The specials board is where the real stars hang out. We have a couple of fat, tender octopus legs, charred into sticky smokiness
If you live in Glasgow, you may be a touch jaded by the ongoing chunter about the regeneration of Finnieston, so I apologise in advance. But for the cool, culinary-minded citizen, it seems there’s only one game in town. The business most often quoted as kickstarting the regeneration of this once forgotten corner between the city centre and the West End is Crabshakk, launched by architect John Macleod with his wife Lynne, which introduced us Weegies to the joys of sparklingly fresh fish not necessarily coated in batter. Me, I’d argue that The Buttery was drawing restaurant fans down Finnieston way many years before, but there’s no arguing that Crabshakk has had a massive influence, its tiny room packed to bursting from day one. And success breeds success, hence the rapid colonisation.
Now the pioneer is doing a bit of its own breeding: Table 11 (so called because Crabshakk has 10 tables) has been around for a while, acting as a tiny, unofficial overflow for the big sibling, but they’ve recently annexed the shop next door and turned it into a fully-fledged restaurant in its own right. It’s a little beauty, too, jumping straight on to my list of favourite restaurants in the city.
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