Restaurant Review: something to sink your teeth into

Never quite content with how they turn out or the cost of a prime piece of beef, I rarely attempt them at home — and so a visit to a steakhouse is a rare (pardon the pun) treat.

The occasion in question was a 60th birthday — no, not mine yet, although some say I’d reached that age, at least mentally, by high school.

There are few restaurants better equipped to serve up a quality hunk of beef than The Butchershop Bar and Grill — sometimes literally, as the scales-and-such decor is designed to remind diners just where their dinner comes from.

Our party of six settled in knowing full and well what we’d be having from the set lunch menu. Still, there were starters — so we’ll get to the meat in a minute.

I went for a light bite; gin and herb infused salmon with oatcakes. The fish was delicate and melt-in-the-mouth, and there was enough of it — although oatcakes were more sparse, and a little dry.

Around the table, a fine chicken liver parfait received the thumbs up — although more oatcakes were soon ordered there too — and meatballs in tomato sauce were scoffed in no time, although the verdict on parsnip soup was that it was just ok, if a bit bland.

Next, it was 28-day dry-aged rump steak all round, and no one was disappointed — okay, maybe one, who always seems to get the smallest cut of meat (one of those faces, perhaps?)

Mine was cooked perfectly rare as asked, but was still criss-crossed with deep, dark charring. The peppercorn sauce was creamy and spicy, the chips well-cooked, and everyone struggled to polish off generous portions.

There were desserts (cheesecake, sticky toffee pudding and banana sundae among them) but, let’s face it, a visit to The Butchershop is all about the meat — and going on that alone, this was a happy birthday all round.

Rating: 8/10

The Butchershop

1055 Sauchiehall St

Kelvingrove

G3 7UD

Tel: 0141 339 2999