WHO would have thought that plain old buttered kale with toasted hazelnuts could taste so good?
Or that lumps of feta cheese of all things would turn into delicious salty, savoury nuggets in a dish of chick pea and harrissa? A Saturday night out, then, with the world slipping and slithering to a halt outside, with roads a-closing, cars a-spinning and yet so many people in here, packed in booths, squeezed round tables, filling the warmly lit room with the hubbub of conversation. Clearly the Met Office yellow warning has had zero effect.
My sister Tracy has come from Dundee, Ingrid from Orkney and her pal Anne from Manchester. The last two being so delayed that by the time they arrive we've almost finished the sourdough with spreading pots of beetroot and cumin, cured sweet sobrasada sausage.
In fact the first thing we do when they sit down is nervously quiz the waitress about when this table needs to be handed back - yes the clock is always ticking at Ox and Finch - on the grounds we may not have time to eat everything.
"Don't worry about it," says the waitress, adding something deeply mysterious about having moved bookings, which I file under; they're not daft. In fact, so not-daft are Ox and Finch that they seem to monitor and respond to every single posting on the monster that is TripAdvisor. Often quite wittily. Attention to detail, then. The secret of restaurant success?
Over a rich, grilled confit duck leg with a thumpingly good Thai yellow curry and a curious but pleasant stick of crispy rice the staff flit to and fro placing small detailed dish after small detailed dish. Crisply crackled wild seabass on a shredded thai salad over here, ox cheek with celeriac puree there, a house cured gravadlax and bacon gremolata, sir? Move these plates and we'll get the green peppercorn and venison salami with truffle dwarf peaches in, those cucumber vodka shots, too.
Wow, taste that. Some of this is familiar. That ox cheek I've had before. The first bite so unctuously, rich and sensationally delicious the reaction to it drowns out my not very witty point about whether Ingrid's chic knitwear company is called Tait Me Out, Tait That or Tait 'n' Style. The second mouthful gets more oohs, but paradoxically this small plate will not be finished.
Likewise, the chocolate and orange sachertorte we order for dessert, so dark and powerfully flavoured it is just, marginally, on the right side of Bovril. They are both initially sensational, but then plutonium grade heavy. Small plates or not.
That venison salami though? Upgraded from the blackboard to the new menu since last I was here, those dwarf flavour peaches, their fragrance along with the truffled chips filling the lively, bustling air? Fabulous.
The crisp, salty squid, served with chilli and juicy blood orange? Good. And that pineapple, ginger and rum trifle? I'll never look at a traditional dollop of custard and cream in the same way again.
It's not all perfect though. The chickpea and feta combo is great but the prawns in it, which don't seem to be of the quality of the rest of the seafood tonight, are hopelessly outgunned and rather pointless. The meringue that accompanies the rhubarb, yoghurt and pistachio pavlova may have been made here, but it is dry and dull.
And a word on those small plates that everything is served in. In some restaurants this is perhaps an excuse to disguise big bills but here, because every dish is so intensely flavoured, because it's a sharing meal of bursts of complex flavours, it works.
Is it cheap, then? They have a Bib Gourmand which is the occasionally bonkers Michelin Guide's way of hinting the food is some sort of exceptional value meal. Maybe it would be in Tokyo or New York but in this part of Glasgow? What are the rates here?
It's not cheap, but it's not ordinary. As a package it's exceptional. And that's always worth paying for.
Ox and Finch
920 Sauchiehall Street
Glasgow
0141 339 8627
Menu: Plain old placemat menus belie sparkling and hip tastes served on small plates in high style in the No1 upmarket casual restaurant in Glasgow, and possibly even Scotland. 5
Service: Was patchy on the last visit when the Ox had just opened, now smooth and smiley, slick and fault free. Be warned, they turn the tables every few hours or so though. 5
Price: Much hoo-ha about the restaurant's Bib Gourmand from the Michelin Guide. Small dishes can easy hit £7 plus and you will need a lot. It'll cost you a few quid, but generally well worth it. 4
Atmosphere: What the whole global movement towards non-pretentious, relaxed and casual dining is about. Comfortable and warm atmosphere. All round good vibe at the place to be. 5
Food: Sensational simple kale and hazelnuts, fabulous duck and thai yellow curry, great pineapple ginger trifle. A series of flavour bursts which because of their intensity are better served small. 8
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