Two Fat Ladies at The Buttery

With its baronial Brigadoon vibe, swathes of mahogany, stained glass and tartan carpets, The Buttery is a Glasgow institution that has been feeding the city for decades.

Seafood queens The Two Fat Ladies pitched up here in 2007 and have made the place their own since then, overlaying the venue’s luxurious demeanour with their trademark fish cookery. Expect an eclectic menu that roams around the globe, and makes a bad choice nearly impossible with the likes of pan-fried fillet of Shetland halibut with Cajun spice, sweetcorn and coriander salsa, avocado mousse and tempura king prawn, flash-fried West Coast scallops, crispy gnocchi, wild mushrooms and kale, with light Barwheys cheddar cream, or grilled whole lemon sole with smoked cheddar, herb panko crumb and saffron and tomato tartar sauce. Meat eaters might fancy pan-fried fillets of Scottish beef layered with horseradish and thyme potato crush, roasted onions and glazed bearnaise sauce or Roasted supreme of Gressingham duck, fondant potato, smoked maple syrup pears and a rose harissa jus. Elsewhere puds run from Buttery creme brûlée with apricot, prosecco and a almond granola pot to a dark chocolate and spiced dark rum gateau with baked white chocolate ice cream.

Meals here aren’t cheap, but the exceptional cooking and high-end ingredients make it feel like good value. Mains clock in somewhere around £25 but set lunches and theatre deals offer excellent value where two courses cost £18, and tree courses are offered for £21.

As with many popular restaurants in the are you will be expected to surrender your table back to the team after two hours, but we’ve found that staff are often accommodating if you overrun and they don’t have a pressing need for it.

We’d recommend booking ahead where possible, as the dining room isn’t the largest space and gets busy quickly on choice evenings.

Long-standing Scottish restaurant The Buttery is something of an institution in Glasgow, popular with sight-seeing tourists and long-term residents alike. In 2007, the restaurant was taken over by The Two Fat Ladies restaurant group (who also have another site in the city centre) and it has since gone from strength to strength.

The smart dining room at Two Fat Ladies at The Buttery evokes a by-gone era. Tables here are dressed in white tablecloths, wooden chairs upholstered in tartan fabric, while other traditional interior elements such as stained glass windows, oak-panelled walls and a tartan carpet let diners know that this is a restaurant which celebrates formal Scottish luxury . The resolutely traditional aesthetic may give the room a sense of formality and pomp, but don’t be put off if you prefer unstuffy dining rooms, because the atmosphere at Two Fat Ladies manages to stay relaxed thanks to the efforts of the sweet-natured staff and warm ambience.

The a la carte at The Buttery champions the top-quality cooking that the restaurant has become so well known for over the years, while as we have come to expect from the Two Fat Ladies group, the seafood dishes are executed with particular skill and respect for only the finest Scottish produce. Highlights from the menu include starting dishes of smoked Scottish salmon parcel with pink prawn and salmon marie rose sauce, plus a spoonful of caviar, or mutton and vegetable broth with miniature haggis bites.

Main courses meanwhile see the likes of six hour braised lamb shank served with cream cheese and rosemary mash, or the restaurant’s unique take on surf ‘n’ turf: beef fillet with lobster ravioli, herb polenta cake and a warm bisque sauce. Tempting puddings range from creme brulee to dark chocolate torte, while diners with an insatiable sweet tooth can opt for The Grand Dessert - a selection of the restaurant’s greatest sugary hits.