City Merchant
Price guide: Expensive
97/99 Candleriggs, Glasgow, G1 1NP
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#3 of 30
expert-rated restaurants in Glasgow- Recommended for:
- Business travellers, Couples, Culture vultures, Families with teenagers, Foodies, History, Special occasions
Expert review of City Merchant
Glasgow’s seafood king specialises in rustic Scottish dishes with a warm historical charm.
As a huge seafood fan, I could eat here every night of the week. The restaurant’s chefs must have shellfish coming out of their ears as they crack open and dress langoustines, oysters, lobsters, crabs and mussels caught from off the Scottish west coast from dusk ‘til dawn. A word of warning though: the specials at this Glasgow stalwart come with a capital ‘S’ and are extremely fresh and creative so when they’re gone, they’re gone.
Food and drink:
Shellfish platters on ice are the restaurant’s bread and butter – although that is included as well – but the menu doesn’t just limit itself to pinky-white flesh from creatures with tentacles and pincers. Rare venison, Highland fowl and Scottish fillet steaks compliment the Shetland salmon and freshly caught monkfish. It’s perfect for pescatarians.
Recommended dishes:
Though the chefs pride themselves on their shellfish and seafood dishes, the collops of fillet steak with a haggis mousse, whisky and rowan jelly jus is a worthy signature dish for any adventurous meat eater. Good as it is, I prefer to flirtatiously wrestle with the dressed lobsters and crabs.
Ambience:
Rustic and friendly, the City Merchant reflects the heritage of Glasgow’s wealthy Victorian traders who once built their mansions outside along Candleriggs and nearby Albion Street. It feels like a long lost friend.
Service:
Fast and furious, weekend nights are popular so booking in advance – and having some patience when awaiting orders from the kitchen – is recommended.
Location:
On a prime slice of real estate in the Merchant City, this Candleriggs restaurant has swish drinking establishments and cafes nudging at its elbows.
Price advice:
There is no getting round it: the City Merchant is expensive. £60 gets a seafood platter for two and six oysters will set you back a rather steep £11.
Tables to book:
The restaurant’s VIP loft area offers a more private dining experience for up to 16 people and can cater for large corporate bookings too.
More information on City Merchant:
- Price guide:
- Type:
- Restaurant
- Food:
- Seafood, Steak, Traditional
- Address:
- 97/99 Candleriggs, Glasgow, G1 1NP
- Telephone:
- 0141 553 1577
- Website:
- http://www.citymerchant.co.uk
- Serves:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Opening times:
- Mon-Sat, noon-10.30pm (last orders). Sun, 4.30pm–9.30pm.
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Reservations:
- Suggested
