Pintxos – Glasgow. Tapas and sherry, baby!

This is just a wee quickie, as I wanted to express my gratitude to whoever is the chef at Pintxos (pronounced pim-chos), but not waste too much time in the writing so that you can click away quick-sharp and get on the blower to book. My friends Kathy & Graham  suggested we head along to this little tapas bar last Saturday night, which is situated at the Partick side of Dumbarton Road. I was through in Glasgow ahead of my day at The Cook School Scotland (post coming soon!) and so a relaxing night with good sustenance was called for.

It’s a dinky room, with seating for probably not much more than 30 covers, and had a good little buzz despite the fact that the rain was lashing down outside ; proving that the rain in Scotland falls mainly pretty much anywhere. K&G started with a couple of pints, and I had that unmistakable sherry thirst, so we decided it would be sensible to share a bottle of cold sherry. They offer four varieties by the glass and bottle, and we opted for the Fino, which lasted well and provided a wonderful foil to some of the rich, scrape-the-plate flavours we proceeded to work our way through.

I won’t go through all the dishes we had, but the selection of Scottish ingredients, and bold tastes with a Mediterranean nod, totally beat any tapas I’ve had before. Think razor clams with chorizo, cider braised pork cheek with cauliflower purée, hand-dived Tarbet scallops with chorizo, langoustine and saffron broth. Nutty wild mushrooms with quail’s egg and migas.  Slow cooked lamb with white beans. Partridge and something amazing stuffed with foie gras that the subsequent food-coma has made me forget. The plates of divine food arrived near enough in a one-er, and I can’t quite figure out how the kitchen managed it! The only (pathetic that I’m even mentioning it) let-down was the patatas bravas, in that the seasoning was a bit of a side thought in the form of a salsa and the aioli, rather than having any flavour cooked into the tatties.

All I’m saying is go. Not because you like tapas and Spanish food necessarily. If you like good food, you’ll love this place. Edinburgh outpost, por favor!