Review: Dakota Deluxe

Dakota Deluxe
179 West Regent Street, Glasgow City Centre G1 4BP

Wow - Dakota brings something really fresh and special to the heart of Glasgow with their new Deluxe hotel just off Blythswood Square. We'd stayed at the Eurocentral Hotel a while back and were really impressed, so booked in for an early dinner to visit this one. 

It's only been open 4 weeks but the only way you'd really know is by how fresh and pristine the furnishings are. The staff are really slick and professional, and you'd never guess they were all pretty much new to the business (some staff have moved over from Eurocentral/Edinburgh). As you might guess from the outside of the building, the interior is dark, masculine and yet cosy. We had a drink in the bar and were really well looked after by the staff who were so professional yet chatty and friendly. The cocktail menu is impressive and I really enjoyed the passionfruit punch which I think was around £8. There's few bars in Glasgow as classy and refined as this one - here, it's not about being "seen", which is trap a lot of other places have fallen into (snooze). It's discreet and comfortable, perfect for being able to enjoy a drink and properly relax. We were in the bar for about half an hour and it was amazingly relaxing. 

We then headed down for dinner - we were the only people dining as we were eating at 5.30pm. There's leather booths and again, dark timber decor but really nicely done so it's very classy and slick. The menu is very traditional - there's nothing really that "out there" in terms of adventurous food. As we were limited with how much time we had, we just had mains - I had the special fish of the day, sea bass with jersey royals, spinach and hollandaise and Graeme had the chicken kiev. 

The sea bass was amazing. Probably the best sea bass I've ever eaten - the skin was cooked so perfectly that it was really rich and crispy while the flesh was still soft and succulent. The accompaniments were all lovely but the real side-highlight was the dauphinoise potatoes. Utter cheesy perfection. Our bill for a main each and sides, a cocktail each and a carafe of wine came to £70 which we both agreed was really great value. Next time we'll go back for a more relaxed meal! 

I need to mention again just how great the staff were - John, the restaurant manager was really friendly and chatty, and made sure we were looked after perfectly. I can't wait to go back and we'll probably stay over next time!