Retracing Anthony Bourdain in Scotland
Following the late chef through Edinburgh and Glasgow
The late, great, Anthony Bourdain frequented Scotland many times — talking fondly about the country, its cities and its people. As a journalist, Bourdain paid visits to the two great cities of Scotland, Edinburgh and Glasgow, for his shows No Reservations and later, Parts Unknown.
With his wry sense of humour, talent for conversation and superior culinary knowledge, Bourdain would visit to local chippies, cafes and some of the most celebrated restaurants in the country. From lunching on a meal of deep-fried haggis and BBQ king rib, to dining on the finest seafood Scotland has to offer, Bourdain gave viewers an insight into the culinary scene of the two cities.
Bourdain visited Scotland’s capital to shoot No Reservations 12 years ago, back in 2007 — while his visit to Glasgow for Parts Unknown would be eight years later, in 2015.
I took a trip around Edinburgh and Glasgow, paying each of Bourdain’s stops a visit to see what these places were like today, and answer some questions for both fans of Bourdain and fans of good food and drink.
A number of years on, what has become of these places? Can you still visit them? What are their stories, what’s on their menus and importantly, do they do deep-fried Mars bars?
Glasgow
“From my very first time — it was Glasgow. My favourite city in Scotland. One of my favourite places on Earth.”
Rogano
“I never order fish on Monday.”
Described by Bourdain as a “very old school institution” during his 2015 visit, Rogano is an iconic Glaswegian spot, and one of the city’s oldest surviving restaurants. Famed for its unique decor and quality food, Rogano serves up some of the finest seafood from Scotland’s west coast — all inside a interior inspired by the RMS Queen Mary ocean liner.
His now-iconic caution to never eat fish on Mondays doesn't apply to Rogano, whose seafood comes fresh daily. Its famous oysters come straight from Loch Fyne.
Family run and Glaswegian, Rogano has been serving up seafood staples for 85 years with both its menu and quality never waning.
Deputy Manager, Tianna has been at Rogano for 12 years, and shows me around the venue. The fish soup, she says, is one of their signature dishes, as well as their lobster thermidor. Both have been on the menu since the 1930’s.
Interestingly, the restaraunt houses a small, cabinet-sized musuem at its front door — containing memorabilia from Rogano’s history. Menus dating back to the 1950’s have been sent in from across the world from previous customers — “one menu from 1956 was sent in all the way from Canada.”
Frequented by the likes of Rod Stewart, Sir Alex Ferguson and Ewan McGregor, the restaurant is known for not only its seafood, but also its unique interior.
All the wood in Rogano is taken off the Queen Mary ocean liner, as are some of its stained glass windows and mirrors. The Mary’s builders who dined at Rogano would give the restaurant the wood and mirrors as a way to pay off their bar bills. The carpet is also taken from the Queen Mary and cigratte marks can be seen scattered over it, a relic from a previous life.
Rogano’s manager Ann explains that table 16 is the preferred seat for the famous clientele of Rogano. With the benefit of being opposite a floor to ceiling mirror, the table allows for famous diners to see the front door while remaining hidden themselves, such is the angle of the booth. Meaning they can make a quick getaway if needed, Ann explains.
On Bourdain’s visit in 2015, accompanied by Glaswegian comedian Janey Godley, he took a booth opposite the main bar, as he dined on oysters and Lobster Thermidor on a busy Friday night. Ann recalls that soon after the release of the Glasgow episode of Parts Unknown, Bourdain sent the restaurant a DVD copy of the episode.
At Rogano, you certainly can eat the fish on Mondays.
Old College Bar
“Drink a cold beer and let somebody else figure it out.”
Nestled inconspicuously on Glasgow’s historic High Street sits the oldest pub in Glasgow, Old College Bar. A rare find nowadays — the bar is a great place to grab a cheap pint in unassuming, but welcoming surroundings. Free from television screens, hordes of students and craft beer, Old College Bar has been offering the same great service for years — a quiet spot to enjoy a cheap, cold pint of Tennent’s.
At Old College Bar you can’t order your drinks via an app — the bar only accepts cash. Neither can you catch the English Premier League here but instead, a weekly poker night is held every Monday, while Wednesday is a sing-a-long evening.
Its claim to fame is its status as “Glasgow’s oldest public house”. A plaque above the pub entrance commemorates the buildings construction in 1515, but it didn’t start officially trading until 1810. Elaine Moir, the manager and licence holder, explains that Old College Bar “has the oldest hostelry inn licence ever recorded in Glasgow.”
Elaine actually can be seen serving drinks in Bourdain’s Glasgow episode of Parts Unknown and says that Bourdain was eager to know more about deep-fried Mars bars. “Lots of tourists come in because of that episode”, explains Elaine. She recalls that he quickly came in, had a pint, chatted with the locals and staff before then leaving.
If you want to follow Bourdain and have a drink at Old College Bar, the pints are cheap and the atmosphere relaxed — just remember to take out some cash.
The University Cafe
“There are few things I care about less than coffee. I have two big cups every morning: light and sweet, preferably in cardboard cup. Any bodega will do. I don’t want to wait for my coffee.”
Located just off the University of Glasgow main campus in the city’s west end, The University Cafe has been a popular spot for a quick bite of comfort food, a coffee and a homemade ice-cream for a hundred years. The quaint cafe has both a seating area and a take-away shop next door.
The cafe celebrated its 100 year birthday last year, making it one of Glasgow’s longest running establishments — and it’s been in the same pair of family-run hands since 1918.
Liana Verrechia is one of the fourth generation of Verrechia’s to work at the cafe. Her two brothers currently run the restaurant while her great grandfather opened it after moving over from Italy. He was a ship’s carpenter, and did almost all the woodwork inside the cafe — much of which has stayed the same since 1918.
As well as food and hot drinks, University Cafe is famed for its homemade ice cream — which it makes in a room off the main restaurant. Made to a secret recipe that has never been written down, even Liana isn’t privy to the ingredients and method — “I’m the only one in the family that has never been told it!”
Bourdain paid a visit to the cafe near the end of his Glasgow trip, ordering its fish and chips and the cheesy chips with curry sauce. “Some die hard fans come in”, says Liana. “A couple made a point of doing all the stops in Glasgow once.” However, the bulk of the cafe’s clientele are made up of regular locals and students.
And yes, they do a deep-fried Mars bar.
Mother India
“India is one of the few places in the world where I could eat vegetarian every day and still be happy.”
Opened in 1990 in Glasgow’s west end, Mother India is one of the most popular Indian restaurants in the city. It has spawned further cafe-style venues in Glasgow, and also Edinburgh.
Bourdain dined here on a lunch of the speciality lamb curry with naan, and the restaurant has become one of the best places to go for authentic, tasty and well-priced Indian cuisine, predominantly from the north of India — but with a slight ‘Glaswegian twist’.
I ate at Mother India on a Monday night and the three-floored restaurant’s main dining room was filled with with both large parties and regular customers. Candle lit and ornamented in dark wood, the restaurant is an impressive sight.
Hugely popular with locals, one staff member tells me that regulars often come more than once a week while on a normal weekend night, 500 people will be served across the three floors during the evening rush. For such a large venue, the food is delicious and the service from the large body of staff, exemplary.
You won’t find Tennent’s here, but rather a pint of India’s Kingfisher is available to wash down your naan.
Edinburgh
“Edinburgh is a place I feel at home.”
The Mermaid
“The traditional centre of Scottish gastronomy — the chip shop.”
Down towards the Leith waterfront sits the aptly named The Mermaid.
The family run chip shop serves fresh fish and chips, kebabs and deep fried-everything. King Ribs (what Bourdain ate upon his visit in 2007), haggis, pizza and Mars bars are just some of the deep fried treats that The Mermaid serves up on a daily basis.
Rita Crolla manages the take-away restaurant alongside her brother. It was passed down to Rita and her brother by their father, an Italian who moved to Edinburgh at 17 years old. “We’re a very well established family run business”, says Rita.
In Bourdain’s The Nasty Bits, he talks about the superiorty of locally run take-away restaurants, opposed to the McDonalds of the world. Family owned, able to change to the demands of the clientele and with locally sourced produce — Bourdain would always seek out a place like this over a generic chain.
The Mermaid is an embodiment of this. The menu and recipes have remained the same over the years and shop has a loyal group of local regulars, who come for cheap, fresh fish and chips — the restaurant’s most popular item on the menu.
Bourdain ate at The Mermaid with author Ian Rankin back in 2007, and alongside the traditional fish and chips, he also tried his hand at deep-fried haggis and the BBQ king rib.
“People have arrived in Taxis becuase they saw us on television”, explains Rita. “It’s amazing — people from all over the world have come in because of that episode.”
The Oxford Bar
“It’s my favourite pub in Scotland.”
A small, understated building off a quiet street in Edinburgh’s new town, The Oxford Bar opened its doors in 1826 and is as old school as old school comes.
The bar area only has stools perched up at the bar itself, predominantly aimed at The Oxford’s many, friendly regulars. Real ale is served, while the pub recieved an award from the Campaign for Real Ale for its untouched interior.
Incidentally, The Cambridge Bar is just down the street.
Featuring prominently in Ian Rankin’s ‘Inspector Rebus’ detective series, The Oxford Bar is the titular character’s favourite local. It is also a personal favourite of Rankin’s, who is a regular at the pub.
The Rankin connection at The Oxford remains strong — pictures of the author are framed on the walls, a ‘Rebus Scotch Whisky’ is displayed at the bar while bartender Ramsay Hodgson explains that on the weekend, “two people a day come into The Oxford because of Rankin.”
Pub regular, Andrew Todd, recalls when he asked Rankin to sign a book for his newly born grandson. “Rankin happily signed the book, saying I look forward to buying you a pint in 17 years and 3 months.”
Andrew has his own whisky that is sold by The Oxford, a blended single malt Scotch that features Andrew on the packaging — it is called ‘Bollocks to Brexit’ and is mainly popular with Andrew and other regular patrons.
Andrew recalls a story about the old publican, Willie Ross. A war veteran, Willie was court marshalled twice for the same offence — selling British equipment to the Japanese.
When Willie was in charge of The Oxford back in the late 1900's, the Duke of Atholl visited the bar upon a trip to Edinburgh and asked for a pint of their best bitter. Back then, to ask for such an English pint was frowned upon, and Willie politely told the Duke to “fuck off”. When it became clear to Willie that he had told that to a strand of royalty, Willie politely corrected himself and said to the Duke; “oh I am sorry, please fuck off my grace!”
The Kitchin
“Leith is situated on Edinburghs waterfront — the docks. When once that meant undesirable elements, it now means prime access to seafood.”
Opened in 2006 on Leith’s waterfront by renowned chef Tom Kitchin, The Kitchin has gone on to become one of Edinburgh’s, and the UK’s, most celebrated restaurants.
After winning a Michelin star just six months after opening its doors, The Kitchin doubled in size almost overnight and has gone on to feature on national and international television shows — while retaining the same excellent, locally sourced food and impeccable service that made it such a hit.
The wait for a midweek-night table is around three months, and for a table on one of the busy weekend nights the wait is around six months.
Matteo Inzaina, the restaurant manager at The Kitchin, described Leith as once being “the graveyard of restaraunts — no one would open a restaurant here.” But thanks to Tom’s determination to source only the very best local produce, and his wife Michaela’s admittance on impeccable and familiar service, The Kitchin became one of the first restaurants in Leith to not just survive, but thrive.
Matteo explains that the ethos of both Tom and the restaurant is “from nature to plate” — but what does this mean? “What produce is available today?” Matteo says. “What comes from nature today, goes on your plate. What is the best way to respect the ingredients and the produce — the best way to highlight it as much as possible?”
“We want people to go; God! That was so good, I want to come back tomorrow”, explains Matteo. “The very best produce will come here directly. It doesn’t wait for someone to come.”
The Kitchin is renowned, for among other things, its seafood — which is sourced both locally on the east coast, as well as other parts of Scotland. Deep-sea fish is sourced from the North Sea and seasonal fish comes from the east, while the best shellfish is to be found on Scotland’s west coast. The restaurant ensures that it can get it as fresh and as soon as possible.
From nature to plate may mean that deep-fried haggis or pizza is absent from the menu at The Kitchin, but it does mean that like Bourdain in 2007, you can sample some of the best produce and dishes that Scotland can offer.
Anthony Bourdain visited these place some years ago now, but he visited each one for a reason. Each spot is still open for business, still producing high quality food and drink in their own right and still as welcoming as they were when Bourdain visited all those years ago.
Take a trip to Glasgow and Edinburgh, stopping either for a drink and a bite to eat — and you may just find a bit more about those places and those cities than just what they offer on their menus.
Anthony I’m sure did.
This story is published in Writers on the Run. If you’re interested in submitting your travel stories please visit our submission guidelines.
