Ron MacKenna reviews Clark & Sons - The Herald, 20 Sep 2010

For a moment, I’m having the roasted fig salad, the loin of pork with tabouleh, and probably a cheeky little pear frangipane tart to finish.

Only for a moment, though. As I order, the young waitress pales, looks at the menu and tells me she shouldn’t have given me that one, sir. It finished at 7pm, sir. Reverse ferret, sir, as we used to say in newspapers.

Sigh. No, not a moan, a sigh. At £12.50 it looked like a bargain. But I can’t complain as the last serving time is clearly printed on it. Well, I say clearly. The lighting in here is so, um, atmospheric – make that downright dim – that I have been scanning the menu by the glare of my mobile phone. Yes. Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, I am Mr Magoo.

So let’s start all over again. This time, however, the print on the a la carte menu is clear enough to notice the large prices jumping out – and yes, I do now feel a moan coming on. This is not as interesting as the pre-theatre menu. And that moan is there until I cut into a crisp-skinned confited chicken leg and scoop up a forkful of delicious, fresh, lightly dressed and herby salad with a vibrant sludge of Moroccan chermoula on the side. Lovely stuff. The salad is superb and the chicken is good – even if the chermoula is a bit of chef’s hokum and should be a marinade.

I’ve also got a platter of smoked fish, which I’ve ordered because Clark & Sons is owned by the same people who own Citation, the mega-pub and restaurant that is occasionally the haunt of procurators-fiscal in Glasgow. I paid quite a lot of money there once for a charcuterie tasting plate that was a tribute to the chef’s ability to artfully twist slices of Milano salami, if nothing else. Reverse ferret again, though. Smooth and creamy smoked halibut, hot smoked salmon, mackerel times two, big tangy caperberries and a salad that comes with a different dressing. Oh, oatcakes too. This is good.

It’s certainly better than I expected when I wandered in, told the waitress I would rather not sit at the empty table surrounded by other empty tables in the middle of a vast empty floor – why do lone diners always get terrible seats? – and slid into a booth at the side with the normal people. Well, I say normal people. It’s hard to make out faces. Couples. Women with bottles of wine. A large family next to me. This dim lighting may be useless for reading but there’s a twinkly glow from the candles that sprinkles fairy dust over the spacious setting.

If only it wasn’t for the bar over there. When this was Rascasse and they wanted to do that all-day, all-foods, all-people gig that they’re trying again – the old women with their shopping bags; the guys with their rows of pints and shellsuits – the whole bar scene undermined the cosy dinner setting. I may be wrong, as I was only in once, but there seems to be a new wall splitting the room. Tonight, anyway, although the Rangers game is on the gigantic telly in the bar, it doesn’t intrude in the restaurant.

Main courses, then? Pork fillet with mash, spinach and parmesan cream. Looks good, tastes good. The mash tastes of potato and not cream or milk. The pork is tender and there’s a lovely parmesan hit to the sauce. Even the roasted pepper and tomato pesto pasta is sweet and packed with distinctive tastes. Though offering it with prawns at £4 extra, and peppered steak at another fiver, would make most Italians laugh out loud.

I should mention the apple and bramble crumble – but when I told the waitress it was rubbish, as the crumble was a damp smear, she took it off the bill. And you always get full marks for that. Overall then? Good meal. Decent local restaurant. I suspect it will do well.

14 Busby Road, Clarkston Toll, East Renfrewshire (www.clark-and-sons.com, 0141 638 3911)

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