Glasgowist celebrates eight years of neighbourhood favourite Ox and Finch

It all started from pop-up dining events at SWG3, the music and arts venue that’s doubled as an occasional restaurant incubator by the Clyde.

Owner Jonathan MacDonald worked with fellow chef Daniel Spurr as they set out the concept: "A lot of the dishes and ideas were formed through those initial events.

"Ox and Finch was also shaped by the place itself, working out what works in the space, what we can do in this kitchen," he says.

The creative small plates that populate the menu span an ever-changing roster of influences. Confit duck leg, peas, wild garlic and morteau sausage.

A plump, hand-dived scallop dressed in miso butter and black garlic. Smoked haddock with herb gnocchi, leeks and cured egg yolk.Pineapple carpaccio, coconut, lime and tarragon curd.

"We are always refreshing the menu," Jonathan says "but we try to stick to the same ethos. Both Daniel and I had a fine-dining background and we wanted to open somewhere that had those cooking credentials but that had a low key, casual, neighbourhood vibe with no airs and graces. That’s the one principle that we have stuck with over the years."

The sense of community around Ox and Finch has been a part of its success. The menu is an ongoing conversation, led by a crew of talented chefs who respond to vocal and engaged customers, locals who treat the place as part of their natural social setting and provide feedback to shape the most popular dishes.

"It’s one of the reasons we’ve not opened another Ox and Finch," Jonathan says.

"We’ve been asked to do that and approached with locations in other cities. I just couldn’t get my head around how you would recreate it. It would lose something if you did it anywhere else other than this little corner."

Note that their location also allows for a small suntrap row of outside tables where you can enjoy an Aperol spritz at this time of year.

The restaurant has retained many of the staff that established the business but Ox and Finch has also helped kickstart the career of colleagues, some of whom have gone on to make their own mark.

"Craig who was a sous chef with us is now in London at The Harwood Arms, then Ian who was our first pastry chef has gone on to open Tantrum Doughnuts, so there are great successes like that and we’ve also got the folk that have grown with the business.

"The general manager of Ka Pao was one of the first kitchen porters at Ox and Finch when he was 17. Pretty much everyone who is in a senior position across the three restaurants has been promoted through the team."

Jonathan brings us up to date by mentioning Ka Pao, the sister restaurant inspired by Southeast Asian flavours matched with Scottish produce located on Vinicombe Street, which recently spawned a new version in Edinburgh’s St James Quarter.

After a stop-start debut, the popular venue has become one of the most talked-about food places in the city.

Ka Pao was awarded a Bib Gourmand status in the latest Michelin Guide, made all the more remarkable due to its challenging start to life in the West End.

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"We’ve been through so many guises already. Closing not long after opening, then making takeaways and dining boxes. Closing completely then opening under restrictions. It has felt like a bit of a new dawn for us in the last few weeks."

For the summer menu, expect lighter dishes alongside the established favourites.

There’s stir-fried greens with Scottish asparagus cooked in a wok with Southeast Asian flavours. Seared scallop with shredded cabbage and pomegranate alongside whole grilled fish on the specials board.

Their caramelised fried chicken has a cult following but even that is currently being examined.

"That’s a bit controversial in the kitchen at the moment," Jonathan laughs, "we sell it by the bucket load but we are always looking at the recipes, trying to keep things interesting in the kitchen and always thinking about what’s going to be the next big thing on the menu."

oxandfinch.com