Black Dove

I don’t often venture to the south side so when the opportunity came up for a girls dinner — I was excited to try out black dove!
We met a bit earlier than the time we had booked so popped in to see if we could have a pre dinner cocktail — they were very welcoming and despite looking confused at our booking (or lack of!) — they got us a seat at the window and the newly launched cocktail menu. We ordered the crystal chandelier each — strawberry and champagne being the main ingredients — yum yum yum! They then said they didn’t have our booking but reassured us that they would get us a table sorted out so that was fine! I thought this was well dealt with and glad we didn’t miss out.
So this is a small plate menu and I always worry a wee bit that the portions will be too small and I will starve but I shouldn’t have worried in here — they were perfectly sized for three people to share off them so was ideal. We tried the duck salad (star of the show!) the mozzarella, Parma and dig salad, the mini burgers (too cute!), the scallop special with scallop roe sauce, the chicken in peppercorn sauce and the truffle Mac and cheese. All were good and tasty, they did all come out at different times (which they said they would) but meant we kind of finished some before others had arrived. We also had sides of sweet potato fries (nom nom) black pudding, pancetta and potatoes (super nom) and warm bread with dips (fine but would actually leave this out as don’t need a filler!)
Two bottles of the wine special — a super lovely reisling which wasn’t too sweet were consumed over the evening as we were able to keep the table on and just sit and chat following the meal.
Service was great, décor is nice and I would definitely go back if I get the chance again.

Another one on my list of places to try! We booked a table for 3 adults plus our Peanut. The online booking process was smooth and we were seated promptly upon arrival.
We opted to for 3 small plates each instead of going for a main. Our rationale was we could try more of the menu if we wanted to share. Sometimes I don’t want to share. Service was friendly and quick.
The beetroot with goats cheese curd was delicious in its simplicity however Ox and Finch did it better. In fact the set up reminded me of Ox and Finch with similar plates.
Hubby’s beef dish was delish. Beef was tender and well seasoned. My sister’s fish and chips was great and the tartare sauce tangy.
The star plate was the scallops topped with crispy bacon on puréed Apple. The sweetness and tartness of the Apple complemented the sweetness of the scallop with the salty bacon providing the savoury balance.
The truffle Mac and cheese was served in a piping hot cast iron dish — nice touch. It was tasty but not as good as the crab Mac and cheese at Hutchesons.
Hubby and sis opted for the apple crumble and both were delighted with it. I had the cheese of the day from George Mewes and wasn’t disappointed.
Overall service is good — attentive but not in your face. Staff are friendly. For the money we spent it was about right but I would probably go to Ox and Finch and spend the same before going back to Black Dove.

Been swithering between 4 and 5 and would like to give a 4.5 if it were possible.
Me and Him Indoors went here for breakfast a while ago. I can’t fault my French toast with bacon, it was seriously good, but his full breakfast was on the mediocre side. For somewhere with such a great reputation we were expecting proper rustic sausages, home made beans, posh bread, nicely cooked, that kind of thing. Instead, it was a decidedly average spread with white sliced bread, runny beans and what tasted like supermarket cheap sausages, like you’d get out of any greasy spoon café. Quite disappointing, and not a patch on other Shawlands breakfasts you can get a short distance down the road.
In order to be fair, I held off reviewing it until I’d been back for dinner and blimey, what a fantastic dinner we had. With my sister this time — from the welcome on the door and the friendly waiting staff to the amazing food, it was really great.
The menu is small plates and the waiter recommended 5, or 4 plus a side, between the two of us. Based on other reviews, we chose the terikayi beef. The waiter recommended the halloumi and we also went for the tempura prawns and the lamb, with truffle chips as a side. Apart from the chips being way over salted for my tastes, everything was absolutely amazing, I would recommend it all. And don’t worry, we still finished the chips too!
I’m not usually a big fan of dessert, but I could resist the lemon and lime posset with gin and tonic granita. Oh blimey. I’d go back just to have this again, I loved it!
So for dinner, I can’t really fault Black Dove, it was a fantastic experience from start to finish. Not sure we’ll be back for breakfast in a hurry though.

Lunch last Sunday, food was fantastic all round. I believe the chef has come from Celino’s in the merchant city. It is a small restaurant so has a nice vibe to it.

Black Dove is one of those very hyped places that I felt like I was hearing about for months before it opened — the Head Chef won Scottish Chef of the Year in 2014 so I went in with high expectations.
We were in really, really early for dinner. 5pm, to be precise. We hadn’t made a booking and the restaurant was empty apart from one table. The waiter suggested we sit at the table right next to that occupied table, even though it was in a really dark corner (the bulb was out) and the rest of the place was empty. Thankfully my friend asked if we could sit somewhere else and after a long few awkward minutes, they agreed we could sit somewhere else as long as we were out by 7.15.
We looked over the menu and I liked the sound of the small dishes — they recommend around 3 per person, so we got 6 to share between us. To be honest, I was pretty disappointed with the first dish of garlic & chilli squid as it was pretty chewy and some pieces were really plain while others were really spicy.
Thankfully the rest of the meal was a lot better — the stand out dishes being the scallops, truffle fries with Parmesan and the mussels with white wine and cream. We asked for the scallops to be served without black pudding (I’m not a fan) and so they gave us an extra scallop which was incredibly generous. This was the stand-​out dish for me and was just delicious perfection — the cream sauce they were served in was just lovely and they were perfectly cooked. The mussels were a close second and it was an incredibly generous portion for £4.95 and again, a delicious sauce.
We also tried two pasta dishes — spinach and ricotta ravioli as well as penne arrabiata. These fall into the perfectly fine category and while I have nothing to complain about them, they weren’t outstanding either.
Service was a little mixed bag. Apart from our waitress, I didn’t find the rest of the staff to be particularly friendly — perhaps they thought we were difficult customers for asking to move. The bill came to about £45 which I thought was a good price for the feast we had. Overall, this is a really nice restaurant and much-​needed in Shawlands — I just think a few little things took the shine off what could have been a lovely meal for me, hence the 3 stars.

I’d watched the transformation of this property which has had several incarnations and read with interest early notices of this addition to the Southside eating scene so I was eagerly anticipating a good experience when we visited today for a casual lunch.
The restaurant is bright and airy and although our table was furthest from the door there was no feeling of being stuck at the back. Handily the menus form the place settings so you can get straight down to making your choice from the well curated menu. They specialise in small plates (which we chose) although there is a tasty looking grill menu.
Our choices included a generous helping of crispy squid, a similar quantity of garlic prawns, delicate hand-​made spinach and ricotta ravioli, tempura battered prawns, teriyaki beef with crispy onions, sushi of the day and carbonara with pig’s cheek. The table resounded to small sounds of delight as we tucked into this feast, oh and I nearly forgot about the mixed salad with a lip smackingly good dressing and the indulgent truffle parmesan dusted fries.
Room for pudding? of course! My home-​made salt caramel ice cream was simple and delicious. Around the table others enjoyed mango posset with coconut ice and home-​made marshmallow, a chocoloholic’s dream of brownie & chocolate ice cream with chocolate ‘soil’ and cherries, and a stunning peanut butter panna cotta.
The staff were welcoming without being cloyingly friendly contributing to our generally great experience. The only sour note was the bitter coffee. Get the roast and coffee making right and I’ll happily add the fifth star.

I had never heard of the Black Dove before having visited it for lunch this afternoon. My mother was treating my siblings and I to something yummy to celebrate my sister’s birthday and well, isn’t it just delightful!
The restaurant is lovely and simple but sophisticated — perfect for a special lunch or a relaxed dinner. The staff were all in white shirts and full length black aprons, and the bar tender had such perfectly shaped eyebrows that my sister and I were seething with jealousy.
The menu is simple with enough choice to please most people but not so much that you’re left confused. It also doubles as your placemat, which is a pleasant detail. They recommend ordering small plates to share, tapas style, however there is a lovely looking grill and seafood menu as well. We ordered calamari, tempura prawns, patê with oatcakes, carbonara with pigs cheek, teriyaki beef and the «sushi of the day». The portions were very large but incredibly moreish, almost rendering the lovely crisp side salad and addictive truffle oil Parmesan fries we added redundant. Almost…
We opted for the brownie with cherry sorbet, mango and lime posset, and the peanut butter pannacotta for dessert. Well I would never have put something so rich and thick like peanut butter in a pannacotta, but now I reckon it should be on every menu ever created. I urge you to try it. It was thick and creamy and buttery and salty and syrupy and crunchy and I wanted to take it to bed with me.
The only thing stopping me giving the Black Dove five stars is the horrendous burnt tasting Americanos we ordered after dessert. I know that’s very mean of me, as it was otherwise a flawless meal, but it literally left a bad taste in my mouth.
I think the moral of the story is — I’ll just have to go again. That’s right, I’ll just have to go again and get the chilli squid and sweet potato chips and possibly the peanut butter pannacotta. For research.

Shawlands needs a bit of shot in the arm in its turf war with Strathbungo these days, and the hype that the Black Dove received before its opening suggested that it might be the very place to provide it. We ventured in on a Sunday lunchtime and were immediately impressed by how busy it was. It is quite small, but has an upstairs mezzanine too, it’s stylish and wouldn’t feel out of place in, say for example Finnieston. The menu is impressive, with excellent-​sounding grill and seafood options, and a small plates ie. tapas option.
We went for the tapas, and the food started coming out pretty quickly. The first course was warm bread served with two dips, one olive oil and balsamic, and the other a mustard dip, and olives, unusually served on a bed of leaves and with a dressing of roasted garlic. It was all very tasty, the olives being really enhanced by the dressing I thought.
My scallops and Stornaway black pudding in a Glayva cream sauce came next. The scallops were beautifully soft and the Glayva sauce was a perfect accompaniment. This was swiftly followed by pork cheeks with a mash, again they were soft and the mash was creamy smooth. Finally for me came the selection of sliders, they were the cutest and tiniest I’ve seen, but if anything this was the one slightly disappointing dish. They were just not quite distinctive enough, they could really have been served as one bigger one!
For this particular visit I’m going with five stars though, my partner loved the sheer enormity of her chilli prawns, and raved about her steak tartare. Even when I accidentally turned the conversion to Italian maggoty cheese (casu marzu) and the waiter confirmed about it, it still didn’t put her off. I’m not sure that there is a better restaurant in the whole southside!

Popped in for breakfast on Friday, and had heard good things about this place so was pretty excited! The breakfast menu has the usual suspects — full breakfast, benedict, pancakes, croissant… and a mozzerella french toast that I slightly regret not having! went for the full scottish — it was pretty good, without being mindblowing. Not too greasy, and I always prefer my beans on the side so that pleased me!
The coffee is pretty average — I’ve had better. The décor is nice, with white tiles and exposed brick.
Would come back and try the evening menu!

I can not explain how much I loved this place.
Myself and my partner had a table booked and thanks to our ditsy taxi driver who got lost, we arrived late., it was also poring with rain so it put a damper on our moods right away. Ran (literally) through the door 20mins late and was welcomed by what can only be described as smells from heaven and our moods lifted straight away lol
Amazing and friendly staff, Suzie was our girl for the night and she was great. They had called in advance to let us know they hadn’t been given the drinks licence yet so she took our wine and done what had to be done with it.
She explained our way through the menu and told us the specials ect, now I had been excited to try the place as the buzz on social media was bubbling up, although I had to admit — nothing on the menu seemed to initially jump out at me… But when you taste the food you understand lol
We had sushi of the day and the patê to start with — YUM!
My partner had a blue steak (one of the few restaurants who hasn’t an issue with literally touching the meat to the grill on each side the way she likes it — still raw … Yuck lol) and I had the chicken with rice and pepper sauce — dear lord it was a taste sensation !!!
I then had the cheese board that is just the perfect size for one person who hasn’t eaten two courses already lol but I struggled through, I found the will some how. And my partner had the peanut butter Panna cotta with a home made marshmallow … I had a taste obv — amazing!
As I said, nothing in the menu is super fancy or crazy, but when you taste what’s on it you understand why that is. Everything just tastes so good, the standard of service, presentation and taste is a winner for me.
Myself and my partner have decided to make it a monthly date so will most DEFO be back
Take a bow guys and the owner /​head chef Chris — your dream has become a reality and it is amazing!

Black Dove just opened on Friday but we managed to walk in early evening without a booking.
Refurb is of the moment — exposed brick, white brick tiles and mirrors and dark chocolate/​black bench seating and chairs. Very deceptive — with the mezzanine floor it is much larger than it looks from the outside.
Lovely friendly, engaging, knowledgable staff.
Be warned — if visiting over the next few days/​weeks — they don’t have an alcohol licence yet
— so bring your own (we didn’t — but thank goodness for Sainsburys across the road) and no card machine (again 2 banks across the road)
Onto the food — Sharing Small Plates is the name of the game! (although it was only later that we realised the small plates are also available as Mains). The recommend 4 – 6 & side to share for a couple. We ordered 5 and bread — which was just about right for us. Haddock & rooster chips, mini burgers (3 wee ones in a portion), tempura king prawns, tomato, mozzarella & Parma ham & handmade spinach & ricotta ravioli. Everything was cooked perfectly and tasted lovely and beautifully presented. One gripe — the ravioli came with a sage butter dressing (the dressing/​sauce wasnot mentioned on the menu and for a butter hater this meant that my hubbie had to have that to his self!)
We finished with coffees and a delicious brownie with cherry sorbet, homemade marshmallow & cherries– again only one wee gripe — I would have loved more marshmallow — it was YUM :)
All in all — a great first visit — we will be back to sample the beers and wines! & someone of the yummy small plates!
#blackdove