The Grapevine

The Grapevine is somewhere which is considered by people in the area to be a bit fancy, and I was quite excited to get to go since I’ve lived in Uddy almost my whole life and had never been. My Aunty had got my Mum vouchers for the 4 of us (my parents, my younger brother and I) to go for my Mum’s birthday, so we got a bit dressed up and headed along.
On entry, The Grapevine does indeed look pretty fancy, with plush décor and quite an elegant vibe about it. This was ruined slightly when we were plonked at a table in the middle of all the other tables in the upper area of the restaurant, and my poor Mum got banged into by a member of staff on more than one occasion! (I did offer to swap her/​ask them to move us etc. but she doesn’t often like to make a fuss and I wasn’t about to kick off on her birthday!) I’m really not sure why they did that, as there were other tables available the entire time we were there. There was also a door open at the side (we only realised this as we were leaving) which meant it was pretty draughty too.
And now, the food. The vouchers entitled us to «a starter, main course and dessert» each, the catch being that we had to order from their market menu — it would appear that Stacey H never had to do that with her voucher, so maybe they changed the rules by the time we got there, but it came across as a wee bit sneaky to me.
The food itself was ok, but there were certain aspects which were just totally wrong. I ordered the Crowdie cheese mousse to start (it’s the cheese which the famed Porter & Rye cheese bon bons contain, so naturally I’ve become a bit obsessed with it!) which was all just a bit weird to be honest. It came with «textures» of beetroot (one slice, some smooshed against the plate and some powdery stuff at the side) grapes and celery, plus the cheese itself had big bits of black pepper in it which pretty much ruined it for me. My Mum’s prawn cocktail (the very smallest prawn cocktail I ever did see) had loads of coriander in it which she seriously wasn’t keen on — she is firmly in the «hate it» camp when it comes to coriander, as a lot of people are, so really they’re needlessly ruining a dish for about half of people.
For main, I went for the smoked salmon with cullen skink. The salmon was mostly nice, except the skin was basically like eating pure salt so I had to leave it to the side. The cullen skink was almost (almost!) spot on, but there was masses of coriander in it which was totally unnecessary. I love (*love*) coriander but it didn’t work, flavour-​wise, and there was too much of it to sit and pick it out. I was left wondering if they had ever tried the dishes they’re serving up or if they just go with it without really caring, shoving masses of coriander on everything.
No complaints about dessert, but I got the Cranachan sundae, so it would be pretty difficult to mess up ice cream with things put on top of it.
The staff, however, were really attentive during our visit and made sure we were well looked after, which is why it’s getting 3 and not 2.
I just think the Grapevine’s going to have to up its game a fair bit if it wants to continue competing with other restaurants in and around Bothwell/​Uddingston!

As will become apparent throughout this blog, I absolutely love a food related bargain. I love to find the best quality food for the best value, so when I seen an Itison voucher for The Grapevine offering 3 courses for 2 people for only £17 I had to try it.
The restaurant on the outside is unassuming and blends in with the Main Street. Inside it’s cosy and homely. On arrival the waitress took our coats and offered us the special menu made up especially for voucher customers. It has a fair range of dishes to suit any tastes
For starters I decided to go with the Scallops with Butternut Squash Purée, Crispy Proscuitto and Hazelnuts. The sweetness of the purée with the salty ham paired beautifully with the buttery scallops. The hazelnuts added a lovely flavour and texture.
Martyn went with the Pigeon Breast on Butternut Squash. The breast was perfectly cooked and the gamey flavour was complimented well by the sweet butternut squash and the jus drizzled on top.
For Main course we both went with the Chicken Supreme with Seasonal Vegetables, Mash & Chicken Jus. The huge chicken breast on the bone was juicy and moist with lovely crisp skin. The mash was velvety and smooth and the jus brought the whole dish together. We both thoroughly enjoyed this course.
Not many puddings can beat a well made Chocolate fondant, so we both eagerly ordered one with ice cream. They do incur a 15 minute wait as each fondant is made to order, but we happily waited. The fondant arrived and when we dived in with our spoons it was perfectly oozy inside, just as it should be! Absolutely delicious and one of the best we’ve had.
Overall a thoroughly enjoyable meal for a great price. I will definitely keep my eyes peeled for future vouchers, although I think I’d be happy to visit again and pay full price for such delicious food.

Enjoyed our meal but unfortunately we were put into rear restaurant and we were only ones there so felt very isolated!
That aside, meal was delightful!

Went there with friends to celebrate the end of a project we had worked on. Booked it through 5pm which gave us a discount on the a la carte menu.
Our waitress, Lyn, was wonderful. Very knowledgeable and very, very patient as we were so busy talking that she had to come back three times for our choice. It was hard choosing as the menu was so varied.
We eventually choose Cauliflower Soup with a large chunk of scrummy bread and butter for two and Chicken Liver Parfait with Pear & Orange Chutney for starters. Then on to the mains. Two of us had the Two Beef dish (for the life of me cannot remember what it was called) — fillet steak (rare, yum yum) and braised cheek (more yum). The braised cheek melted in the mouth and the accompanying potato purée, glazed carrots and spring greens were lovely, as was the hot beetroot. The whole thing was served on a slate plate and was a joy to behold. Friend had partridge with the above and the addition of cherries. Savoured every mouthful and took some home.
We could not manage a pud so finished with coffee.
This is a really nice restaurant and the staff are lovely. Again, we were chatting and were the last to leave but not a look or word to say they were unhappy. Thank you.
Just bought a deal for friends for Christmas so spreading the cheer. We will return.

On my quest to find the best place to eat on Bothwell Main Street (that rhymes! It could be a show… maybe) I went for a meal at The Grapevine, which is apparently Bothwells only fine dining restaurant.
I was meeting some old friends for a catch-​up which was long overdue, and one of them had been here before, so we booked a table for 7 on a week-​night. When we arrived (a wee bit late), we took our seats in the tiny front dining room. I’m not sure if there are more at the back of the restaurant, but if not then you would only be able to fit 10 – 15 tables in here maximum. The pre-​theatre menu is quite well known in the area, as a menu of great value. Monday to Friday, 4.30−6.30pm, every couple ordering from the pre theatre menu gets a free bottle of wine!
Myself and a friend were the only ones drinking, and ended up with three bottles of wine between us! You could, of course, have decided not to have any wine at all, although it cannot be substituted for soft drinks or any other alcoholic drink. However, we decided to have all three bottles in true classy Motherwell style!
The menu had around 5 or 6 options for starters and main courses, and around 3 for desert. We decided to have the 2 course meal option, costing £12.95. I have to give credit to the waitress who allowed us to order from the pre-​theatre even though we arrived almost 15 minutes after it had stopped! I went for the pâté, which sounded divine! Chicken and duck liver pâté (or ‘parfait’ as they dubbed it) served with delicious oatcakes and a fruity pear chutney which really added something to the dish, as pâté is normally served with onion relish. I loved it!
I decided to be a bit adventurous when it came to choosing my main, with the seafood linguine, knowing that I wasn’t sure of some types of seafood which may have been in the pasta dish. It must have been the wine! It came to the table, beautifully presented and looking deee-​licious, until I noticed the abundance of tentacles and the lack of prawns. There were plenty of mussels, a few calamari rings but the overwhelming presence of the baby squid really, really put me off and I left a lot of it! The pasta was in a lemony, oily butter which was nice, but I will definitely play it safe next time!
Opting out of desert, we sat at the table chinwagging rather loudly for another hour or so, until the wine was gone and my friend and I were suitably squiffy in one of Lanarkshire’s top fine dining eateries. How embarrassing indeed! I would recommend the place though, because my experience was based largely on my dislike for things that look like they are alive in my pasta. The starters from the a la carte menu cost around £9 on average and main courses from £13−25, which makes the pre-​theatre menu very much worth the money.