In a city that takes both its pubs and its restaurants very seriously, The Clarence is occupying an intriguing middle ground.
The West End neighbourhood eatery is part of the Cultar Restaurant Group, the team behind Glasgow’s Michelin-starred Cail Bruich and popular sister restaurant Brett.
Occupying a prominent spot on Hyndland Road, it combines the relaxed atmosphere of your local pub with somewhere that has far loftier culinary ambitions.
It’s the sort of place where guests can enjoy anything from a pint and bar snacks to a celebratory dinner. The sort of place where one table is lingering over cocktails, another is pitching up for a Sunday roast, while regulars drift in for a pint at the bar.
Rich wood, soft lighting and cosy banquettes add to the relaxed atmosphere. Downstairs there is a lively bar filled with gaggles of friends stopping by for oysters or a post-work drink, while the upstairs dining room is warm and understated.
Recognition came quickly for The Clarence earning a spot in the Michelin Guide, which praises its ingredient-led cooking, knowledgeable service and strong value, particularly through its set menus.
It’s an endorsement that reflects what many diners have found at The Clarence – a restaurant that is successfully bridging the gap between a place with culinary pedigree and the welcoming familiarity of a local pub.
Credit: Naomi Vance Photography
Much of the menu revolves around the charcoal grill, where carefully sourced meat and seafood develop the deep, smoky flavours that have become a hallmark of the kitchen.
And that’s very much reflected in their summer menu which features dishes including grilled peach with ‘nduja, burrata, oregano, mint and almonds and chicken schnitzel with BBQ cabbage, Alsace bacon, chicken and wholegrain mustard sauce.
We opted for the hand-made linguine starter – a very generous portion of perfectly cooked pasta with fresh tomatoes, peppers, olives, capers and chille – and hand-dived Orkney scallops with hunks of charred corn, rich chorizo and a velvety corn puree.
For mains, it’s hard to overlook the grill. Both the yellowfin tuna and the beef fillet arrive alarmingly alone on their respective plates. It’s a stark sight, slices of blush pink fish and a slab of beef sitting solitary in the middle of a plate – minimalism in its truest form.
But it’s not for shock value that these dishes are presented so sparingly, it’s a nod to the supreme confidence in the cooking. It means nothing can distract from the perfect grilling and flavours of the charcoal grill.
Credit: Naomi Vance Photography
It’s also in honour of the accompaniments, which, as far as I am concerned, rightly deserved their own plates. The warm potato salad, topped with crispy capers, chives, sharp pickled shallots, crème fraîche and spicy horseradish was fresh and light.
The BBQ sweet potato with zhoug (a traditional Middle Eastern hot sauce), creamy labneh, sumac onions and crispy garlic could easily have been enjoyed as a dish in its own right.
For puddings we mixed it up with the lighter Scottish strawberry and raspberry Eton mess and the Bare Bones chocolate gateaux – I will order anything made with Glasgow Bare Bones chocolate. It’s a sweet tooth’s dream, rich with chocolate, nougat, and passion fruit caramel, topped with a hazelnut praline for some much needed texture.
Accolades are almost beside the point when it comes to The Clarence. Its real success lies in offering something increasingly rare – a restaurant with serious culinary credentials that still feels like the kind of place you could happily wander into on an ordinary Monday evening for a perfectly poured pint, a cocktail with friends or an excellent steak in the reassuring pleasure of a well-run neighbourhood dining room.
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