111 by Nico

What a joy! Oh, how happy I am that this place exists. It ticks so many of my boxes: inventive food, utterly delicious, relaxed surroundings, friendly and attentive service, a hidden gem in an unlikely spot and an absolute bargain. So many restaurants have failed in this unassuming strip of shops along cleveden rd so I was perversely pleased to find we had to come for dinner at 6pm because that was the only table we could get (booked 3wks ago for a Saturday night!).
The amuse bouche of creamy mushroom soup with truffle oil was tasty and unexpected so I knew we were in for a treat. I started with the smoked ham hough which arrived at the table in a flourish of Heston-​style theatre — under a glass cloche filled with swirling wood smoke which, when lifted off, wafted memories of campfires around the table to ooohs and aaahs from my fellow diners. The dish itself was delicious: a flat triangle of pressed, shredded ham hough sandwiched between crispy layers of incredibly tasty I-don’t-know-what; was that crispy skin, maybe? Like the crispy skin you get on roast chicken, rather than the thick crackling you get on pork? Delicious anyway. Served with little bits of black pudding, it was wonderful. For main I had a perfectly cooked, juicy piece of cod perched atop cauliflower served 3 ways: blitzed up like rice with loads of dill, thinly sliced and lightly pickled, and puréed into a creamy paste. There was a lemon ‘gel’ with it too which, tbh, I couldn’t have told you was lemon — it was just a nice fresh counter to the earthy cauliflower bits. Another perfect dish. For dessert I had a little coconut pannacotta with a scoop of mango sorbet and cubes of poached pear and little super-​coconutty truffle ball thingmys, like chocolate-​free Bounty Bars rolled in toasted coconut. It was also delicious. All of the dishes were presented beautifully, like little works of art. My friends were also very pleased with their food and they are quite a fussy bunch so that is saying something! I think we got the best seat in the house — the only booth, up at the back, which felt private and special and just added to a wonderful evening. And the best bit: for 3 courses, some olives before we started, half a bottle of fizz and a coffee I paid just 35 quid including a tip. What?! I’ve paid double that for dinner with the same fussy friends before and haven’t had as good a meal. What a wonderful place!
The only negative: the restaurant has been zhuzhed since its previous incarnation but they don’t seem to have got so far as the loos yet so they could do with a spruce up. That’s it! My only negative! And it’s not enough to shake a solid 5 stars review.
I love that the fella who runs the place is taking the opportunity to do some good with his business too, so he is giving young people who have had a rough start in life the chance to train with him and turn their lives around. Sir, I salute you, and I hope your restaurant continues to flourish.

I was made aware of this restaurant by a few people food bloggers I was following, who were raving about the place. I couldn’t miss out on checking it out for myself.
So what a good opportunity when my boyfriend asked for ideas for his brother’s 40^th birthday.
Looking at the prices and the menu everything seemed incredibly good value for what would be a table of 6.
When I arrived it was a very relaxed atmosphere, it was a Wednesday evening and there was 4 other tables seated. Seemed to be a mix of locals from the area, looking for a night out with either their partners or a girly meal over a bottle of wine.
We all agreed that we would opt for the 3 courses options for £20. You can also choose 2 courses for £17, or a taster menu for £30. I was keen to look at the taster menu, but there was sadly a few items I wanted to try on the regular menu that wasn’t on the taster, which made me settle for the 3 courses.
The dishes were fantastically presented, a piece of art one would say, but the differing textures and married flavours on each dish was what made the meal!
The star of the show had to be the Pistacho crème brûlée which arrived at the table flaming!
Throughout the service was consistent, our waiter was great and chatty, and gave us a bit of banter — it was a family celebration so we were all rather jolly!
The £3 Tanqueray helped me along with this.
We all left full, happy, amazed in some ways that something so good was such good value for money.
I’ll be back again in a heartbeat!
(Already purchased vouchers to come back again soon!)

Another one of those restaurants that everyone seems to be talking about and I hate missing out on the fun, so was keen to try it ASAP. The location is an area of Glasgow I don’t really venture, and I’m not sure how you’d get there without a car. We had friends visiting so took that as the perfect excuse to book in for their Tuesday night dinner where they also offer a 2−1−2 deal (2 courses for two people with a bottle of wine for £30).
We were a little early for our booking but were seated quickly and had our pick of tables. The restaurant space isn’t overly large and you get a great view of the head chef putting the finishing touches on the dishes at the pass right in front of you which certainly made it a little more interesting than a standard restaurant.
We were going to get the 2−1−2 deal but none of us really fancied drinking that much, so we just went for the set menu instead (2 courses for £17 or 3 for £20). I had the scallop (£4 supplement) and the shellfish risotto for main. Menu descriptions are a little short but I’m pretty happy to be surprised.
We were served a butternut squash velouté to start which was lovely, a nice little portion and topped with truffle oil. I loved my starter — a generous portion of scallops, beautiful presentation and that serious wow-​factor taste that I always get so excited for.
Main was a lovely shellfish risotto which was unlike any I’ve had before — it had a lovely, generous mix of seafood and was very rich. It did get a little overwhelming by the end but I really can’t complain — it was a really high standard of food that really impressed me.
We decided not to get dessert. While I wouldn’t say portion sizes were huge, I was totally stuffed after two courses so we just got the bill. Our only issues on the night were the service which was a little slow and haphazard — it took a while for my friend to be able to order her wine, and it took a couple of goes to get the card machine to pay the bill. These little issues didn’t affect the night though and the food was so impeccable that it’s still a 5-​star from me. I’d go back in a heartbeat as I enjoyed it so much. The bill worked out to be around £60 per couple with drinks etc which I thought was quite reasonable.

I cannot talk about the vibe as my small party were the only diners present but the food was terrific. Lovely melt-​in-​the-​mouth smoked hough to start, lovely seafood with pasta for mains and fiery crème brûlée to finish. Great value as well for as good food as I have eaten in Glasgow in a long time

The vibe in the restaurant is very much that of a relaxed bistro — the best feature is definitely that the head chef works in the open kitchen in the restaurant whilst his team do prep in a hidden kitchen, so you get a little theatre while you eat.
The staff were lovely — friendly, smiley and happy to offer recommendations if you asked. If I had one tiny fault it was that I sat with an empty glass for about 10 minutes but it seemed that lots of tables came in at once and the staff were busy… no biggie — a minor grumble.
The concept at 111 is a menu that will change every week. A brilliant but risky idea. Brilliant because every time diners will have an ever different experience, however, if you find a favourite dish you may never see it again. I am sure the new dishes would be just as lovely but still a little risky I think.
In truth I could have eaten every single dish on the menu… it was a struggle to only pick one dish for each course.
I finally settled on the Duck to start, described as: ravioli, carrot velouté, baked carrot and spinach.
When the dish arrived, it was — as expected — a feast for the eyes. It was a beautiful ravioli stuffed full of lovely smokey tender duck, topped with carrot crisps (I love carrot crisps), a well seasoned piece of baked carrot and all topped with a light smooth velouté. It was a gorgeous starter and whetted my appetite for the rest of our meal.
For my main dish, I had to have the Cod served with herb crust, sweetcorn, chorizo and black olive tapenade. I have a real thing for chorizo so Just had to try it.
When it arrived, it was yet another colourful work of art. The cod was cooked perfectly, the herb crust was only very lightly seasoned and so didn’t over power the fish, which was flaky and moist. The chorizo and sweetcorn were the perfect accompaniment — adding texture and bite to the dish. This was probably one of the nicest fish dishes I have ever eaten. it was delicious.
For dessert I couldn’t look away from the Flaming (YES — FLAMING!!) pistachio and caramel crème brûlée — anything that comes to my table flaming is a winner to me.
This dessert was completely and utterly sensational. The top was crunchy and perfectly brittle, it was smooth, creamy, silky, buttery… and absolutely lush! I can only hope that this may pop up on the menu regularly because the thought of never having this again actually breaks my heart a little bit.
You need to be aware that the portion sizes aren’t massive. I was perfectly content after my 3 courses — could I have eaten more? Yep — I sure could have but I didn’t need it, I was perfect as was my friend Louise. The boys however (one 6ft & the other a judo powerhouse) were both still a bit hungry. Just beware that if you like to feel stuffed after you eat, remember to have a sandwich before you go.
Here is the mind-​blowing part of our night — the 3 course menu was only £20 per person. TWENTY POUNDS!!! So I have zero issue with the quantity of food we were served because the quality was incredible. Completely mind-​blowingly outstanding for £20.
I will 100% definitely be back here again, regularly I suspect. A brilliant night in lovely surroundings with sensational food… what’s not to like?