mussels, prawn and salt-cod. Maybe a bit too much pizza dough. 3/5

Service: Charming, owner-chef and waitress service. 5/5

Atmosphere: Small, low lit, atmospheric. Hard to believe it used to be a chip shop given how clean and fresh the decor is. 4/5

Price: It’s a four-course menu with choices for each course at £29 per person. Real quality ingredients. Pretty good value. 5/5

Food: By no means perfect but enough sparkle in the tuna with onion cream; the mussels with a fabulous ajo blanco and in the dessert. 7/10

Total 24/30