Storm

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.

While battling your way along the Helensburgh seafront against driving rain, towering waves and a force seven gale, you may find yourself asking whether a visit to Storm is really worth it. Trudge on, because the answer is a resounding 'yes'. Just ask the locals, who see to it that the restaurant – opened in 2006 by veteran Glasgow chef Hugh MacShannon, formerly of Rogano and One Devonshire Gardens – still boasts Saturday waiting lists up to two weeks long. The serene, blindingly white interior makes you feel completely becalmed. The place is plush, but not without a sense of humour, as proven by the svelte one-page menu's cheeky signature sign-off – 'That's Yer Whack'. When your 'whack' includes egg en cocotte over a medley of smoked haddock and leek, or a warm salad of fresh mozzarella, tomato and avocado, you'll be far from grumbling. Ditto if, for a main course, you opt for the duck confit in red wine, cooked until so precisely, deliciously tender that the meat falls off the bone when you run your fork across it. As the elements lashing the window outside might well remind you, you're by the seaside now, so what better way to round off than with a '99'?

• High point: Among the finest cuisine in the west of Scotland
• Low point: Long waiting lists at weekends