Some times there is nothing more needed at lunch time that some good food and some shared laughs to make you feel like leaving the office for lunch was worthwhile. Today was no exception - 4 people wander out the office turn left and see what takes their fancy. We opted for Cafe Bayan - a small Russian eaterie just up Argyle Street from Tesco. And it was one of the most fun lunches I ever had - it is also the first lunch in a while where we had to pick up ‘Big Eat’ bags of Walkers crisps to get us through till the end of the day.
The lovely, attentive and polite waitress did mention that portions were a touch small but hey for almsot £5 a plate how small could they be? Put it this way when Gav chased after the waitress to ask for the lunch time special (£5.25)we thought he was mad.
First to arrive was Gavs soup/blini combo lunch meal deal thing. As we were to find soup isn’t what we normally think of as soup. A bowl containing some vegetables arrives at the table and the waitress held one of those stainless steel teapots loved nby 1970’s style roadside cafes and proceeded to pour the soup over the vegetables. Gav thought the soup was good but the other three of us just sat dumfounded. Next to arrive was Andrew Ones chicken parfait thing (£3.75) which was two slices of toast (small slices Ishould confirm) with a slice of pate - the plate had a chutney smeared in that ever so polite Master Chef style.
By this stage we were almost rolling about on the floor with each dish. Each was getting smaller than the last - it was like we had gone through the looking glass and out food had been genetically modified with the wrong potion! Straight away Andrew Twos lamb arrived. To a hushed silence arrived the succulent lamb covered in bread crumbs (£4.75) - as soon as the waitress had gone it was compared to be a scampi - not a portion and indiviudal scampi!
I was now freaked out. The contents of each plate were requiring an ever stronger telescopic lense to locate and mine was still to arrive. Having ordered the pigeon served with Rhubard (3 ways - £4.75) i thought it was going to be miniscule. And to be honest each component was really good - succulent pigeon, a gentle sauce that didnt detract from the flavour or texture of the pigeon, siome lovely little pieces of rhubarb jelly, a deep fried rhubard jelly and a rhubarb sorbet.
At this stage gavs blini - which he though tasted of omlette arrived and every one had finished. We had no choice but to pot for desert. Even if it was rubbish we would have eaten. Having opted for the orange polenta Gav and I were not dissapointed succulent and moist warmned polenta cake with a lovely chocolate latte fondant on the side was fantastic - and at less than three pound we were onto a winner.
The two andys were less fortunate - if you see an apple crumble on a menu what do you see in your minds eye? Well this sure wasn’t that dish. A cold deconstructed apple crumble of apples in suace with some cream - may have been a custard - covered in a tiny little sprinkle of crumble gave us all the giggles.
I think our ‘light lunch’ and our reponses may be a bit unfair but we all had a great time - I’ve not laughed this much in ages. The food was good - if a little misconcieved - and the chef has talent. What he needs are bigger portions - East European tapas seems a mental concept - and more heartyness. That said I’ll be going back - just remembering to order more and not go for lunch. Maybe a relaxing dinner with friends or a weekend beer and food session may be more appropriate.
Photos - the food looked amazing just a touch teeny for us big strapping lads.
12 Elliot Place
25 High Street,Glasgow,