There's a moment here when Gordon Jackson - no, not the commissionaire at the Central Hotel, though he too is excellent company - stops talking and looks down uncomfortably at his steak.
I taste a piece and just as I do so a waitress hovers into view. What follows next proves that even top advocates, comfortable in the cut and thrust of the High Court, shrink when it comes to listening to someone complaining about the food. And I don't even complain. I simply mention gently, politely even, that while it has indeed been deliciously smoked on that imported, charcoal-fired sealed Josper grill, the meat's, er, a bit, um, chewy.
The poor waitress pauses. I notice Mr Jackson QC looking mildly embarrassed. She considers taking it away on a side plate, decides against that, goes off to ask someone and comes straight back saying she will remove the whole offending article. Immediately. And so she does. Meanwhile, and after I point out to Gordon he is perhaps too much of a Jessie to be a restaurant critic, we share my ribs, which are outstandingly good - meaty, very tender, full of flavour and apparently smoked in here too.
By the time a new steak arrives we've eaten two portions of the straw-thin, crisp and salty chips, had some reasonable garlic potatoes and decided the asparagus soup - also prepared, bizarrely, in that Josper grill - was surprisingly good. We're split on the puffy batter of the squid rings - I liked them - but we are as one when it comes to the field mushroom rarebit, which was no more than a couple of soggy mushrooms with some rather dull cheese on top.
I also think the menu is a tad unadventurous, especially on the seafood front, which prominently features the deadly dull duo of salmon and sea bass, plus lobster for decadence. But then I have recently enjoyed some rather excellent shellfish sent down from the island of Grimsay by Hector Stewart of Kallin Shellfish himself, so my expectations are high given that this is Scotland, the seafood capital of the world. Probably.
Actually our expectations have been high since we walked into this fabulous building tonight. It's easy sometimes to let the jaw-dropping splendour, the opulence, the beauty even of the decor induce an urge for the food to punch at the same standard. It can also dangerously cloud the view of what's being eaten. It certainly feels like millions have been spent making the interior of this old shipping line headquarters as glorious as it was when the Clyde was awash with liners and the city afloat on cash. All weekend I've been hearing that Mario Gizzi himself, the tycoon behind Di Maggio's, Amarone and other restaurants, personally stood at the front door welcoming guests to what must be the jewel in the crown of a restaurant empire that has been slowly but surely steaming upmarket for years. Obviously I waited until the coast was clear - I'm not entirely sure I would be welcomed, after all - before coming in. But there's a real presence tonight about this dining room with its booths, upholstered furniture, lovely ceramics and glittering ambience. Is it repro or original? It doesn't matter. If there are joins then they're sweetly papered over.
And now the new steak arrives. Cue the theme from Jaws. Is it too going to be tough? It's a much better rib-eye, the largest part of it succulent and flavoured by that grill. But let's not shrink from what we are here for. It's not a great steak and, of course, there's no hint of from whence it comes. The thing about The Anchor Line is this: it's further proof that when it comes to sumptuous restaurant interiors Glasgow is almost unbeatable these days. But a pretty plate is one thing. What counts is what's on it, and it's a mixed bag here. However The Anchor Line is saved by one important fact. They have resisted the temptation to charge based on the ambience. Well done for that, because it's certainly good value.
The Anchor Line
12-16 St Vincent Place, Glasgow (theanchorline.co.uk, 0141 248 1434)
Menu
Those steaks, that exotic grill, some in-house smoking, but chicken supreme and sea bass? A bit safe and unadventurous nowadays. 3/5
Atmosphere
A beautiful dining room harking back to the glory days when Glasgow reeked of money and transatlantic class. Worth coming just to see. 5/5
Service
Friendly, knowledgeable and professional staff who changed the steak when it was suggested it might not be having its finest moment. 5/5
Price
So important nowadays yet they avoid the temptation of pricing according to surroundings - comes across as pretty good value. 4/5
Food
Unlucky start with the steak and the weird bland mushroom thing, but great ribs and excellent soup. Mixed but not a letdown. 6/10
TOTAL 23/30
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