Pub Review - Uplawmoor Hotel and Restaurant, Uplawmoor, Glasgow
Twenty-five minutes from Glasgow city centre, the Uplawmoor Hotel and Restaurant dates back to the 18th century.
The building was once a one-room coaching inn for travellers, breaking their journey along the road from Glasgow to the coast.
Legend has it that the inn was also a smugglers rest, where whisky would be shipped to the colonies without attracting the notice of the Excise man.
Though the illegal associations have thankfully gone, today the hotel still retains many of its traditional features. The most extensive renovation was done in 1958 when architect James Gray added touches of Art Deco to the exterior, and the toilets hark back to this era with perfectly pastel pink and green porcelain.
Before your meal you're taken into a folksy and cosy lounge bar, where an ever-so-friendly maître d'hôtel offers you a drink while taking your order. In the winter your aperitif can be enjoyed in front of a giant central fireplace, covered with an enormous copper chimney. Here, you can also peruse the bar menu, which offers up the typical chilli con carne, chicken and leek pies and deep fried scampi, as well as a three-course Sunday roast menu for just £7.95.
But the hotel's village location means the restaurant menu is abundant in local produce - all sourced from five nearby farms. Head chef Paul Brady celebrated his 10-year anniversary at the hotel on the same day it was awarded its second AA rosette, and the ingredients and presentation are top-notch. You can choose from a table d'hôte menu for £21 or the á la carte at around £25 per head for two courses.
For starters, a velvety parfait of chicken liver comes wrapped in Parma ham, with fruity grape chutney and sharply-dressed salad leaves adding the necessary bite, while Loch Fyne smoked salmon is allowed to speak for itself with a simple accompaniment of capers and lemon. There's also pigeon breast, pan fried, and presented on a bed of flatcap mushrooms.
For mains, a "Monarch of the Glen" - medallions of Inveraray venison fillet partnered by a tart red wine jus and aromatic roasted figs - is delicately marinated and positively oozes flavour. There's rack of lamb, served with an apricot and sweet potato puree, and breast of chicken stuffed with pâté and a mushroom duxelle. There's also a host of steaks, the best being the Gaelic Steak Uplawmoor served on a haggis crouton, flamed in whisky and cuddled by a rich onion and garlic sauce. A broccoli and blue cheese tart for vegetarians, with herby potatoes, also makes a satisfying main - though the salad is let down with a somewhat cloying pesto dressing.
After your meal you're taken back into the lounge where you can relax with coffee and traditional Scottish tablet, or enjoy the weekly guest ale.
PubChef Rating (out of 10)
Ambiance 7, Value for money 6,
Flavour factor 7, Overall Impression 7
BEERS: nine beers on draft including two guest real ales - Peter's Well from the Houston Brewery and Red Smiddy from Kelburn Brewery - as well as Tennents' Ember, Stella Artois and bottled largers.
MAIN COURSES: from £13.50 to £19.50 (£21 for three-course table d'hôte menu).
WINES ON LIST: 10 reds, 10 whites and four sparkling, including house white from Alexis Lichine (£11.50) and a Rioja Reserva from Marques de Riscal (£21.95).
ANOTHER THING: Uplawmoor village is said to be the highest village in Renfrewshire.
