GLORIOSA // GLASGOW
RESTAURANT // GLORIOSA
LOCATION // GLASGOW, SCOTLAND
MEAL // DINNER, 7.30PM
THE LOW-DOWN
It’s dark and wet in Glasgow, which set the right mood for a cozy Sunday dinner at Gloriosa. It’s not too loud, not too quiet, and even as people trickled in throughout the night, the buzz was just right with the balance of jazz music and light chatter. Something about jazz while it’s raining makes gloominess acceptable. I was completely at ease as I practically floated to my table for 1.
The focaccia
Half the order for the solo diner was not the lesser generous - 2 giant, thick squares of carbohydrate goodness appeared in front of me with a side of vibrant yellow olive oil. The height and fluffiness really changed things up for me, as I’ve mainly indulged in focaccia alla genovese, a variation that tends to be no thicker than 2cm. This one was at least 6cm; height, toppings, etc. can all be definitive of regional variations.
Imagine a golden and crispy top layer with fragrant rosemary and salt chunks. Every rip into it meant an ooze of oil; it’s a good sign for focaccia to leave your fingers oiled up. I cannot stress the importance of the olive oil that supplemented this experience. Upon asking the waiter, he shared that one of the owners, who is from Glasgow, lives in Sicily and harvests the olives for this special olive oil. I felt like I was tasting Sicily with every dip.
The taramasalata with radishes
Taramasalata is a Greek dip made of fish roe, in this case cod fish. The light, whipped dip was just the right balance of lemon, cod, and salt, emulsified with the above olive oil. The radishes for dipping were a vibrant magenta and looked fresh as ever, heavily salted and paired with kalamata olives. It was clever to have something as light as radishes to dip with, as opposed to filling up too much with another accompaniment. There was a generous grating of lemon zest and drizzle of olive oil to finish it off.
The wild sea bass
The only issue I had with this dish was that I wasn’t eating it in the sun by the sea. Two filets of wild sea bass smothered in a sauce of shallots, parsley, and blood orange (juice and slices). Nocellara olives were also a part of the experience. The cook of the fish was just right, not overcooked, light and flakey. I didn’t eat the skin, but some of the crisp carried onto some of the fish edges which was a nice occasional crunch when paired with blood orange. There was enough nocellara to get me through almost every bite. All the layers played together seamlessly - a complete bite of fish, olive, and citrus carried you directly to the Mediterranean.
WHAT I WORE
There was so much layering happening it doesn’t even matter. I was in Glasgow. In January.
WOULD I GO BACK
I actually did…the next day. Glasgow for work meant colleagues then wanted to share in the experience as well. The focaccia was an obvious repeat, but the rest was a new rotation.
