Restaurant REVIEW

1 LOCATION

Halfway between the West End and Maryhill on Queen Margaret Drive.

2 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

This week’s cover star, Robert Carlyle, made this place famous. The scene in Trainspotting where Begbie throws a pint glass over a balcony was filmed here. The balcony remains – but the bar has had a facelift, with trendy copper pipes and sparkly lights under a ceiling adorned with a blue sky.

3 SERVICE

Very accommodating – we asked to move to the famous balcony on a whim. No problem!

4 MENU

Rotisserie chicken is the Kelbourne Saint’s speciality and features a St Brides chicken, considered the best in the UK. You can try to gobble a whole one for £22. Surely not even Begbie is brave enough to try that?

5 TASTE

A full chicken arrives standing vertically to attention. It’s tender and juicy, a cut above tasteless supermarket chicken. My partner orders half of the special peri-peri chicken, which zings as if directed by Danny Boyle. No complaints.

6 PRICE

The smallest portion starts at £7 for a quarter chicken, then you have to add on a side. So not enormously cheap and, with drinks, it’ll be around £40 for two people.

7 AMBIENCE

It’s a cold Friday night in January but there’s no sign of dry January or veganuary. Lively, without being rowdy. Comfy booths, too.

8 SOMETHING SPECIAL

Great cocktails for a chicken rotisserie. The Kelbourne Saint is a cocktail which includes “chicken-washed Talisker”. Chicken-flavoured booze? It certainly doesn’t taste fowl.

9 TOILETS

Kelbourne Saint has only been open a few months and the toilets look brand new. You won’t be stain-spotting. Sorry.

10 VERDICT

Fans of chicken have had to put up with deep fried Kentucky grub for too long. The Saint will hopefully go marching on. 16/20