Restaurant Review: Good things happening on Glasgow food scene

Joining a wave of upmarket eateries around Argyle Street, this is a menu pitched for the Glasgow market, combining smoke and mirrors (sometimes literally) molecular cooking with hearty steakhouse favourites.

It’s an enticing little place; dark wood and dull metal, expensive without being showy and yet warm and cosy — helped by a welcome from friendly staff.

I kicked off with a pleasant crispy duck egg with leek consomme; oniony broth poured at the table to add a touch of theatre, egg providing crunch and richness from a perfectly runny yolk and a last minute kick of sesame.

The other half opted for a lamb shoulder and cutlet with charred leeks and mint foam; succulent, melting meat paired well with the tastes of spring.

On then to the mains; his, fillet steak with a rich pink peppercorn and porter sauce and beef dripping chips, while I opted for the sirloin with wasabi butter and truffle salt fries. Both cuts were good, although pricier than elsewhere in Glasgow — and the butter, although beautifully creamy, lacked that horseradish punch it promised.

Still, P&R deserve full credit for those sides; chunky chips so beefy you’d think you had picked a fight with them and skinny fries elevated beyond the norm with potent seasoning.

We finished with a beautiful peanut butter ice cream, torched banana and caramel salt dish — a stunning dessert — and an okay chocolate ganache; smaller and meeker in flavour in comparison.

Perhaps the most exciting thing about the place is a late night weekend menu, offering up small plates and meat treats from 11pm until 1am — upping Glasgow’s culinary credentials beyond the usual post-pub takeaway fare.

It may not be perfect — but like fellow Finnieston restaurants of the moment, Porter & Rye does show promise for an ever-growing Glasgow food scene.

Rating: 8.5/10

Porter & Rye

1131 Argyle St

Finnieston

G3 8ND

0141 572 1212