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Category: finnieston

November 3 2021

Six by Nico, Glasgow

finnieston, Food alfiefoodwala, business, chicken, chicken tikka masala, comfort food, fish, fish and chips, glasgow, gourmet, grill, italianfood, london, mediterranean, MICHELIN, PASTA, seafood 0

Six by Nico
1132 Argyle St, Finnieston, Glasgow G3 8TD

Hey Foodwala boys and girls… hope you are all safe and well

Please remember to subscribe to the Alfie Foodwala Facebook and Instagram pages, tag, and please share with six people if you like this review, message me if you have constructive feedback.

If you would like to “Eat with Alfie Foodwala” please email me at alfiefoodwala@aol.com

Furthermore, if you know of a restaurant that I should review please let me know.

“Never Meet Your Heroes”

I never really understood why people say never meet you, heroes, surely the reason they are your heroes is that you want to meet them…sounds a bit like an Oxymoron.

My brothers and I are great cricket fans, but we love good cricket as opposed to supporting a certain team for jingoistic purposes, so imagine our excitement when we found out India was coming to Scotland to play a one-day international.

At the time the great Sachin Tendulkar was the captain of India and was one of the greatest batsmen ever.

We were giddy with excitement, so I set off with my brothers Goblees and Ralfy Foodwala to track down the elusive Mr. Tendulkar.

We set about the chase like a military operation, we phoned all the hotels until we found out where they were staying, we then went to the hotel to see him but found out he had just left for dinner.

The staff was not forthcoming or the whereabouts of the dinner venue, We eventually found the loose-lipped concierge who told us where he was after a few crisp twenty-pound notes accidentally fell into his pocket.

Sechin was at the Nandos at Springfield Quay… the chase was well and truly on, we piled into our bashed but trusted Toyota Camry and headed for Nandos.

We arrived at Nando’s as he was just finished his meal and was about to leave, imagine our excitement of meeting one of the all-time greatest cricketers.

We gingerly walked up to Sachin

“Sachin Sir…we are your greatest fans”

we breathlessly and nervously chanted in unison

“Can we have an autograph and a photo”

Sachin turns around from the people he was having an animated conversation with and said

“get lost yar…I am busy”

the words hung in the air like a bad smell, maybe we did not hear right or got lost in translation.

“Mr Tandulkar can we atleast shake your hand”

Sachin just looked at us aloofly and brushed our hands away and walked past.

To say that we were disappointed is an understatement, any enthusiasm for messers Sachin Tendulkar drained away from us like shaving foam in a sink.

We found out the hard way to never meet your heroes.

This week I was with Shai Foodwala and we visited one of our culinary heroes, Six by Nico

We walked into the restaurant and it was full of couples reverently sitting at the tables, there was a weird absence of conversation and atmosphere.

as if they were waiting to worship at the altar of Nico Simione.

The menu on this occasion was titled “Guilty Pleasures” and it was described as

“Prepare for 6-courses of pure indulgence, inspired by moments we all long to enjoy…

From staying in pajamas all day to binge-watching your favorite tv shows, or enjoying breakfast for dinner, or even singing cheesy pop songs we all have a secret guilty pleasure that we are not so quick to share…

However, with our next six-course tasting experience we invite you to embrace and celebrate your guiltiest pleasures with a complete disregard for what others may think!”

We kicked off the Six-course tasting menu…hence Six by Nico, with an amuse-bouche of potato Croquettes, with a dollop of white grape sauce.

The Croquettes were a little boring but tasted decent, I would not say they were fantastic, not poor, they existed as Croquettes.

The first official course was the “spaghetti Loops” and my expectations came to a crash, this was bland and boring, I don’t know whose guilty pleasure is spaghetti hoops but certainly not mine.

Round 2, Straight from the Can, Ceviche Of Tuna, Pickled Watermelon, Tokyo Turnip, Bonito, Dashi Jelly & Avocado Puree.

Sound delicious but in reality, it was not what I was expecting, Ceviche is fish in citrusy “tiger Juice” where the fish is slightly cured by the acidity, In my humble opinion this missed the mark as the dense Tuna needed some acidity to cut it but was lacking, the trace of watermelon did not help.

Course 3…Thankfully things started to get better, next up was the “Lamb Kebab” the spiced lamb belly kebab was cooked en point and the

Pickled White Cabbage, Rose Harissa Emulsion & Cucumber Chutney was a refreshing and imaginative accompaniment to the lamb.

Course 4…The mini Fish Supper was a tongue in cheek reference of fish and chips, the Scrabster Cod was delicious and well seasoned, and replacing the chips was

Caramelised Cauliflower, Curry Sauce, Caper & Raisin.

Definitely an imaginative, delicious, and playful take on Fish and Chips.

Course 5 was Nicos Fried Chicken, I was fried chicken but not as you know it,

Chicken, Nfc Crumb, Leg Roulade, Barbecue Corn, Hen Of The Woods & Black Garlic Emulsion. essentially it was a deconstructed chicken in its elements and cooked in different ways, sounds a bit weird but tasted delicious.

Course 6, was my favorite..Chocolate & Praline Cremeux, Sour Cherry, Stroopwafel & Creme Fraiche, simply irresistible and yummy

the Cremeux was creamy and had a smooth chocolate moose, which was accompanied cleverly with sour cherry sorbet, a nice combination.

well-executed.

In Conclusion

The meal started off unsure, it was bland and boring

However by the 3rd course it actually got a lot better, I became a believer in what Six by Nico was trying to achieve.

There was a lot of imagination in the execution and the ingredients.

The temperature of the food was inconsistent, some elements were hot some were cold

The service was a little too efficient and felt a little rushed and conveyor belt-like.

With Six by Nico scaling up and opening numerous restaurants nationwide it has lost its authenticity and quirkiness and becoming an another chain restaurant

The Star of the Meal?

My star of the meal would be the Nicos fried chicken.

The miss of the Meal?

On this occasion, I have two misses, the spaghetti hoops and the straight from the can.

Honorable Mention

So how did Six by Nicos do against its peers?

Well, the peer is actually next door … Crabshak, Crabshak was in my opinion better in its selection of ingredients, service and taste.

Six by Nico, possible takes the imagination and creativity points

all in all, I would go for Crabshak.

Halal Rating

The Chicken served in the restaurant and HALAL

Lamb is not HALAL

Alcohol IS served on the Premises

Pork IS served on the Premises

100% impartial Guarantee

Alfie Foodwala visits all restaurants anonymously and pays for the bill like any other customer, Alfie Foodwala does not accept free meals in return for meals

All reviews are the personal opinion of Alfie Foodwala based on his 30-year experience as a restauranteur.

May 25 2021

Crabshakk, Glasgow

emirates, finnieston, Food crab, fish, fish and chips, seafood 0

114 Argyle St, Finnieston, Glasgow G3 8TD

Hey, Foodwala boys and girls…hope you are all safe and well.

Please remember to subscribe to the Alfie Foodwala Facebook and Instagram pages, tag, and please share with six people if you like this review, message me if you have constructive feedback.

If you would like to “Eat with Alfie Foodwala” please email me at alfiefoodwala@aol.com

Furthermore is you know of a restaurant that I should review please let me know.

Show me the way to go home,
I’m tired and I want to go to bed,
Cos I had a little drink about an hour ago,
And it’s gone right to my head,
No matter where I roam,
On land or sea or foam,

(JAWS original motion picture soundtrack 1975)

I am a great fan of movies and the iconic scene where the above song comes from is the seminal movie Jaws by Steven Spielberg when he was a young edgy rookie director as opposed to the shadow of himself now.

In the scene, the Quint, Brody, and Hooper are having a dinner of seafood and in a show of camaraderie sing this song all while they unknowingly are being dinner plans for Jaws.

I have always been fascinated by the majesty of the sea, I love to wonder about the immenseness of the Ocean and have loved the varied treasure trove that the sea provides as a way of sustaining us.

This is particularly evident when I visit the waterfront fish market in Deira Dubai, This is the Dubai the tourists don’t see.

I visit the fish market at Fajar time when the fishermen are just landing their catch, the market is an, amazing atmosphere of hustle and bustle, we have Indian fishermen offloading the dhows with the days catch, cigarettes nonchalantly hanging from their lips, and wearing cut off denim shorts or lungis, their mahogany skin wrinkled like flaking varnish,

Then we have the enterprising Iranian auctioneers who sell the fish, they prance from one basket to another and shout in some indecipherable language while the buyers use hand and finger motions to buy the fish,

All this is closely monitored by the fish market and dhow owners they are the local Gulf Arabs in their splendid ice white Kandoras, they watch the action like pit bosses watching the croupier and punters at a Casino.

After watching this theatre I proceed to the fish stalls and inspect the displayed dish, the Tiger Prawns from the Bay of Bengal, the size of fists, Angelfish, butterflyfish, and cuttlefish are among the fish of the Indian Ocean. Giant clams, gray reef sharks, manta rays, and spiny dogfish are other marine animals on display,

I then purchase my fish and prawns and take them to a wee Dhaba where the Bengali owner, splendid in his lungi and vest cooks the fish in some spices and butter and serves with some chilli sauce and fresh pitta now that is what I call breakfast of champions.

Shai Foodwala and I decided to visit Crabshakk, after many a recommendation.

Crabshakk is a compact wee restaurant in the deepest darkest Finnieston,

As we walked in we were welcomed with the smell of the sea mixed with the sweet-sharp smell of malt vinegar.

we were promptly seated on the mezzanine by the jolly owner and then he announced the specials of the day

we kicked off the proceedings by choosing the fresh Loch Fyne Oysters

The Oysters were served on a bed of crushed Ice and accompanied with a shallot vinagrette the Oysters can only be discribed as tatsting of the the sea, absolutely delicious

Next up was the tiny whitebait which was dusted in plain flour and flash cooked in golden oil, the fish was light and fresh and prefect with some cheeky straw fries.some wou;d say posh fish and chips

The one fish that challenges a chef is the Squid, this seperates the proverbial men from the boys, Squid if overcooked becomes rubbery and foul,

this Squid was done to perfection the temputa batter was light, flakey, and crispy the Squid was firm, not rubbery. very enjoyable.

The amchove butter cooked scallops…what a masterpiece the natural aweet nutty tasting notes of fresh Scottish Scallops was enhanced by the anchovy infused butter, eaten with fresh rte bread

Halibut is a hard fish to master, the cousin if the Tilapia the firm sweet flesh is easy to over cook and equally under season, this was dusted with flour and baked and accpmpanied with creamy herb potatoes.

Absolutely point on, the seasining and technique were excellent.

The House Crab Cakes were wee but packed with serious flavour, crabby but not stodgy,

In Conclusion

The Crabshakk was fantastic, the food was fantastic pure and simple, i can go on with superlatives but basically, Crabshakk is very very good,

The superior local ingredients did the talking rather than complicated names and egotistical dishes.

Simple and delicious and attentive staff not to mention friendly

Lets save the OCEANS its the largest eco system and the planets life support sysytem

The Star of the Meal?

I would go for the Baked Halibut and the Crab Cakes

The miss of the Meal?

I would not say miss but less good of all the famtastic dishes was the Musselsm the other ingredients overpowered the Mussels.

Honorable Mention

So how did The Crabshakk do against its peers?

Definitely on par with Gamba

Halal Rating

The Chicken, Beef, and Lamb is NOT Served in the restaurant

Alcohol is served on the Premises

Pork is NOT served on the Premises

100% impartial Guarantee

Alfie Foodwala visits all restaurants anonymously and pays for the bill like any other customer, Alfie Foodwala does not except free meals in return for meals

All reviews are the personal opinion of Alfie Foodwala based on his 30-year ex

October 13 2020

Meze Meze, Glasgow

finnieston, Food alfiefoodwala, arabic, BBQ, chicken tikka, comfort food, glasgow, gourmet, grill, mediterranean, middleeastern, rustic 0

Hey, Foodwala’s boys and girls…hope you are all safe and well.

Please remember to subscribe to the Alfie Foodwala Facebook and Instagram pages, tag, and please share with six people if you like this review, message me if you have constructive feedback.

If you would like to “Eat with Alfie Foodwala” please email me at alfiefoodwala@aol.com

I hate the word “Foodie” It’s a word that has taken on cliquey connotations, and now “Foodies” have become arrogant and self-congratulatory.

I am definitely not a foodie, I just love food and restaurants.

Someone else who was a food lover was my grandfather, he adored all kinds of food from the most basic and humble pakora to the most complex Haleem, cooked in the Persian way where the grain starch is changed on a molecular level to fuse with the wild goat meat protein after being cooked and hand-ground over 12 hours.

Once I was visiting my grandfather on his plantation, in the deepest darkest Toba Tek Singh and I felt homesick so my grandfather asked me what would I like to eat, I absent-mindedly said chips, anybody else would have taken the frozen chips from the freezer, not my grandfather, he did not know how to make basic chips, he only made the most amazing and delicious chips.

First, he called his friend who owned the biggest Potato Cold Store in Pakistan and requested that he send someone with a sack of Maris Piper potato’s from the fields next to the flood plains of the Ravi river (apparently the soil has the best nutrients)

Then he called his moonshee (foreman) and told him to open up storage godown 23 (warehouse 23) and Extract oil from Palm Kernals harvested in summer 1984.

Then he called his friend the Chief Minister of Punjab who had just left Islamabad on the pay to visit my grandfather if he could stop on his way to at Khewra Salt Mines ( salt has been harvested in Khewra since biblical times and is the best salt in the world) and pick up some flaked Khewra Rock Salt.

He then personally supervised the preparation and thrice frying the chips to make the most delicious chips I had ever eaten, they were golden and crispy on the outside and moist and fluffy in the inside.

My point being, this is the level my grandfather took to make a humble plate of chips, would he call himself a foodie, definitely not!!

Miah Foodwala and I visited Meze Meze, they call themselves a Turkish and Persian Ocakbaşi, That definitely piqued my curiosity, that is like describing a French and Russian restaurant, they are completely different kinds of food.

We entered the rustic yet welcoming diner, there was a nice buzz about the restaurant and the staff was nice and friendly. After getting the COVID 19 track and trace formalities over with we sat down, absolutely famished.

We ordered a collection of hot and cold meze, the Chicken Wings were absolutely divine, smokey and chargrilled on the outside and soft and moist inside, a nice start.

The Hummus was again a great effort, a nice grainy texture, and just enough virgin olive oil not to make it oily or greasy.

The mixed doner was made the authentic way, not your usual late-night takeaway fat fest.

The thin layers of lamb and chicken were spit-roasted so that the burnt ends were perfectly caramelized without drying it out, perfect for being scooped up in the warm bread along with hummus and enjoyed.

Next up was the Lamb Iskender, chunks of roasted lamb on buttered Turkish bread and then topped with spicy Tomato Iskender sauce, thick creamy Turkish yogurt, and then drizzled with hot Anatolian butter.

The Iskender Kebab was phenomenal, the lamb was so soft and tender, it virtually melted in my mouth, It would be pedantic of me if i was to point out that an authentic Iskender kebab is made of slivers of lamb rather than chunks of lamb.

Unfortunately, at this point the meal took a turn down, The Kobideh Kebab was dry and flimsy, not the usual meaty and succulent Kobideh Kebab.

The Adana Kebab was slightly better than the Kobideh, The texture of the kebab was more of a minced kebab rather than a finely chopped lamb and tail fat kebab, In my opinion, the kebabs were under seasoned.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, Meze Meze was quite adequate, the Meze was fresh, well-executed and delicious, however, the main course kebabs were still tasty but not carried out with the flair or panache is expected.

the staff was friendly and efficient and the restaurant had a nice chilled atmosphere.

The Star of the Meal?

The iskender Kebab and the Chicken Wings too the gong in my opinion.

The miss of the Meal?

I would probably say the Kobideh Kebab, but there was not much in it.

Honorable Mention

So how did Meze Meze do against its peers?

The Patogh in London definitely did a better Kobideh kebab, Paradise on Great Western Road also does a decent Kobideh

For the Turkish half of the meal, the Gokyuzo and Hala on Grand Parade do a mean Adana, closer to home, the Eda in Glasgow have a nice Adana nd Iskender Kebabs.

Halal Rating

The Chicken, Beef, and Lamb is confirmed 100% Halal

Alcohol is served on the Premises

NO Pork is served on the Premises

100% impartial Guarantee

Alfie Foodwala visits all restaurants anonymously and pays for the bill like any other customer, Alfie Foodwala does not except free meals in return for meals

All reviews are the personal opinion of Alfie Foodwala based on his 30-year experience as a restauranteur.

September 21 2020

Bufalo Grill, Glasgow

finnieston, Food, Steak alfiefoodwala, BBQ, burgers, chicken, comfort food, deep south, fried chicken, grill, pizza, rustic 0

515 Sauchiehall St, Glasgow
G3 7PQ
thebufalogrill.co.uk

Hey, Foodwala’s boys and girls…hope you are all safe and well.

Please remember to subscribe to the Alfie Foodwala Facebook and Instagram pages, tag, and please share with six people if you like this review, message me if you have constructive feedback.

If you would like to “Eat with Alfie Foodwala” please message me.

I love American Deep South Country music, much to the consternation of Benzy foodwalee and the wee nippers Foodwala’s

I love the life experience sadness of Johnny Cash and the lost love yearning of Lady Antebellum, the upbeat positivity of Shania Twain and Keith Urban with his modern-day ballads.

Then we have Florida-Georgia Line which appeals to the Millennials.

My all-time favorite is Tim McGraw and I love the song Humble and Kind.

The lyrics that get me every time go like…

“Hold the door, say “please”, say “thank you”
Don’t steal, don’t cheat, and don’t lie
I know you got mountains to climb
But always stay humble and kind
When the dreams you’re dreamin’ come to you
When the work you put in is realized
Let yourself feel the pride
But always stay humble and kind”

“Don’t expect a free ride from no one
Don’t hold a grudge or a chip and here’s why
Bitterness keeps you from flyin’
Always stay humble and kind”

That there is just the most thought-provoking and positive poignant sentiments, all the more relevant in today’s pandemic ravaged times.

We are in times of great change and flux, we have an opportunity to reset our behaviour and look out for each other and be the best versions of ourselves.

We can learn to “not sweat the small things” and be kind to each other.

Furthermore, we can move away from the evil that is Tripadvisor and its vindictive review system, and be kind to the hard-working waiting staff who are serving you.

Kindness and Empathy with the waiting staff is the ability to understand someone else’s situation, experience, feelings, and behaviors, and it’s the foundation of this concern. If you want to be generous towards or give feedback to someone, first you need to understand where they are and what they’re dealing with—the good and the bad. If you are not happy with the food or the service, please mention to them rather than being passive-aggressive and posting a 1 star on TripAdvisor.

There is a very wise saying

“If you want to know what a person is really like, check how they treat the waiter/waitress”

The way people treat restaurant staff is, I think, a kind of poker tell, revealing a person’s character in as long as it takes to say: “I’ll will have the Chicken Tikka Masala.” A man (or woman) who is actively unpleasant to waiters is best avoided. Ditto those who patronise them. Just as bad, though, are people who treat waiters as though they’re invisible. This is not, as these cretins seem to think, a sign of metropolitan sophistication. Do this, and you might as well be wearing a T-shirt that says: “I’m an over-privileged baboon: cold, rude and rather stupid.”

Moving swiftly on, This week we are in the wild west of Glasgow and we visited Bufalo Grill, It styles itself as a TexMex restaurant, but the interior is more IndoPak than TexMex.

We started off with the Bang Bang Prawns, It was the Bufalo Grill version of PF Changs Dynamite Prawns.

I think my expectations got ahead of me, I was expecting the PF Changs battered King Prawns smothered in creamy tangy rosemary sauce.

These prawns were quite underwhelming, the sauce was lackluster, I should learn to manage my expectations.

This was very disappointing, the store-bought Houmous and pitta bread and drizzled with Peri-Peri sauce from the cash and carry, a definite miss.

The Chicken Nachos were adequately passible, the tortilla chips were crispy, and the shredded chicken was in a sauce, however, it was missing the guacamole and the sour cream and the cheese was again the tasteless cash and carry version.

Next up were the Steaks, the grandly names Bufalo Special steak was the house sirloin smothered with spices and Molton cash and carry cheese, the steak itself was tender, but the cheese and spices were a wee bit overkill.

The Sides were mediocre, the fries were far from chunky and the sauteed vegetables were akin to a vegetable curry.

I asked for my T Bone steak to be medium-rare, charred on the outside and pink inside, and I got exactly that, which was top marks for the steak chef, the steak itself was rather greasy and grossly rather than marbled with buttery fat after all a delicious steak gets its taste from the fat marbling rather than the lean meat.

The peppercorn sauce was bland, I was expecting a creamy sauce with cracked Telichery black peppercorns, rather than ground black pepper. again I was expecting too much.

In Conclusion.

The starters at Bufalo Grill were mediocre at best, possibly there were too many items on the menu afterall you can’t be all things to all men

The steaks were average, however I suspect the clientele of Bufalo Grill are not steak connoisseurs so they don’t demand a better quality of Beef

The service was again adequate, not friendly nor was it frosty it was fine, except for a single passive aggressive occasion where the waiter brought the vegetables instead of the mash and proceeded to correct us, and we were charged £2.25 for the privilege.

The Star of the Meal?

At a stretch….passible the Bufalo Special Steak

The miss of the Meal?

Definitely the Houmous, and closely followed by the Bang Bang Prawns

Honorable Mention

So how did Bufalo Grill compare with its Halal Steakhouse peers?

If we were to compare Bufalo Grill with Cona Bradford and Zelman Meats London then it will be comparing the Champions League with Scottish Football, yes they kick a ball about but that is where the similarity ends.

I would say Steak Inn on Victoria Road has a better product than the Bufalo Grill and the staff is more friendly.

Halal Rating

The Chicken, Beef, and Lamb is confirmed 100% Halal

NO Alcohol is served on the Premises

NO Pork is served on the Premises

100% impartial Guarentee

Alfie Foodwala visits all restaurants anonamously and pays for the bill like any other customer, Alfie Foodwala does not except free meals in return for meals

All reviews are the personal opinion of Alfie Foodwala based on his 30-year experiance as a restauraneur.

January 28 2020

Sugo, Glasgow

finnieston, Food, Italian, PASTA alfiefoodwala, comfort food, edinburgh, glasgow, gourmet, italianfood, london, MICHELIN, PASTA, rustic, soho 0

Hey, Foodwala’s… Welcome to another tale of the gastronomic trials and tribulations of Alfie Foodwala.

As you well know I am a passionate walla, I am passionate about restaurants, Cars, and movies.

As an 80’s child, I grew up watching Spaghetti Westerns on the VHS video cassette with my Chacha Foodwala. I used to look forward to Wednesdays when my uncle would be off and we would watch Clint Eastwood do his silent hero thing or Lee Van Kleef doing his squinty-eyed stare.

Our favorite was a Fist Full Of Dollars, and my favorite scene was when our steely-eyed hero Cline Eastwood walks into the dusty town square and squares up to the oily baddies.

The boss baddiewala takes exception to Clint raining on his and his baddie pals parade and shoots Clint in the heart… like what the hell!!!

But Clint staggers but gets up, the baddiewala shoots him again, and he gets up again, he does that six times and Clint gets up seven times, so the old baddiewala is a little perturbed, to say the least. Not only that, he is losing face in front of his posse and that is itself is big-time baistee (embarrassment)

So Clint calmly as you please walks up to the baddiewala and utters the iconic words

“When a man with .45 meets a man with a rifle, you said, the man with a pistol’s a dead man. Let’s see if that’s true. Go ahead, load up and shoot.”

while all this is going on the tension is ratcheted up by the Ennio Morricone’s mournful music…. absolutely seminal.

We used to rewind this scene and watch it again and again.

Furthermore, this climactic scene further ingrained the sense of right and wrong and justice in me, more than lectures from school teachers and elders, who said movies were not educational.

As a fan of Spaghetti Westerns, I was over the moon when Sugo Pasta opened up.

We visited the restaurant on a cold wet January on the eve of blue Monday, the restaurant was packed and had a lovely relaxed atmosphere.

My fellow foodwala’s on this visit was Bakree Foodwalee and Montana Foddwalee

Spicy Cannelini beans with sunblush tomato
£3.50

We placed our pasta order with our friendly Italian waiter, and while the freshly cooked pasta was prepared we kicked off the proceedings with some sourdough bread dipped with Olive Oil and balsamic vinegar, and Spicy Cannelini beans, the bread was delicious and chewy.

The Cannelini went well with the sun-dried tomatoes and the bread.

Definitely a good start.

Tagliolini with pesto, green beans, and potato
£6.00

Next up was the pesto Tagliolini, Tagliolini is a thin version of Tagliteli

The Pasta Tagliolini was absolutely delicious, the creamy pesto with potatoes and green beans was a revelation, the pasta was cooked al dente and the pesto sauce was a masterpiece.

Spinach and ricotta ravioli with sage butter
£9.00

The Ravioli was fabulous, little pillows of cheesy spinach with a thin pasta casing, the hot sage butter was poured over the ravioli.

It was outstandingly delicious in its simplicity.

Rigatoni with san marzano & fresh baby plum tomato sugo
£6.00

In other words, Margherita Pasta, but I am not doing it justice, the Tomato Sauce (Sugo) was tangily sweet with a hue of fresh olive oil (Evoo), simple and again delicious, the Rigatoni was lovely and chewy.

Squid ink Spaghetti with baby squid ragu and lemon pangrattato
£9.00

The squid ink spaghetti was subtle yet bursting with flavour, the baby squid ragu was wonderfully crafted with sun-dried tomatoes and evoo, the Lemon pangrattato is basically lemon-infused breadcrumbs.

Overall the dish had a very subtle flavour of the sea but no one ingredient was overpowering.

Tagliarini with olive oil, garlic, chilli & pangrattato
£5.00

This was the simplest dish on the menu, it had a slight hint of chill

In Conclusion.

The pasta at Sugo was simply delicious, the menu was innovative and highlighted each area of Italy, each dish was executed with care and finesse

The service was efficient and friendly. The waiter was Italian and added to the enjoyment of the experience, the chefs were also Italian.

Top marks for the effort

A carb lovers Paradiso

Honorable Mention

In my opinion, Sugo was above excellent, yet slightly behind the superstar pasta restaurants likes of Padella in Borough Market, London and Enoteca de Luca in Old Street London and Officina 00

Halal Rating

The Beef is certified NOT HALAL,

Alcohol is served at the restaurant

Pork is on the menu

August 1 2019

GAMBA, Glasgow

finnieston, Food, london, mayfair, Provençal alfiefoodwala, emirates, fish, glasgow, gourmet, MICHELIN, oysters, salmon, seafood 0

Hey, Foodwala’s…Welcome to another tale of Alfie Foodwala

On this occasion, I was honored to be joined by a brother from another mother, or specifically Ralfie Foodwala, all the way from the metropolis of Dubai.

I have always loved what mother Acqua has provided us, be it Freshwater clams or Wild Alaskan Salmon or prawns from the depths of the Indian Ocean or Scallops from the wild West Coast of Scotland. I loved the diversity and the fragility of the delicate creatures.

I suspect I got the love of Seafood actually from Papa Foodwala, some of my earliest memories is waiting for my dad to pick me up and us going on our next culinary adventure, I can always remember dad impeccably dressed in his Yves St Laurent shirts and his Saville Row suits and we would fire up his Fuji White Jaguar XV12, which he changed annually!! and we would go to his favorite place, The Danish Food Centre on St Vincent Street.

When dad used to walk in it was like the scene from Goodfellas where he would walk through the restaurant and he knew everyone by name and if there was a line waiting to be seated dad, the manager would take dad in through the side entrance and magically an empty table would appear!

I was always mesmerised by this opera, but dad was always humble and down to earth, he would then take me up to the open seafood display and we would choose which fresh fish was going to be our lunch, the display always looked fresh and shiny, the aroma of the fish was like fresh sea air, none of the fishy smells associated with old fish.

It is the enjoyment of having lunch with dad and the love of the enchantment under the sea that brought me and Ralfie to Gamba

We kicked off the proceedings with six Holy Island, Northumberland Oysters, we gingerly topped the fresh quivering mollusks with tobasco and shallots and downed them all in one…. absolutely amazing the tangy salty jelly tasted of fresh pure ocean…deelish!!

Next up was the Seabass Tartre, fresh raw seabass flavoured by goats cheese and tomato and topped with a chilled tomato and basil sorbet, wow!!

what a combination of textures and flavours, the tomato sorbet added a chilled fresh element to the raw seabass, it was absolutely wonderful.

The slivers of Yellowfin Tuna was next up, Yellowfin tuna lends itself perfectly to the Sashimi style if you cook Yellowfin Tuna it becomes like cardboard, so it lets itself perfectly to be eaten raw, the Tuna was firm and flavorsome, the flavour was enhanced with a touch of wasabi and virgin soy sauce.

The Monkfish was firm light and firm and lobster tasting while the seared scallops were sweet and buttery and the accompanying soy jus was a perfect accompaniment.

The Delicious Freshwater Stone Bass fillet was light in texture and cooked to perfection, the accompanying King Prawns were seared and tossed into the greens, the citrus butter sauce was light and delicious.

In conclusion, The fruits of the sea are notoriously difficult to get right, the margin between cooking it just right and overcooking it is minuscule, it is something a chef with talent and nuance can pull off.

the Chef of Gamba has the talent, the journey of flavours and textures was magnificent, the choice of fish, which were away from the usual suspects was a masterstroke, the blend of temperatures was educational, to say the least.

The Service was equally good, friendly yet not overly familiar, elegant yet not stuffy

I loved Gamba, definitely Enchantment under the Sea.

December 3 2018

Mother India, Glasgow

finnieston, Food, Indian, Mother India curry, indianfood, monir, mother india, progressive, raan 0

Mother India
28 Westminster Terrace, Glasgow
G3 7RU

Hey, Foodwala’s… Welcome to another tale of the travels and escapades of Alfie Foodwala.

I went for a walk in Kelvingrove Park on Sunday with Shai Foodwala and the memories of 1976 just flooded back, when I entered the park from Kelvin Way I remembered we as kids used to race down the hill with my compadres…when you are a 7-year-old boy, the short slope used to feel like the longest hill in the world. I also remember vividly the scorching summer of 76 when we used to go to the park and the days felt like vast empty canvas.

I still remember the other visitors to the park dressed in flared denim and T-shirts with the Multi-Coloured Swap Shop and Radio Clyde 261 emblazoned on them, and the platform boots the fashion victims still wore in the height of summer.

Even although the park was only a few hundred yards from our townhouse, sometimes we used to get dropped off in a gleaming brand new white Jaguar XJ12 and once my dad managed to fit me and 13 of my cousins in the Jag!!!!

As I nostalgically walked further in to the park the sights and smells of my childhood flooded back, the ice cream van that used to be parked beside the pond and the skate park that had just been constructed.

When I walked up to the quintessential Glasgow red blaize football pitch I remembered watching my chacha ( uncle) play football in the Glasgow Indian Restaurant Sunday Football league, my dad was the manager and always stood like Micheal Caine on the touchlines with the other “bosses” and talked shop while shouting instructions.

The rivalry between the Shish Mahal and Koh i Noor teams was legendary, it made the old firm game seem sedate in comparison, once the star Shish Mahal defender Nasim make an amazing sliding tackle against the Koh i Noor star striker, Gafoor which left him injured and caused a fight between the two teams, it was only resolved when the bosses intervened .

All this nostalgia left me famished and I came across Mother Indian on the other side of the park.

Shai Foodwala and I were ushered downstairs to a cave-like dining room and I was greeted by the owner Monir, who was just leaving to go to the Celtic Cup final.

we kicked off the proceedings with a Chicken Tikka and Potato pakora

The portion was certainly generous and the actual pakora was a cross between a fritter and a Tikki, the pakora was well seasoned and hearty, the taste was homely and delicious.

Next up was the dosa, the dosa is a south Indian fermented rice pancake and its stuffed with either sweet or savory stuffing. The ginger crab and prawn were delicate and slightly underwhelming the tasting notes lacked the crab flavour and the prawns equally failed to punch through. I would have gone for a more stronger flavour pairing.

The leg of Lamb was certainly a sight to behold. The lamb was tender and moist, the masala sauce was rich, intense and pungent. The leg was topped with caramalised nuts which gave an earthy morish element for the decadent feast, my only suggestion would be to possibly cook the sealed lamb for longer.

In conclusion, Mother India is possibly in the top 3 as the best Indian restaurant in Glasgow, the exact placing is open to debate amongst the die-hard Glasgow curry aficionados and is a playoff between Mother India, Shish Mahal, and Balbirs. Top 3 in Glasgow means possibly the best in the UK outside London as Glasgow is the undisputed curry capital of the UK.

The service in Mother India was in the relaxed end of the spectrum, however, the food cerinly shined.