THE OLD man used to have a saying about what could be picked up by the bone at the table and eaten, and what absolutely couldn’t. In polite society. Damned if I can remember it. I am not sure if roasted duck leg would have been in it. I lift this one up anyway, to finish it off.
Out the corner of my eye I see the head of a woman sitting in the plaid booth across the room pop up in surprise as she sees the chubster in the M&S suit take a bone in his hand, but hey, who cares? This is too good. The skin is seared and properly seasoned, the meat pink but juicy and full of flavour, a few of those outstanding chips fried in duck fat still on the plate, some of the yolk from that large fried duck egg oozing all over them and ... a clearly hand-prepared, chunky smoked pineapple relish with a real chilli kick to it to finish things off. I don’t know if there are any destination dishes in Glasgow, but this could easily be one. Duck leg and chips. Simple, proper and very, very good.
To think that my expectations of the Partick Duck Club actually being open tonight had been extremely low. Put that down to the dreaded Facebook page promising all sorts of things and as usual delivering not much of any use, certainly not a phone number that worked or information that looked vaguely fresh – just general soon-to-be-open trembling excitement.
Facebook is cheap, even free, but I find it unreliable when it comes to restaurants, its layout is always terrible and in the excitement of an opening everyone almost always forgets to update it.
But here I am anyway, having set off more in hope than expectation. Amid duck-egg green walls, flickering candles, those dangling exposed filament bulbs that are everywhere nowadays and even, and I like this bit, Sultans of Swing playing on the sound system. “Way on down south, way on down south,” Mark Knopfler sings.
OK, we’re actually way on down west, in the used-to-be-fashionable-before-it-became-pricey-and-bland west end. But already I’m thinking this is what’s needed to freshen the area up. I had a very good little bowl of fish pie a moment ago – creamy, piped with real mash, filled with nuggets of seafood that are large enough to impart taste, the odd prawn, some white fish, a pleasant smoked haddock after-taste.
The place is run by a couple of young dudes starting out on their own, apparently. I just spoke to one of them, and we discussed those crispy tobacco onions I had tasted. There’s obviously a decent chef in that tiny kitchen, a menu that’s simple and completely unpretentious and it’s all reasonably priced: duck-fat fries with crispy tobacco onions or nduja sausage for £4, broccoli and cauliflower with roast almond butter for £3.50. And everything is carefully prepared.
It’s apparently only Partick Duck Club's second day of trading but you wouldn’t know it. The vibe is relaxed and the place comfortably busy. Those plaid booths across from me are completely occupied, the two-seater tables along this wall not so much. There are actually folks on the street outside right now standing on tiptoes, peering through the high window with that it's-a-new-place look all over their coupons. Or maybe it’s there’s-a-man-holding-a duck-bone expression.
That duck alone at £12 I would come back for. But there’s a simple little dessert served in a teacup still to try, a nicely tart lemon posset, chunks of almost gooey ginger parked on top, sweet preserved rhubarb beside that. “We make everything from fresh in here,” the waitress had said when I had asked about the posset. I would come back for this too. It only costs £4.75. There are langoustines with sourdough at £2.50 each on the menu, as well as rarebit with smoked haddock, but it’s a short and straightforward list.
Nothing wrong with that. I think they’ll do well on it.
Partick Duck Club
27 Hyndland Street, Glasgow (0141 334 9099)
Menu: Duck in the name so duck and duck fat fries on the menu, duck egg too, nduja sausage, or tobacco onions, langoustine with sourdough, fish pies a go-go. Simple but well done. 4/5
Atmosphere: Cool and relaxed vibe, simple and sensible menu, comfortable and modern decor. What’s not to like? 5/5
Service: Relaxed, friendly and they barely blink when I order a portion of tobacco onion chips to try along with my dessert. 5/5
Price: It's the west end of Glasgow so somehow £12 for probably the best duck leg, chips and duck egg in the city seems an absolute bargain. Duck fat fries at £3.50, desserts at a fiver and under. Great value. 5/5
Food: Simple menu, simple food, but all of it done very well. Go for the teacup full of dessert and the duck leg and duck fries. 7/10
Total: 26/30
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