The Ubiquitous Chip, Ashton Lane

The Ubiquitous Chip or “The Chip” as it’s more commonly known, has been a firm favourite on the Glasgow fine dining scene for over forty years. Situated in the heart of the tourist heartland of the West End in the atmospheric Ashton Lane, it provides a fantastic all in one restaurant and bar that gives diners a perfect mix of style and quality.

Your meal should start with a visit upstairs to the cosy bar (with its open fireplace) where you can make your choices from a wide range of beers and wines all the time looking out onto the frantic activity of the lane.

Heading downstairs, our meal started with a delicious creamy warm soup appetizer served in little coffee cups. The soup was a fusion of cream and herbs and possibly coconut and was the perfect introduction to our starters. My starter was a plate of West Coast dressed langoustines which I had served hot with garlic butter though they were also available cold with mayonnaise. The langoustines were fresh and flavoursome and went down well accompanied by the plentiful supply of various breads and butter provided as standard in The Chip. I think that you can really tell how good a restaurant is by the freshness of its fish dishes and in this respect The Chip certainly didn’t disappoint.

West Coast langoustines

For my main course I opted for the standard festive season option of roast free-range turkey served with roast potatoes, root vegetables, chipolatas, stuffing and the famous Chip ’71 gravy (which presumably dates back to the opening of the restaurant in 1971). This dish was fine but didn’t upstage the starter in any way. The turkey was fairly standard and the dish would have benefitted from some more gravy to add a bit more overall depth. My fellow diners however raved about their choice which included a superb grilled pork loin and a perfect chargrilled sirloin steak dish.

Free range roast turkey

Puddings were very nice indeed. I opted for a delicious Christmas Pudding served with a rum and raisin anglaise. My fellow diners enjoyed their selections which included a cheesecake made with Scottish Crowdie cheese (this cheese is much underrated. Look out for it in your supermarket or deli as a wonderful local addition to your festive cheese board). If you are looking for something more substantial then the cheese option is certainly a winner. You get to choose three cheeses from a wide selection and these are served on a rustic wooden board with a date and hazelnut chutney, cornichon muffin and savoury wafers.

One small issue that I had with The Chip was on the drinks front. Branded Coca-Cola is sold in 200ml bottles. I always think this is a bit much, especially when served in 330 ml glasses, and especially when diners are paying a lot of money to eat. It also isn’t fair for nominated drivers who rely on reasonably priced soft drinks.

On the whole, the Ubiquitous Chip lived up to its reputation as one of Glasgow’s finest restaurants. The welcoming environment and overall ambiance is second to none, service attentive and the food is up to scratch. The lunch and pre-theatre menus offer particular good value.

12 Ashton Lane
Glasgow
G12 8SJ
0141 334 5007
www.ubiquitouschip.co.uk