THE IVY EASTER SPECIAL MENUS WILL MAKE YOU BUNNYHOP

The Ivy Buchanan Street has launched an Easter Specials menu to celebrate  Spring. 

 

We love getting into the spirit of Easter and The airy is one of those restaurants that makes theshowbizlion.com roar. 

Nothing can beat it’s special atmosphere, excellent service and tasty food - and for a special occasion - or an exquisite catch up with friends it’s the place to go. 

During these Covid conscious times it’s spacious enough to give you breathing room too. 

The stylish eaterie  is celebrating the Easter season with a series of delicious specials incorporating limited edition cocktails, a spring lamb dish and showstopping Easter Nest dessert. 

The enticing offering will be available to guests for Easter weekend only (Friday, 15 until Monday, 18 April) alongside the brasserie’s inimitable classics, fusing fresh seasonal ingredients and delectable culinary twists.

 

The Grilled Lamb Cutlets (£25.95) will be served with a crushed pea and herb purée with slow-cooked  lamb shoulder, asparagus, baby courgette, sun-blush tomatoes, red wine and olive sauce, while chocolate lovers will go crazy for the Easter Nest (£9.25), a nod to the humble bird’s egg, featuring a divine chocolate sponge, piled with dark and white chocolate mousse and Kataifi pastry and topped off with chocolate eggs and lemon balm. 

 

Complementing the dishes in true style is the limited edition cocktail menu – featuring an Easter twist on three classic aperitifs, a Chocolate Negroni (£10.25), an Easter Egg Martini (£10.95) and a White Rabbit G&T (£10.25).

 

To book a table visit TheIvyGlasgow.com

CAFE ANDALUZ CELEBRATES WITH NEW OCTOBER FIESTA MENU IN SCOTLAND

WE love a Spanish fiesta at theshowbizlion.com and we had just that at Glasgow’s Cafe Andaluz West End. 

The restaurant has just launched a brand new fiesta menu meaning two people can enjoy five dishes from their Fiesta Nacional de España'  menu along with two desserts for £24.

As the southernmost region of Spain, Andalusia, with its wealth of fertile farmland, vertiginous mountain ranges and rugged coastline, is one of the most gastronomically unique areas of the country. The regions cuisine is dictated by the fish in the sea, the animals in the fields and the wilds of the mountains. 

With a string of whitewashed hill towns, bright sunny skies, vibrant festivals and tempting tapas, Andalucía is the soul of Spain and until October 17 guests at Cafe Andaluz restaurants across Scotland are invited to enjoy a taste of Spain’s southern coast as the restaurant brand introduce a special 'menu in celebration of Spain's National Day. 

Diners at Cafe Andaluz at restaurants in Glasgow's West End, Glasgow City Centre, Edinburgh New Town, Edinburgh Old Town and Aberdeen City Centre will enjoy a selection of the best Spanish tapas and wine around, from the best of Southern Spain and Andalucia region. The menu available for a limited time only is priced at £24 and includes the choice of any 5 tapas and 2 desserts between 2 people. 

Customers who book at Cafe Andaluz during this time will also be entered into a prize draw to win an all expenses paid trip to the Spanish region to soak up the very best of flamenco, fiestas, sherry, siestas, sun-gilded hilltop towns and shimmering sea. 

The 'Fiesta Nacional de España' menu includes a range of Tapas; TORTILLA ESPAÑOLA - a traditional mainstay of Spanish tapas, tortilla is a thick omelette filled with sliced potato

& onion; ENSALADA ANDALUZA - a salad of asparagus tips, artichokes & sun blush tomatoes with a sweet hinamin dressing; PATATAS BRAVAS - skin-on halved new potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce & alioli; ENSALADA DE PIÑONES - a salad of pearl couscous, cherry tomatoes and Spanish olives, tossed with lemon, olive oil, sea salt, fresh basil & toasted pine nuts. 

Fish Tapas available include CALAMARES - crisp-fried classic calamari rings served with fresh lemon & smoked paprika alioli; LUBINA CON SALSA MEDITERRÁNEA - fillet of sea bass with slow-cooked red peppers, garlic, paprika, chilli, black olives, capers & anchovies and GAMBAS PIL PIL - hot roast king prawns with olive oil, chilli, paprika & garlic while meat tapas include ALBÓNDIGAS - traditional spiced pork & beef meatballs in a rich tomato sauce; CHORIZO AL VINO - sliced chorizo sautéed in red wine and a restaurant favourite; CROQUETAS DE JAMÓN Y QUESO - crisp croquettes stuffed with Serrano ham & mozzarella cheese, served with garlic alioli. 

There are gluten free vegetarian options too and we enjoyed three gluten free veggie dishes of Patadas Gratinadas which consisted of mouthwatering potatoes in a creamy cheesy garlic sauce, Pimientos De Padron - salted and seared pan peppers that just pop in your mouth, and a refreshing Ensalada de Mallorca with butter beans, roasted sweet potatoes, pomegranate seeds, onions and pine nuts. 

We also enjoyed the fresh Shetland mussels Mejillones A La Marinera cooked in a beautifully moreish creamy sauce and the Pollo Marinado chicken with its soothing chilli youghurt. Everything was fresh and service was with a smile. They even made us mocktails when we said we were driving. 

To finish who could resist the perfectly crunchy speciality Churros with their chocolate dipping sauce and some ice cream with fresh fruits. 

At £24 it’s a filling menu that offers something a bit different. 

Tony Conetta, Director of The Di Maggios Restaurant Group (The DRG) said:

"Cafe Andaluz restaurants recreate the magic and charm of an authentic Spanish dining experience with an extensive range of dishes showcasing the best of southern Spain's food and drink. Our popular tapas and mouth-watering menus showcase the essence of the Andalusion region and highlight the rich and flavoursome cuisine that Spain is famed for".

Diners can book a table now via a unique online pre-booking link for ‘Fiesta Nacional de España'; https://m.me/cafeandaluzdrg?ref=Reward Available from Sunday 13th October to Thursday 17th October (inclusive) between 12pm - 10:30pm across Cafe Andaluz Scotland wide locations - Glasgow West End, Glasgow City Centre, Edinburgh New Town, Edinburgh Old Town and Aberdeen City Centre. 

The special menu is priced at £24 and includes the choice of any 5 tapas and 2 desserts between 2 people. There are both vegan and vegetarian tapas options available as part of the dining offer as well as 'Para Compartir' (sharing plates) & tapas accompaniments from an additional £3. 

To make a reservation and to book now for 'Fiesta Nacional de España' visit: https://m.me/cafeandaluzdrg?ref=Reward

To enter the online prize draw please visit Cafe Andaluz facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/cafeandaluzdrg/

NATIONAL BEER DAY BRINGS EXTRA FROTH TO GLASGOW AND BEYOND

IT’S National Drink Beer Day this Saturday and to celebrate we’ve compiled a list of facts about one of our favourite drinks.

1. In ancient Egypt, beer was traditionally brewed by women. Beer soup was also a popular breakfast dish in medieval Britain and was often made with beer and cheese.

2. President Obama was the very first president to brew his own beer on White House grounds. The White House Honey Porter and White House Honey Ale were brewed using honey produced in beehives at the White House.

3.  For more than 5,000 years beer has been brewed in Scotland and there are currently more than 150 breweries in Scotland producing around 2,000 regular beers and thousands more special event beers.

4. This Saturday Dakhin South Indian restaurant in Candleriggs Glasgow which also celebrates its fifteenth birthday this month has partnered with Kingfisher beer to give a free pint with every main dish ordered from its menu. Just quote ‘15th birthday’ when you book a table.

5. In 2013, Germany built a 5km beer pipeline to the Veltins-Arena, a major football stadium in the city of Gelsenkirchen. There is a Thor Beer pipeline in Randers, Denmark and the Halve Maan Brewery opened one in Bruges, Belgium.

6. Beer has been around for so long that the moon even has a crater named Beer. Beer is the world’s oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic drink and the third most popular drink – after water and tea.

7. Cenosillicaphobia is the fear of an empty beer glass. Obviously ‘the fear’ can come  from an beer glass too. The world's longest hangover lasted four weeks after a Scotsman consumed 60 pints of beer.

8.Stanford researchers found that beer bubbles create a gravity-defying loop. Bubbles head up in the center where frictional drag from the glass is less and moves down on the outside as the top gets crowded.