And toddler came too

There's nothing quite like presenting live television to put you off your food. We were all set to go out for a sumptuous dinner when the phone rang and a voice asked me to host Seven Days, an hour-and- a-half of live topical discussion on STV and Grampian last Sunday. A loud swallow preceded my nervous agreement, but even as the deal was struck my stomach careered into spin cycle and it became apparent that the planned slap-up meal would have to wait.

In fact, apart from the odd light snack, it wasn't until after the programme had finished that my stomach unclenched enough to put eating back on the agenda. It was Sunday afternoon and suddenly all I could think about was food.

So a substantial meal was called for but where could we go? My wee boy was enthusiastically lobbying for an American burger chain but, against all odds, we held out until we stumbled upon the ideal spot.

Beetlenut is situated at the corner of Dumbarton Road and Byres Road in Glasgow and, looking at the exterior, you could be forgiven for thinking that this place was going modern - white and stark with dance music throbbing constantly. Happily the interior belies this impression with the most relaxed atmosphere you could wish for. Long couches line the walls as groups of adults sit silently reading the Sundays, or chatting over large, foaming cappucinos as the subtle strains of The Beautiful South permeate the air.

Keen not to disturb such relaxed ambience with the arrival of an over-excited four-year-old, we plumped for a seat in the corner. However, the waitress could not have been friendlier, insisting that if the wee man wanted to lie on a couch and sing She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain then that would be just fine. This makes the whole eating experience a pleasure to be savoured. On this occasion, there was no need to speed eat while covering your offspring's face with the menu to hide him from the grimaces off the assembled staff. This kind of attitude still happens far too much in this country, but, happily, not at Beetlenut.

There are several menus to choose from - lunch, standard or daily specials - and they offer an amazing blackboard full of exotic coffees. Deciding what to order is the only problem with such an extensive choice. Eventually, we went for roast peppers and feta cheese, wan tons, sundried foccacia and jerk chicken and all the goodies arrived together as requested.

The wan tons were huge, each one a completely different shape from its predecessor, and each shouting: "Homemade". The fillings were hot, tender and tasty. The foccacia, by contrast, looked a bit plain, but was very tasty. There were no chunks of anything on top of the bread, but then have you ever genuinely enjoyed the sensation of chomping into a rich, salty sundried tomato? Their technique seems to allow all the flavours to soak into the bread without overkill. It was universally declared delicious.

The peppers and feta sat on a big pile of crunchy iceberg with a good dressing. For my taste, the peppers could have been cooked a little longer, but the crumbly feta made forgiveness merely a formality.

The jerk chicken had a marvellous flavour, which went right through the extremely tender meat. This was served in a rich, tomato sauce and was so tasty there was actually a battle for each mouthful with the wee man. High praise indeed from one who is known to avoid eating anything unless it has been fashioned into the shape of a dinosaur.

Clean plates all round and, on a roll now, we chose desserts. I ordered a sundae dish packed with fresh creamy fruit parfait. The flavours of raspberries and other summer fruits shone through and allowed me to delude myself that it probably wasn't that fattening. This self-delusion persisted even in the face of the tiny caramelised gingery nuggets and homemade cookie topping.

The hot fudge sundae was a mountain of ice cream topped with a hot, gooey, sweet sauce. The only let down was the sticky toffee pud which was more like a Victoria sponge, with a little toffee sauce drizzled over it.

But who's complaining? Four beers and a soft drink later, the bill was only #40. We left wider and happy.

Alison Craig presents Grow For It on STV, Tuesdays at 7.30pm. Her Scot FM show broadcasts on Saturdays, 10am-2pm Place: Beetlenut Address: Partick Cross, Glasgow Telephone: 0141-337 1145 Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 11am-10pm, Sat 11am-11pm, Sun noon-10pm. All major credit cards accepted. Smoking throughout. Disabled access

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