The tasting menu continues to be the menu of the moment. Despite some turning their back on the multiple course offering, it’s slowly becoming the small plates of our time.
Once only available in high end establishments, a tasting menu can be ordered in the most unlikely of places, thanks to restaurants like Six by Nico, who started out with a six course, £25 offering back in 2017.
One neighbourhood bistro that’s created a seasonal tasting menu with paired wines is The Prancing Stag, a 36-seater restaurant in Jordanhill in the west end of Glasgow.
Formerly The Sisters restaurant, The Prancing Stag opened in 2019 and is owned by Rory Cox and family. The kitchen is headed up by Neil Keevil and the overall ethos is to serve the best modern Scottish fare from local producers.
In early May the team launched their first seasonal tasting menu - a spring affair - with wines paired by Wine Importers Scotland, priced at £75 per person. It was billed as a showcase of the best of modern Scottish cuisine, with a focus on celebrating the abundance of fresh produce sourced from local producers like John Vallance Seafood, Greenheart Growers, Ochil Foods and Campbell's Prime meats.
Each dish was to be expertly paired with wines from renowned regions such as Italy, France, and Chile, as well as intriguing selections from Tasmania, Hungary, and Portugal.
Rory Cox, Owner of The Prancing Stag said of this seasonal launch: “We're thrilled to team up with our incredible wine suppliers, Wine Importers Scotland, for a toast to spring at our first seasonal tasting menu event.
"At The Prancing Stag, we particularly love curating our menu for spring because of the abundance of fresh produce we get here in Scotland at this time of year.
"Our head chef Neil Keevil has curated a tasting menu that perfectly complements this season's offering that will be paired with some amazing wine sourced from some of the best wine regions around the world.”
With such a billing, we were lucky to book the last slot for the night, which was mid-week. The restaurant is quite small, but bright and airy, and tables for the night were communal which, after a few wines, led to some fascinating conversations (I ended up sitting next to a former whisky maker for Edrington).
The night started with canapes of a vibrant, frothy yet refreshing cucumber cappuccino, smoky and creamy mackerel tartare served on a soft bellini and tiny rounds of gamey rabbit rillette all paired with a light Jansz Premium Cuvee, from Tasmania.
Small, warm bread rolls served with salted truffle butter and romesco were another nice introduction to the meal. Next was the chef’s take on a classic - asparagus and egg. This dish was three spears of lightly grilled asparagus served with a punchy watercress salad and a crispy egg yolk - paired with a dry but fruity Pinot Blanc from Dunavar, Hungary.
This was followed by an intriguing dish of chilled fillet of sole with vichyssoise. The fish was encircling the creamy onion flecked soup, which, when cut into, made this a bit like a light Cullen skink gazpacho.
It was paired with a robust Bardolino Chiaretto Classico from Ca’Preella, Italy. Next was Orkney crab cannelloni served with heritage tomato consommé.
Presented in a long, thin tube of overly al dente pasta, the delicate flavours of the crab weren’t lost, though the pasta and presentation weren’t as strong as the other dishes. This was paired with Frascati Org, from Italy.
For the meat eaters the next dish was a rump of rose veal, wild garlic and snail risotto whereas the pescatarians had crispy skinned sea bass, paired with Clairet de Bordeaux, Chateau Grand Tuillac, France.
Finally the two desserts were a chunky nettle and Hebridean blue cheese rarebit paired with Graham’s 10yo Tawny from Portugal and a refreshing iced Leadketty strawberry parfait, served with a chilled glass of strawberry soup and roasted marshmallow-like poached meringue paired with a not too sweet late Harvest Viognier Sauvignon Blanc from Chile
The menu had some interesting creative touches and did showcase a range of seasonal products. It’s nice to see a family-owned neighbourhood restaurant putting on an experience like this, which was well attended (and the staff were excellent).
The next one is set for the autumn, and I can see it being a great success too. There may not be the Instagram-friendly nature of tasting menu behemoth Six by Nico, but this was relaxed, informative and fun - an ideal way to spend a Wednesday night.
