Traditional Italian is given an oomph with Asian umami at this love letter to Italy in Glasgow
Celentano's sits on the corner of Cathedral Square in Glasgow, opposite the imposing Victorian cemetery Necropolis, where The Batman was filmed. The restaurant, owned and run by Dean and Anna Parker, sits inside Cathedral House, a long-established hotel business run separately by Laura McKenzie.
Dean Parker, former executive chef of Robin Gill's Darby's in London, and his wife Anna, who takes on the operations manager role, have created in just over a year a relaxed Italian restaurant with a style that comes from Dean's background in Sorella and the Dairy, both in Clapham, as well as the couple's travels around Italy.
The couple have a close relationship to their suppliers and a philosophy of nose-to-tail and zero waste. Dean says: "The food is not fussy, it's simply a celebration of the produce, and sustainability is important to all of us."
In the kitchen you will find Dean and his team working with a whole cow, with the legs used for charcuterie and ragu and the steaks for their feasting menu. "It's how we like to eat," he says.
Fermentation and preservation play a big part, with Edinburgh's Free Company supplying vegetables from March to October, when they buy in bulk and preserve. The snacks of whipped nduja with cultured cream and pickled radish (£6.50) and preserved fennel salsa verde (£5) are examples of his way of thinking.
"Glasgow is an exciting place to be, and I think we are the first Italian that's not traditionally Italian," says Dean. "We make our own ricotta, and our byproducts are just as important to us. Take our whey, for example: Mossgiel Farm supplies us with milk to make our own butter and that's the byproduct."
Other suppliers include Gilchesters for flour, David Lowrie for fish and MacDuffs for meat. Dry ingredients company Ren's Pantry supplies spices including a berbere mix that is fermented and used in a chilli margarita (£10.50). Honey on the comb from their own beehives is used in a cheese plate of Errington Farm Corra Linn, a raw ewes' milk cheese, and Elrick Log, a young goats' cheese, served with seeded oat crackers (£12.50). The restaurant's beehives are based at a local hospital, and it has just released its first batch of honey, with a percentage of the proceeds donated to the hospital's cancer ward.
The menu is classic in format with snacks, antipasti, primi and secondi, but the flavours provide a modern interpretation. There are influences from all over Italy and Asia too, with ingredients such as kimchi, fermented seaweeds and kombu to be found. A traditional dish is customer favourite the agnolotti with homemade ricotta and a seasonal vegetable (£11/£17), as well as pappardelle with Dexter beef and Bonnington Linn cheese (£11/ £17). The bestselling dish is a snack of smoked cod doughnut with kimchi (£3.75).
Anna oversees the beverage buying with a small list of wine suppliers, with wine served in carafes as well as by the bottle, alongside a collection of homemade spirits, including vermouth, limoncello and arancello and a long list of cocktails. The vermouth is used in their best-selling negroni (£9.50) and their homemade cold brew coffee liqueur is part of the espresso martini, made with Belvedere vodka, Caravan coffee and tonka bean (£10.50).
Dean and Anna have made their mark in Glasgow by differentiating themselves with their menus. Anna says: "Dean's food is different and adventurous and anything that he can make from scratch he will give it a go.
"We take inspiration from the product itself," adds Dean. After spending time in Florence, Tuscany, Sorrento and the Amalfi coast, the couple named the restaurant after a song by Adriano Celentano that they heard on repeat on their honeymoon. It's a restaurant that radiates love of the ingredient and a passion for the product.
28-32 Cathedral Square, Glasgow G4 0XA
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