It is surely one of the most famous, and prestigious, addresses in Glasgow. But while the Kimpton Blythswood Square Hotel is easily recognisable to most Glaswegians, what is it like to actually have dinner there?
The hotel’s fine dining restaurant Iasg (it means Gaelic for fish and is pronounced ee-usk) has built quite the reputation among Glasgow foodies, and was near-full when we visited, despite being an unremarkable Tuesday evening. They specialise in Scottish seafood, as the name suggests, with a focus on responsibly sourced produce including hand-dived scallops and Cumbrae oysters.
Walk into Iasg, and you are immediately struck by a sense of opulence. You might be in Glasgow, but there’s a feel of old-school New York glamour about the place, even with its modern décor.
We were seated quickly by the lovely -but not overbearing staff- who suggested a bottle of Joseph Drouhin Chablis to set off our starters.
I opted for the crab and prawn squid ink ravioli with a shellfish sauce. Truth be told, I’m sceptical about having pasta as a starter, in fear of feeling too full, but this was perfectly proportioned and utterly delicious. My dining partner chose the Cumbrae oysters with Tempura sauce, which also went down a treat – so much so that I wasn’t allowed to have any.
For the mains we shared a hake kyiv accompanied by bacon butter, charred baby gem and bacon jam. Far more grown up than the chicken versions, this was a total avalanche of flavour, but one where the indulgent sauce didn’t overwhelm the delicate fish.
We also chose the whole lemon sole with caper and brown shrimp butter, accompanied by some fried ‘nduja and parsley potatoes. Again, the flavours were paired perfectly to ensure that nothing was too overpowering.
Feeling nicely full, but with room for dessert, we ordered the layered caramel shortcake panna cotta and the strawberry and elderflower iced parfait. The parfait, in particular, was wonderfully light and creamy and was the perfect way to set off the meal.
It isn’t the cheapest place in the city, but if you are looking for a meal to remember then you won’t be disappointed with a trip to Iasg.
It is open for lunch Wednesday to Saturday, brunch Sunday and dinner Monday to Sunday.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article