La Vallée Blanche

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

A former antique complex above the West End's beloved branch of Fopp has been chosen as the reunion venue for many members of the team that once made Princes Square's étain such a success. The space has been transformed into a calm, low-lit haven of dark wood panelling and red furnishings, with a long window overlooking Byres Road lined by lightly flickering candle lamps. The staff appear to go to great pains to please and are exemplary throughout: glasses seem magically to fill themselves and there's genuine enthusiasm about the locally-sourced, seasonal food coming from Neil Clark's kitchen. The cuisine, similarly, speaks of experience and barely puts a foot wrong. Pearly scallops find a striking combination with sharp apple and earthy black pudding purée, with a following assiette of pork – an impeccably cooked trio of lean loin, plump belly and tender cheek – a superlative example of a classic dish. A more adventurous streak is displayed in an assemblage of ruby red wood pigeon breast surrounded by the varied flavours of roasted chestnuts, baby onions and garlic cloves, marinated olives and crispy-fried bay leaves. Desserts include a firm poached pear teamed with panacotta and an ice-cream ball flavoured with the extraordinary almond, woody tones of the tonka bean.

• High point: Exemplary cuisine and service
• Low point: Wines a little expensive