Foodie Finds | August

If you enjoy your grub like me, then trying somewhere new for breakfast, lunch or dinner will bring a lot of happy smiles to your face. Despite my best efforts, I find I’m a creature of habit when it comes to eating out and often book into the restaurants I know and love all too often. In a bid to spread my wings, I introduced the Foodie Finds feature on my blog a few months back and I’m finally back with a few new discoveries.

Mono - South Bridge, Edinburgh

When you look at the website for Mono, it reads, ‘Progressive Italian Dining’ and that’s exactly what you’re served. Inside, the restaurant is very minimalistic, with a nod to Scandi style interiors featuring a quaint fireplace, wood floors, tables and chairs, and modern lighting. 

After missing Mono’s bloggers banquet a few weeks before, I was kindly invited to try out their Apertivi menu on a date that suited. When we arrived, my friend Tessa and I were greeted with a warm welcome from staff before being shown to our table.

So, what’s their Appretivi menu I hear you ask. Essentially, it’s their early evening menu that runs from 5-6.30pm and offers a pre-starter with a house spritz followed by three courses from a selective menu.

We started off our meal with a selection of delicious breads with oil and a few bite-sized canapes, otherwise known as ‘stuzzichini. In all honesty I didn’t know what to expect and these snazzy little pre-starters put the bar high for the rest of the meal. 

Following our bread and stuzzichini, we were served our first (or Primi) course. Both Tessa and I went for the baked ricotta with pine nuts, peppers, aubergine, olives and tomato. Again, what was served took me by surprise but in the best possible way. After the first curious mouthful we scoffed down the rest.

Course two, I went for the Dry Aged Beef Ox Cheek with kohlrabi, cauliflower, hazelnut and sea truffle and Tessa tried the Octopus Alla Piastra with courgette, spring onion and curried butter. Again, we both really enjoyed our choices and each were cooked to perfection.

We finished off with dessert - I went for the cherry and chocolate and if I’m honest, regretted my choice. I think I realised I’m not really a fan of cherry however I’m sure the desert would be enjoyed by anyone that does. Tessa rated her Caramelised Peach, (almond milk, peach sorbet with Amaretti biscuits) as the best course out of the lot and I was envious to say the least!

Overall, we really enjoyed trying something completely different. Each course was presented beautifully and at the end of the meal we felt satisfied but not over-full (as I often find I do). I’d really recommend giving Mono a try if you’re in Edinburgh. The restaurant also offers a regular A La Carte menu, Lunch Menu and rather exciting Tasting Menu which looks ideal for a special occasion. You can view all of the menus on their website here.

Mozza – Renfield Street, Glasgow

Sticking with Italian cuisine, another new try for me this month was Mozza in Glasgow. Last week, the girls and I headed here to celebrate the exciting news of Rachel’s engagement (eek!). Side note – check out her beautiful ring here.

Now back to Mozza - the restaurant is conveniently located a few minutes-walk from Glasgow Central station…the ideal spot for some Friday night grub, pre-cocktails.

Inside, you’ll find a nice big space with the name Mozza in lights on the wall. From the menu you can choose one of 13 different styles of neopolitan pizza. I went for number five which was a spicy tomato-based pizza with mozzarella, spicy salami, ricotta cheese, black pepper, basil and oil. It was super tasty and actually really reminded me of Peasano's pizza (which I'm guessing are also Neopolitan?). 

The prices are extremely reasonable too with pizzas starting from just £5 with the priciest at £9 – bargain! I didn’t try any of the sides or desserts so can’t comment on them, but I did try some of their white wine which went perfectly with my pizza.

I’ll definitely be heading back to Mozza and would highly recommend for all of you pizza lovers out there.

Thanks again to Mono for inviting us along to try out their food!

Until next time.

XoXo

Foodie Finds #1

Over the past few years, Glasgow has defined itself as a city that bloody well knows its food. Almost every month there is a new food joint opening somewhere in the city from gourmet pizza bars in the centre to dessert parlours in the West End and fine dining restaurants in the South Side. We’re completely spoilt for choice and I love that it gives us locals a chance to continually discover our own city, one bite at a time.

With the influx of new restaurants, new menus and bottomless brunches (Hello my little friend!) I thought it was about time I introduced a new feature on the blog dedicated to my latest foodie finds. So, without further ado, let me tell you all about three exciting (and totally different) discoveries I’ve made over the past month.

#1 Champagne flights at Champagne Central

Perhaps a little light on the food but nonetheless a foodie find that has got me very excited. Hot off a train from Forres (don’t ask), I headed along to one of my favourite city centre spots – Champagne Central. Ideal location, divine interiors and all over good vibes …. I won’t go on much more, just trust me when I say, it’s one to visit on a Friday night with the girls.

Now, champagne flights I hear you question. To sum it up, it’s a serving of three different flavoured Taittinger champagnes that are accompanied with your choice of delectable canapes – the perfect pairing they say. On the food front, I went for the oaked smoked salmon with caviar (how fancy!), a tasty Belgian white & strawberry chocolate and the cutest mini meringue. On the champagne front you get to try the Taittinger Brut Reserve NV, Taittinger Prestige Rosé NV and Taittinger Nocturne Sec NC. This is the first time I’ve ever tried Taittinger and I can’t believe how good it is! Honestly, divine. Like too good. Being an avid prosecco drinker, champagnes can sometimes be a little too - is bitter the right description? - for me, but not Taittinger.

I love how unique this experience is and think it’s the perfect way to celebrate. Whether it’s a birthday, graduation or engagement, it makes going for a glass of champagne even more special.

The Taittinger champagne flight costs £25 which I think is amazing value for money.

#2 First-class food at Lido Troon

 

 

Although not Glasgow based, Lido in Troon is absolutely worth the drive (or train ride) out of the city. Last week, I was kindly invited along to try out their delectable menu as part of their new #LoveFoodFeelGood campaign that’s essentially all about the amazing memories you create over food. With a pasta-making demonstration from one of their in-house Italian chefs, the thought of what memories we’ll be making over just the dish for our wedding in Italy next year got me very excited!

I can’t remember the last time I went to a restaurant and was so highly impressed by every.single.dish. The quality of food on offer was amazing and I can say that with confidence as we went through almost everything on the menu! My favourite dishes were definitely the duck ragu, butternut squash risotto, Moroccan lamb and sharing platter. We’ve filled what little room we had left in our stomach with a taster of the deserts available – passion fruit cheesecake was my favourite out of the lot.

Oh, and how could I forget… the mixologists put together a rather special Edinburgh Gin menu especially for us which were D.I.V.I.N.E. Good food and the perfect serves of G&T make me very happy indeed.

I’ll absolutely be back to Lido very, very soon. Next time though, I’ll be incorporating a walk along the beach after the meal to shift a few of the just consumed calories 😊.

#3 A taste of Korea at Bibimbap

 

 

Last but by no means least, my fiancé and I headed along to Bibimbap on West Nile Street to chow down some authentic Korean grub. To be honest, before visiting, I wasn’t entirely sure what would be on the menu at a Korean restaurant. I typically go for a very generic ‘Chinese’ so was intrigued to discover what dishes would be on offer.

On arrival, I was immediately impressed by the eclectic and striking décor that has transformed the space that was once the Riverhill Restaurant. A ceiling of umbrellas, neon signs and plenty of colour –it’s an Instagrammers heaven.   

On the menu we had a choice between small plates, noodles, soups, stir-fry’s, rice bowls and more. We decided to try three of the small plates to share and then a main dish each. This turned out to be quite a bit more food than we can comfortably consume so for anyone visiting I’d recommend trying one small plate and one main per person  which would be more than enough to satisfy.

Top picks I hear you ask? For me, it has to be the (very spicy) lamb skewer, vegetable dumpling and Katsu curry. We also tasted a few of their cocktails which set of the meal perfectly.

The restaurant only offers a walk-in service but that didn’t seem to stop anyone as the place was packed full of happy customers.

If you’re eager to try something different in the city – I’d highly recommend adding this one to your list.  

That’s all for my first #FoodieFinds post but I hope you enjoyed learning about my latest discoveries. 

Let me know if there are any styles of food you’d like to see more of and I’d be happy to do my research (lol).

Until next time.

Xoxo  

Disclaimer: I was kindly invited along to try out the food/drink at all of the above restaurants/bars however all of my opinions and recommendations are genuine.