The festive dining season took me all the way to Glasgow’s Merchant City, this week, to sample the delights of Ingram Wynd.

Things had started very well in Glasgow, as I was welcomed with Efes, the fantastically refreshing Turkish beer, in the pub where we first congregated. By the time we arrived at Ingram Wynd, I was in need of a feed, so was delighted when we were soon shown to our table, after a short drinks ordering interlude in their downstairs bar.

It’s fair to say that the place was alive with the sound of crackers cracking, and the groans of patrons as another festive cracker joke fell flat.

Turning our attention to the menu, it provided a nice balance between the usual festive staples and some dishes that I imagine feature on their year-round menu. I chose the mussel and king prawn stew to start, the sundried tomato, fennel and rocket risotto for my main course, with the cheese board to finish.

The stew wasn’t the bonniest looking dish in history, but it featured a good amount on seafood served in a simple tomato sauce. It could have used a good squeeze of lemon to bring some life to the dish, but it was a completely fair dish, and a nice deviation for the usual festive starter options.

The risotto that followed had a couple of wee problems with it. Firstly it was a little too dry; secondly the chunky slices of fennel whilst very tasty were a really odd choice. They were hidden at the bottom of the dish, which seemed a rather unusual place for them to be. I’m a great fan of buried treasure, but I’m not sure that this really fit the description. It was a bit of a shame, as the elements of the dish all had good flavour, but didn’t quite come together to form a coherent experience.

The cheese that followed was really good. A nice apple chutney, oatcakes, and four good wedges of cheese – a brie, goat’s cheese, blue cheese and cheddar.

Overall, Ingram Wynd served us perfectly acceptable festive grub. It wasn’t the most interesting meal in history, but it suited our needs pretty nicely. I liked the place, and the staff were friendly, so when I’m next in the neighbourhood, I’d be happy to pop in to see how things operate when they’re running their ship at a less hectic pace.

Scores
Blythe scores Ingram Wynd:
3/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
4/5 for service
3/5 for setting
giving an overall 13/20

Today’s lunch quester was: Blythe

I ate: mussel and prawn stew, risotto, cheese board

I drank: peroni, water

I wore: muted navy waistcoat

Total bill: c.£35