City Merchant

Plumb in the centre of the merchant city area of Glasgow is, appropriately enough, the City Merchant Restaurant, founded by the Matteo family in 1988 and now one of the most popular and well-known eating houses of the area, particularly popular with family groups. Seafood is the prime attraction and, combined with a strong sense of Scottishness, adds greatly to the reputation of this excellent restaurant. Prices are reasonable, service is cheerful and efficient and the place hums with enjoyment.

There is a daily menu offered from 12 noon to 6.30 pm. Such dishes as haggis, and baked cod with prawn butter blend with nut tart and sticky toffee ice cream to offer a satisfying meal. Leaving on one side the graduation menu, a culinary ensemble designed to cope with the needs of the nearby university, there is an admirable a la carte which contains such delights as cullen skink, Scotland's answer to chowder the world over, Loch Etive mussels, juicy langoustines from the West Coast, freshly poached asparagus with red and yellow pepper syrups, oysters served as oysters should be and accompanied by a flute of The Merchant's Black Velvet.

The Scottish Seafood Platter is of a size and nature which only exists in most peoples' dreams, but at £47.50, that is probably about right. Game birds feature strongly depending on the season and steaks are sent from Morayshire with T-bones weighing in at 16 oz, or fillet combined with half a lobster, if that's your line. And whilst on the subject forget not the smoked salmon and raisin salad with grenadine syrup, one of the many Fish Market specialities.

With the pudding menu comes recommendations for dessert wines, though it is hard to see how even these could improve the warm bread and butter pudding with marmalade or the very Scottish clootie dumpling with whisky and oatmeal ice cream. City Merchant does not spare you and the result is likely to be one of the most pleasantly memorable evenings you have enjoyed for many a year.