Undiscovered Scotland

 

Since this review was written, Blythswood Square has changed ownership, with the result that what is said here may no longer be current. We hope to be able to update the review in the near future. Dining at Blythswood Square takes place in the "Restaurant at Blythswood Square". This occupies the north end of the main reception floor of the hotel and used to serve as the Royal Scottish Automobile Club's ballroom when they owned the building. The restaurant is reached through a fine square entrance at one end of the hotel's lobby, and down a short flight of steps (a disabled lift is available). From the top of the stairs you gain your first impression, shown in the header images. You can read our hotel review for Blythswood Square here.

The restaurant is larger than it at first appears, as it continues around the corner and along the north flank of the hotel. As a result it can accommodate 120 covers. The scale of the room is impressive and once you round the corner you see the mirror and fireplace which completes a room that is every bit as grand as the hotel it serves. Stylistically the restaurant has been given the unfussy and informal feel of a top-end bistro, something given more emphasis by the way it blends seamlessly into the cocktail bar at the near end of the room. The hotel's automobile heritage is picked up by the pictures adorning the inside of the suspended light fittings: an extremely nice touch.

Lunch and dinner are served in the restaurant (as is breakfast, see below). The A La Carte menu offers a choice of four "classic" and four "contemporary" starters; four "classic" and four "contemporary" mains, plus a range of side orders to round off the mains; ten alternative mains from the grill menu; three "classic" and three "contemporary" desserts; and a choice of three or five cheeses.

There are other dining options available. The Market Menu gives a choice of three starters, three mains and three deserts, at a fixed price for two or three courses, and this can also be enjoyed as part of the Pre Theatre Menu. Meanwhile, Boozy Snoozy Sundays offer a fixed price lunch from the Market Menu with a bottle of wine for a table for four. Private dining is also possible at Blythswood Square, either in a private room or in your own guest room or suite.

Afternoon tea has become quite a feature at Blythswood Square. The Afternoon Tea menu is served in the comfortable Salon on the first floor and a number of options are available ranging from the The Blythswood Cream Tea, which gives all you might expect, up to the Anna Maria Russell Champagne Afternoon Tea which gives you considerably more, and if you really want to push the boat out, the Vintage Rose Champagne Afternoon Tea.

Breakfast is served in the restaurant and provides an excellent start to the day. If you wish, you can go for the continental breakfast alone, in which case you can help yourself to one of the best and best presented (and best maintained during service) continental tables we have seen. A wide range of meats, cheeses and breads are ably complemented by homemade granola, muesli and bircher, plus delicious freshly squeezed fruit juices. Or you can view this as a first course and opt for one of the many cooked options to follow. The porridge was good and the Scottish breakfast outstanding, with everything apparently cooked (swiftly) to order despite the busyness of the service. It was interesting to note that there seemed to be more information about the local sourcing of the items on the breakfast menu than on the dinner menus: and it was good to find a large hotel so keen to deliver such a good breakfast. You can read our hotel review for Blythswood Square here.