For all Finnieston’s foodie plaudits, the area experiences a lot of churn with several places choosing not to reopen their doors in January. Extra_Ordinary was therefore a welcome new-year addition: once a Six By Nico, the site was more recently Sole Club. Now its doorway says X_O, evoking the spicy-umami tendencies of the sauce of the same name. So begins a well-pitched debut that borrows and balances. Inside we have a small plate and steamed buns situation: take a pencil and tick your choices, dim sum-style. The artwork owes a little bit to the ‘lonely man’ logo from London chain Bao: that’s Taiwanese. Clearly, and cleverly, we’re to expect a bit of everything, so there’s bao and mian bao, okonomiyaki pancakes from Japan, and Korean fried cauliflower. 

Thankfully, head chef Tobias Fiegel (who previously worked at famed fine-dining café Edition Roasters in Sydney, as well as under Stuart Ralston at Edinburgh’s Aizle) has the skill to get salts and acids going toe-to-toe with starch. Udon and mussels come in a herby broth that hints of citrus and soy before becoming delicately fishy. A pork sando, nicely on-trend, arrives as a cute double stacker that’s crustless and crisp, juicy and buttery. The pig’s head bao is strikingly gorgeous as it perches and wobbles on the plate after being pulled, breadcrumbed and fried. It’s all just fancy enough, but it’s also fun and it’s also tasty. 

And there’s lightness too. Tomato ‘sashimi’ is outstanding: salty, mineral and brisk in equal measure, with tofu and tomato both gloriously meaty (yet obviously meat free). In other countries, in other dining contexts, would these dishes be served more simply and feel less restauranty? Almost certainly. But for Glasgow, for right now, it’s a beautiful thing.

Extra_Ordinary, 1132 Argyle Street, Glasgow; average price for four small plates £25.