By Amy Glasgow
Known for its beautifully crafted cakes and bakes, freshly baked bread and, my personal favourite, the white chocolate and raspberry tart, Cottonrake is a well-known name in Glasgow’s west end. So what happens when the creative minds behind this coffee shop set their sights on evening dining? It turns out, something really quite special.
Cottonrake Evenings
Every Thursday to Saturday, Cottonrake Cafe keeps its doors open a little later and begins serving up a sharing-style menu for evening dining, blending Asian flavours with some French and Italian influences. Sounds strange, but trust me, it works.
The evening menu is small, with just 12 dishes making up the menu, ranging from snacks and nibbles like Nocellara olives marinated in lemon, thyme, confit garlic and pepper, Boquerones with gremolata, and sourdough or focaccia served with a choice of whipped hollandaise butter or confit garlic oil.
Seasonality
My main interest though were the larger plates on the bottom half of the menu, each as delicious-sounding as the last. These dishes change regularly based on seasonality, but there are some that I can only hope will become house regulars so I can sample them again.
Our first taste of what Cottonrake by night had to offer was the gochuchang-glazed shimeji mushrooms, with spring onion, sesame and kimchi mayo. Piled high on the plate, the mushrooms had been deep fried until perfectly golden and crisp, with a meaty texture and a spicy glaze that left us licking our lips in delight.
Lighter Bites
For something a little lighter, I highly recommend the chipotle and pink pepper cured sea bream, with salsa macha, sweetcorn puree, fermented gooseberries and coriander. This was a beautifully fresh dish that you would not be surprised to find on a fine dining restaurant menu.
Special mention must also go to the char siu pork belly with a sesame and shallot crumb, pineapple hot sauce and a carrot, cucumber and chilli salad. The pork was melt in the mouth, with the hot sauce and salad bringing sweetness and spice in equal measure.
The portions here are generous for the price, with five dishes between two of us proving too much to handle, but everything was so rich with flavour and well balanced that we did our absolute best to demolish all we could. The fried ratte potatoes with Thai basil mayonnaise and parmesan were particularly hard to resist.
Given the talent on display, I am delighted that the Cottonrake team has taken this foray into evening dining, long may it continue, because I for one can’t wait to go back.
