Food review : Epicures by Cail Bruich •

Epic cure for hunger

Epicures is one of those places in Glasgow that has been here for years but neither of us had ever visited before. Last year, the pub group owned by ItIsOn.com took over Epicures, to add to its impressive roster which includes Sloans and Brel, and spent £250k renovating the cafe-bar-restaurant.

Now, Epicures has partnered with Michelin recommended / 3 AA rosette restaurant Cail Bruich to focus, initially, on brunch and bakery. Sandwiches, salads and the traditional breakfast fry-up is given the Cail Bruich treatment to elevate brunch to a more luxurious level - even caviar can be added to a number of dishes!

Firstly upon entry we noticed lots of staff who were eager to help. One of the good things to come out of COVID-19 is table spacing. It's so good to not be elbow-to-elbow with the next table and Epicures by Cail Bruich have the tables spaciously laid out with a number outside too. Enough for social distancing, but no big X don't sit here signs, so a more enjoyable social distancing experience.

Click link to jump to section

The menu has everything you would expect for brunch: morning rolls, full breakfast, granola and the more indulgent choices such as Cumbrae oysters and hanger steak. For those seeking something a little different, there are choices of salt beef bagel, celeriac, pickles and truffle mustard and fish finger sandwich with tartare sauce. A fish finger sandwich, chicken burger and cheesy beano are also available for kids.

Brunch wouldn't be brunch without something special to drink. Breakfast classic mimosa is there as is kombucha, fresh juices and what about an Epicures Mary to cure a hangover? There is, of course, a wide selection of hot drinks on offer too.

There is also a daily iced tea and punch, which we only noticed when leaving - so keep an eye out for that as it did look good.

Drinks

We started off with a flat white (£3.50) and an earl grey tea (£3.50) - a perfectly steeped cuppa - whilst pondering the menu.

It wasn't that long before our order arrived. Just enough time to people watch from the mezzanine seating area.

Here we have a Seasonal Bellini (£13.00). This changes every day or every couple of days, depending on the fruits available and on our visit we had pear, kumquat and beetroot juice with Champagne!

Food

Lobster and prawn milk roll with BBQ Chilli Mayo and sweetcorn (£14)
Pieces of tender lobster with herbs including coriander and Thai basil so it had a slight aniseed flavour. Mrs Foodie would pick this again even though she’s not a big anise fan and was even recommended it by another diner when visiting the toilet! Note that it also included herring roe, which wasn’t listed on the menu.

Epicures benedict (£12) slow-cooked ham hough, smoked ham, poached eggs, English muffin and Nduja hollandaise. We always love Eggs Benny and here was plenty of ham but we didn’t detect any nduja spice and at £12 it’s a bit steep compared to elsewhere in the west end or city centre.

We also had Buttermilk fried chicken as a side (£4.50). Served with spicy ketchup. A tad overcooked on the outside for us, but inside it was moist and juicy. The spicy ketchup wasn't too spicy, just enough for a tingle.

During lockdown, Cail Bruich became known for their baked goodies and they are continuing this at Epicures by Cail Bruich. Cookies, caneles and scones form the basics.

But the stand out items are delights such as the biggest macarons we have ever seen and cronuts that would give Dominique Ansel Bakery in London a run for their money.

All the items from the patisserie are huge and definitely shareable between two.

The macaron (£3.50) is more like a macaron sandwich, comprising a filling of piped buttercream but which looked like smaller macarons inside!

While the cronut (£3.50) was ooozing with one of the best raspberry jams we have tasted in a long time.

Verdict

Cail Bruich is one of our favourite fine dining restaurants in Glasgow, who have many a trick up their sleeves, and this new venture, after Bar Brett too of course, shows their commitment to high standards. Of course, with high standards comes high prices and being Southsiders we will probably keep it local for future brunching but would visit again if we were in the area. The bakery is open everyday from 8am, breakfast is served from 9am. Brunch is served until close - 6pm most nights but 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

Accessibility

Double door entrance. Disabled toilet.

TL;DR

+ Massive sweet treats
+ Safely socially distanced
+ Outdoor seating
+ Oysters and steak for brunch!
+ Lots of staff
+ Bellini, iced tea and punch of the day

- Expensive