A Date With Raffaelle
Whenever a new food
establishment opens up it always creates interest from the consumers, you can’t
help but look in the windows to see what it’s like or what’s happening. This
was exactly my response as I walked past the newly opened restaurant Raffaelles in Bearsden last week. I may add it was a busy night for me resulting with me ending up at the chippie for dinner (so much for healthy eating) and I couldn’t help but feel the awkwardness of me dashing past in casual clothes
compared to those well-dressed customers sitting in the restaurant next door.
It looked busy and it always has since the venue opened.
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| Photograph sourced from Raffaelles |
Every time I get home
I’m always saying to my mum we should make a visit to Raffaelles so with that I made a
booking for Mother’s Day. Understandably I was phoning four days before the day itself, it was to be expected the restaurant would be busy and I may not get a reservation. We were happy to fit in with whatever time they gave us to which we were fortunate enough to get a booking for 1pm on Mother’s Day.
I was quite looking forward to this and getting to see what the hustle and
bustle was about and with that I made sure it became my priority to check out
the menu prior to our visit. I’m not a fussy eater but in regards to my IBS
(see previous blogs) I do have to avoid various dishes that may contain garlic
and chilli but from what the menu showed me I had numerous options to choose
from.
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| Aperol Spritz |
The website Raffaelles confirms although this is the first venture
into the restaurant business, the family behind the brand have been serving the
local community in the fast food business for over thirty years.
Looking in from the
outside it doesn’t do the restaurant justice. It looks lovely inside but a bit small however once you’re inside the venue it becomes more opened up and there is additional eating-places
upstairs. The restaurant hosts a very relaxed atmosphere with pale décor creating
a calm and chilled feel about the place. The venue has put in a lot more windows compared to the previous place opening the restaurant up a lot more. The restaurant is brightly lit and
holds a lively and enthusiastic environment.
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| Pollo Involtini |
After being greeted by a
very polite and friendly male host we were shown to our table and asked if we
would like our jackets to be stored for us whilst we were eating. The tables
were close to each other yet it didn’t create a cramped feeling. Being Mother’s
Day there was a special menu created for the day offering two or three courses
at a fixed price. The menu sounded delicious, every option made my mouth water.
To begin with we ordered drinks and staying local to the restaurant I made
sure Mum and I were having wine and cocktails to enjoy her day. Mum chose red wine and I had an Aperol Spritz:
a combination of soda water, prosecco and aperol. I finally decided on pollo
involtini for my main course, which was a lemon and thyme risotto, served round
chicken with mozzarella cheese in the middle and my word it was delicious! My
lunch was just beautiful. I finished the full dish (which is a rare occasion
for me). I then had the pane e burro budino to follow which was a bread and butter
style pudding served with ice cream. This was the perfect dessert to finish off
my meal.
Due to it being Mother’s
Day we had to give the table back two hours later after our booking, which was
more than enough time to enjoy our lunch and have some catch up time together.
Our day was lovely and the staff were so friendly and helpful, going out of
their way to help us. We had our own server who continuously made sure we had
enough water and drinks. They also made sure we were satisfied with our meals and
offered in regards to my IBS if I needed garlic or any ingredient taken out of
my dishes they would do that for me.
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| Bread & Butter Pudding. |
For me this little
Italian treasure is just what the community needed. A new establishment with a
breath of fresh air, somewhere offering appropriately priced food and drinks
bringing new excitement to the town. Being Mother’s Day I paid for mum to
enjoy her dinner, it was slightly higher prices than a normal eatery but my
food was delicious, I was more than happy to pay the price plus in the
marketing world prices reflect not only quality but location too. I will
definitely be back, this establishment is a winner in my eyes and what makes it
an added bonus is that it’s local.
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