Clark & Sons

The 2012 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the current (2012) edition.

Located in the deep south of Clarkston, Clarke & Sons is a spacious, relaxed venue with a sort of ‘executive airport lounge’ feel, that garners a heavy following both as a bar and eaterie. It’s not cheap, but dishes have a touch of extravagance, and are generally well rendered. To start, soft shell crab is fried until super crisp, though a decent hit of fishiness still comes through, offset by celeriac coleslaw. The seafood poliferation on the menu continues in the monkfish with saffron potatoes in a chorizo broth – the fish's meatiness stands up to intensity of the sausage (actually merguez); a great combination of rugged and refined. Elsewhere, ‘fillet and crisp belly of pork’ is well-seasoned and delicately smoky, but the winner is the charcuterie platter, artfully heaped shreds of pastrami, Serrano, salami and chorizo, fresh around the edges and full of flavour, with griddled bread and the totsy wee pickles the French call cornichons. The lunch menu and ‘Peroni & Pasta’ deal represent a fair saving on the evening à la carte.

• High point: The sense of space
• Low point: Long way out unless you're a local