The Bothy

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• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses:
   £9.95 (set lunch)
   £19 (evening meal)
• House wine: £10.95 per bottle

• High point: Superb private room
• Low point: Steak in a bowl?
• Food served: Mon-Sun noon-10pm
• Private dining: 22 (upstai
• Open since: 2004
• Also offers: Childrens portions, Childrens high chairs, Wheelchair access, Pre-theatre menu

The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 is now in the shops.

This review is from the 2007 edition.

The Bothy is an intriguing mix of tartan and shadowy seclusion - like Brigadoon shot as film noir. Waiters wear kilts of muted hues and the menu self-consciously signposts its Scottishness (dishes come wi' accompaniments). But equally distinct is the privacy afforded by well-spaced tables, low lighting and sharp corners, not to mention its setting in an old stone house tucked away behind Byres Road. Brisk serving staff provide enthusiastic ruminations about the regularly changing menu. The gamey vigour of guinea fowl is squeezed into a parfait alongside the salty lure of pistachio for a substantial starter, sweetened by apple and plum chutney. Old Scottish favourites dominate the mains, with fleshy hunks of west coast scallops lumbering atop a slight risotto of crayfish, pea and barley. Rib-eye steak arrives with the smoky criss-cross of the grill, cooked as ordered - even if the bowl in which it's served allows the juices to slosh over the chips and mushrooms. Chocolate marquise with orange syrup and kumquat confiture is a rich pleasure, while vanilla and blueberry crème brûlée comes with the requisite sugary brittleness as well as little discs of home-made shortbread.