Last night I attended a bloggers event at Glasgow’s Crossing the Rubicon (CRT), a restaurant specialising in small curry plates and craft beer. I had been planning to visit this place since I first heard about them because craft beer and curry are kind of exactly my scene, so I was super excited about the event.
We were handed a glass of bubbles as we arrived and were soon making ourselves comfortable in the restaurant. Incidentally, the restaurant is gorgeous. The walls are covers in murals, mostly of elephants from where I was sitting, and everything is very comfy and inviting. I just loved the vibe of the place.
Anyway, we got looking at the extensive beer menu and I was kind of spoilt for choice. Their beer menu is several pages long and had beers I’d never tried before on every page. It makes for an interesting twist on the standard curry tapas places I’ve been before which are definitely, 100% restaurants. While CRT is definitely a restaurant, with a beer list like this I wouldn’t feel awkward sitting in the bar area for a couple of pints. No doubt I’d eventually be tempted by the food, but I don’t think it would ever be a big deal if I wasn’t. Case in point: They run a pub quiz on Sundays.
In the end, I ordered a half pint of Bombay Dazzler, a wheat beer made by Northern Monk in collaboration with Gateway Brewing Co. Yeah, not exactly a Kingfisher, is it? It’s a delicious, refreshing, lightly sweet wheat beer with just a hint of spice to it. A perfect beer to drink with curry.
Good thing too, because curry was exactly what we got. We’d already been nibbling on popadoms with spiced onions and chutneys and soon out came pakora – both meaty and meat-free. This was followed by paratha served with channa salad, rice, raita, and a dahl.
One thing that struck my about CRT was how vegetarian-friendly the menu was. Not that I’m a vegetarian by any means, but when one third of the menu is vegan-friendly, and one third is veggie-friendly, I have to be impressed. This is definitely somewhere I’d recommend to any vegetarian friends.
Anyway, I got to try the chicken pakora and the black pudding pakora, both of which were delicious but the black pudding was a favourite of mine. I love black pudding anyway, but they’d given it a little kick of spice which just made them entirely too moreish. This was beautifully balanced by the fresh channa salad which was light, slightly citrusy and full of crunchy fresh bell peppers. I only wish they’d warned us how much food there was going to be because a whole lot more curry was going to follow.
Starting with more vegetarian options. We got to try sweet potato and roasted carrot curry korma, tarka dahl, crispy tofu mutter and gobi kali mirch. Oh my god. So, everyone’s favourite was the sweet potato and carrot korma (which was certainly great) but I thought an unsung hero was the crispy tofu mutter. It was so light and so crisp and so delicate and I could happily have eaten nothing else… except that the curries kept coming and, y’know, it would be rude not to.
So on it went and of the meat curries that arrived, we got to try the Tandoori Butter Chicken and the Venison Madras. I am a big fan of butter chicken and I always find it hard to avoid ordering it when it appears on a menu – this one was unlike others I’ve tried. It still had that beautiful velvety, almost sweet chicken, but unusually it was served in a rich tomato masala sauce.
The venison madras knocked my socks off. Madras is not a dish I’d normally order, but this was properly spicy and absolutely packed with ginger, which I loved. The venison was served as ultra tender koftas that just fell apart on my fork and this is definitely one I’d order again. Ideally, as soon as possible.
Finally, when we thought we were all about to burst, out came a desert. It was a chocolate pot. Rich, dark chocolate in a pot with a couple of spoons. The kind of desert that the four-year-old me would be proud to know I was enjoying. It was super rich, smooth and thick and, astonishingly, vegan.
Finally, before we left we were each given a gift of Crossing the Rubicon India Pale Ale to take home and enjoy. This one’s made by Drygate Brewery specifically for CRT. I’d already tried a half pint while we were in the restaurant and it’s a solid IPA of exactly the kind you’d expect from Drygate.
As we left Crossing the Rubicon I felt like I had to come back as soon as possible, or perhaps as soon as I got hungry again (which, judging by this meal, might not be for a couple of weeks). Even with having tried so many things, there’s still plenty on the menu that I can’t wait to taste. Hopefully, I’ll get the chance to soon.
Edit [21/02/2017]:
Other bloggers have been talking about this event too. If I’ve not quite convinced you yet, you can read all about it at the following pages:
In Becky's Head 
Coincidentally, I was randomly browsing Google Maps the other day and had noticed that this place had changed again (it’s one of those units that can’t seem to keep a business in it for long) and clicked through and had a look. Like you, I was impressed at the quantity of veggie and vegan dishes available. I think I’ll definitely have to pay it a visit (and since it’s not hugely far from the Botanic Gardens, I think a pre-show dinner before Bard in the Botanics is likely, if not before).
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Yeah, I thought that. It seemed to do well as the Beir Halle for years but rumour has it that there was a disagreement with an energy company and it all went wrong.
Anyway, I really hope this one sticks around, it’s a great addition to this part of Woodlands (and yes, would be an ideal pre-BitB treat).
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