If you’re looking for somewhere to eat this weekend, I’d recommend one of Glasgow’s newest spots – Public House by Nico. It’s the third restaurant to be opened by chef Nico Simone, and his second in the city. I’ve been meaning to try Edinburgh’s Six by Nico since it opened, but considering booking are notoriously hard to get, I’ve not gotten round to it yet. So, when the invite to try Public House by Nico’s Sunday Lunch popped up, you can imagine how quickly I RSVP’d!
Situated in the heart of the Great Western Road, Public House by Nico is a cosy spot, which serves up sharing plates throughout the week, and then goes hard on brunch and roasts at the weekend. I headed through on Sunday to see what it was all about, and happily, I was seriously impressed.
The restaurant itself is surprisingly cosy. There’s a traditional bar as you go in, complete with comfy chairs, so if you’re looking for an afternoon of great food and conversation, that’s your spot. Since we were in a group, we seated up against the side wall – a perfect place for people watching.
We were in to try out the Sunday Roast – served weekly 2 courses are £17 whilst 3 courses will set you back £20. It’s exceptional value. I kicked off proceedings with the Stornoway Black Pudding & Potato Terrine – a surprisingly light and fluffy mix of earthy flavour. The black garlic emulsion is came served with tasted almost chocolatey in it’s richness, and the ewes cheese gave a salty tang. A perfectly balanced dish, I still can’t quite believe how light the mix of black pudding and potato was!
Then it was the main event – I couldn’t resist the Roast Speyside Sirloin (£3 supplement). It was everything you’d want from a roast dinner: two generous slices of perfectly pink sirloin, sweet vegetable, a cloud of Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and a spoonful of fiery horseradish.
Served up in a tower, the roast is everything you crave each weekend, and it was quite the cure for a few sore heads sitting around the table.
The whole dish was perfection. From the roast beef, which positively melted in the mouth, to the crisp roast potatoes, and the sweet honey-roasted carrots and parsnips, I could have happily sat and feasted all afternoon.
There were even bubbling pots of cauliflower cheese to dive into (these were to die for) as if all the goodies on our plates weren’t enough. The cauliflower was divine – equal parts creamy and cheesy this was sheer comfort food. The whole afternoon was so enjoyable, and a huge shout-out has to go to the staff too, they couldn’t have been friendlier or more helpful, making sure glasses were topped up, and we had everything we could think of. Even though the desserts sounded divine, I could even think about sampling any of them, even if the Sticky Toffee Pudding sounded heavenly!
Thank you so much to Public House by Nico for having me! You can find out more about the menu here.
