Michael Caines at Abode (
European)
ABode Glasgow launched in December 2005, following months of extensive refurbishment to the former Arthouse. Located in the city's art district on Bath Street in an historic Edwardian building, ABode Glasgow is a unique boutique hotel that combines listed features such as the preservation of its white glazed bricks with stunning contemporary style and design. As such, ABode Glasgow embodies something of the special character of the Glasgow itself, which, from its hardworking and Victorian heritage, has today emerged as one of the most vibrant and exciting destinations in Europe.
Michael Caines at ABode Glasgow offers the Michael Caines Restaurant, for stunning modern cuisine; the MC Café Bar for informal dining day and night; and our first Vibe Bar, a young, funky, stylish late-night lounge bar.
Additional Comments:
Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, is situated on the River Clyde in the West Central Lowlands. It is well served with flights from regional airports throughout the country. With its rich cultural heritage, vibrant nghtlife, the best shopping in the United Kingdom after London, and the centre of modern style and design, the city is an ideal destination for a short culture or shopping break, with centrally located ABode Glasgow the perfect base for your stay.
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What a load of mince!
Review by Richard Bath at the Scotsman, Food:
Service:
Atmosphere:
What's in a name?
RESTAURANT REVIEW
RICHARD BATH
NOT a lot of people know this, but much-parodied Cockney geezer Michael Caine didn't actually come up with his famous catchphrase. It was, in fact, Peter Sellers who kick-started the "not a lot of people know that" line with his mimicry of his know-all friend, much to the amusement of Michael Parkinson and the watching nation.
Now, here's something else you probably don't know, and certainly wouldn't guess given the name above the door. Would-be celebrity chef Michael Caines (no relation) doesn't actually cook at the Glasgow restaurant that bears his name. Or at least your chances of finding him slaving over a hot stove in the dear green place are about the same as getting a blizzard on Christmas Day, given that he only ventures north of the border for one day every three months.
Perhaps that's why I'm deeply suspicious of restaurants that use the 'Dick Dastardly at The Muddy Puddle' format. The eponymous variety - Martin Wishart, say, or Kitchin or Braidwoods or even Sarti and Clive Ramsay - imply that their owner is a chef who has invested his reputation in the place and will be on hand to make sure you get something worthy of him. But in one fell swoop the addition of an 'at' suggests a rampant ego and an unsettling impermanence. When the chef in question has his fingers in as many places as Caines does - five ABode hotels, plus his pubs and the restaurant where he actually cooks, Gidleigh Park in Devon - it also makes you wonder whether someone should invoke the Trade Descriptions Act.
Such were the considerations buzzing through my mind when I hoved to at ABode (for the sake of brevity, I'll refrain from using its Sunday name). The restaurant was certainly slick enough, a nice contemporary conversion of one of the old Victorian buildings on Bath Street. And the staff fitted the surroundings perfectly: courteous, efficient and highly attuned to our needs.
That Caines sees his customer base coming from the same constituency that keeps the likes of Andrew Fairlie, Brian Maule and Martin Wishart in clover was immediately apparent when we opened the menu. It wasn't just the presence of a £55 tasting menu; far more telling were the price tags next to the dishes. Although the wine list was good value, most of the food was accompanied by some frighteningly big numbers: the starters were close to £13, the majority of the main courses over £20, and the cheeseboard was £12. Forget London: these are Paris prices. This, I thought, had better be great.
In the event, there were high points on the journey, but each upside was matched by the sort of low that has no business accompanying prices of this magnitude. Our starters were the perfect illustration of that. My pan-fried foie gras with gloriously pasty black pudding, turnip and caramelised apple was a classic combination produced with a sure hand and excellent ingredients. Mari's mosaic of rabbit, sweetbreads and foie gras was, however, right at the other end of the scale: the large amount of aspic was matched by the almost complete absence of the sauce gribiche that was supposed to be present to pep up what turned out to be a rather bland assortment.
The disparity between dishes was equally evident on our main courses. My roast loin of venison was perfectly cooked, and perfectly complemented by the orange braised red cabbage and a port-and-clove reduction, but as soon as the chef moved away from the mainstream, things fell apart. Mari's monkfish tail had been well cooked, but pairing it with the overpowering taste of the jus from the braised leg of wild boar simply didn't work.
If that was excusable, pudding was not. My chocolate palet was a bit dense but worked well enough and was lifted out of the ordinary by the almond caramel. Mari's cheeseboard, though, was a pitiful array of undersized and, with one exception, horribly bland cheeses. There are any number of faults a restaurant can be forgiven, but with Iain Mellis on hand, a dismal cheeseboard isn't one of them, especially when the bill for two people was well over £100.
Vital statistics
Michael Caines @ ABode
129 Bath Street, Glasgow ( 0141 221 6789 , www.abodehotels.co.uk)
Out of pocket
Starters £8.50-£12.95
main courses £18.50-£22
puddings £7 (cheeseboard £12)
tasting menu £55
Rating: 4/10
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