Celentano’s restaurant review: Tender, intricate pairings
The Italian-inspired spot has a limited but refined selection of elegant appetisers and slow-cooked mains
After spending a few years in a hotel close to the cathedral, Anna and Dean Parker announced their well-received (and Bib Gourmand-awarded) Italian-inspired restaurant was moving due to the sale of that site. It’s taken several months to reopen in Arthouse, the refurbished Abode operation in Glasgow’s city centre, again throwing themselves at the mercy of a hotelier. A hammered-metal bar dominates, bending round to a semi-open kitchen, the minimal aesthetic extending to stoneware crockery. Discreet half-window curtains don’t screen off the exhausting gym shenanigans opposite though: it’s not the prestigious locale of their old gaff.
Cocktails include a super Negroni hitting the aperitif spot, while a well-curated wine list includes decent, good-value kegged options. The food menu is super tight (way too tight on the set-price ‘chef’s menu’, which groups of 7+ must use). The à la carte is given over to antipasti, including wonderful little doughnuts filled with smoked cod and topped with kimchi for a spiky counterpoint. Primi pasta comes big or small, including a courgette-dominated agnolotti, in a rich, vibrant green, creamy sauce. It’s the dish that lingers, impeccably prepped and balanced.
Secondi include trout from renowned company Kames, dayboat monkfish and malt-glazed beef, slow-cooked and joyously tender yet retaining welcome fatty pops and pinky hues. Accompaniments are minimal: beef gets half a charred shallot and some creamy greens, but the additional potato strati (it’s that or salad) is over-generous: three slabs of addictive, crisp-edged, potato-layered luxe chips. The reimagined affogato has cold-brew coffee sitting in malted barley gelato, atop a mousse made with local Bare Bones chocolate.
Celentano’s, 129 Bath Street, Glasgow; average price £36 for two courses; picture: Naomi Vance.