Finnieston has so many different cuisines to choose from.
Right in the hub of it all sits Crabshakk - a West End favourite for its 'on the street' Scottish seafood.
The place has a wonderful ambience, with people casually dining around the bar area and window seat stools.
The bright mezzanine upstairs offers a great view of the restaurant.
First up on the menu was one of the specials on the board, the salmon sashimi £7.
The salmon was perfectly fresh, its natural flavours complemented by a sweet soy, sesame and chilli sauce and a zesty juicy seaweed garnish topped with a salmon skin crisp.
'Deliciously succulent'
It’s worth trying something on the board, there is always something delectable and inspiring to try.
Then followed the crab cakes, three deliciously succulent offerings for £9.95. A golden crisp outside and the crab inside melts in the mouth.
A squeeze of lemon brings out the hints of chilli and parsley. So good.
The ‘wee supper’ came shortly after and it was nothing short of magical. It looks exactly how you would want your fish supper to look.
The crispy batter on the fish was a wonderful gold colour and the haddock tasted fresh and beautiful, straight from the sea.
I can say it’s the best fish and chips I’ve personally ever had. For £8.95 it comes as a perfect portion size when trying other dishes on the menu.
The same goes for the chips, they are totally fab - honestly, go try them.
The most impressive platter of 12 oysters on ice was next up for £25, which is such great value for money.
When I was on holiday in Malta recently, in a restaurant by the sea, a portion of simply ‘two oysters’ was €14. So, you are really coming across a bargain here in Scotland.
They come served beautifully on a large silver tray with copious amounts of crushed ice and wedges of lemon.
In the middle a ‘mignonette sauce’ made with vinegar and shallots that you sprinkle on top of the oyster.
The sauce manages to balance out all those salty flavours and to top it all a dash of Tabasco to heighten all the senses and give each oyster an added kick.
To finish the impressive meal, the delicacies of the sea; six seared scallops served in anchovy butter.
You couldn’t ask for better looking scallops, each one had the perfect colour to it.
They were soft in texture and delicate in flavour. The butter gave a lovely glaze and taste to the scallops.
After you go once, you will always go back. Crabshakk puts its best Scottish food out there and it never disappoints.
My Own Take on 'Fish Cakes'
Choose from any fish and any ingredients you want and bind them together to make your own ‘fishcake’.
I bought some salmon fillets and seasoned them with salt + pepper and finely chopped parsley and a little lime juice.
I wrapped it in a foil parcel which is the best way to seal in all the flavour and keeps the salmon nice and tender.
You cook the salmon for about 15 mins in an oven at 180 degrees.
Once it’s cooked the flesh of the salmon flakes away easily from the skin so you can add it to the rest of the ingredients.
'Crack an egg'
In a bowl, I combined a handful of chopped fresh coriander, 2 spring onions chopped finely, a diced red chilli, a spoonful of Thai red curry paste, the grated zest and the juice of a lime and 4 spoonsful of panko breadcrumbs.
Then add in all that delicious salmon and crack an egg to bind everything together.
This should form a salmon mixture which you can mould into 4 or 5 rounded fish cake balls, depending on how big/small you would like them.
You then fry your fish cakes over medium heat for about 8 or 10 minutes, until cooked through and a nice golden brown colour will indicate when they are ready, you should only need to turn them once.
Try and press them down when they are cooking to ensure that it whole fishcake is getting the heat.
I made a simple mixed leaf cucumber and chilli salad to accompany the fish cakes and a squeeze of fresh lime is essential to complete it all and a little fresh coriander to garnish.
Crabshakk
1114 Argyle Street, Finnieston
G3 8TD
0141 334 6127
