I told ya it wouldn't be long until my next visit to the Tempus restaurant at the Grand Central Hotel after my recent trip in October. With hotel restaurants often being overlooked, Tempus is an absolute gem in the heart of Glasgow (literally a 30 second walk when you get off the train in central station) and over the years has played host to our annual blogger christmas shennanigans, organised by my lovely pal Laura. In 2015 and 2016 we had a sleepover in the hotel with food from the restaurant served in the comfort of our suite! However this year the festive period has been a bit crazy busy for everyone, so we ended up just going for dinner rather than staying over. Lynsay - your ears are saved from my snoring for one more year!
We came straight from the Specsavers event at Bo Concept (hence the festive braid and glitter roots - thanks Blow!) down the hill from Sauchiehall Street to Tempus on a chilly evening at the start of December. It was only a 10 minute walk, but I'm glad that walk was downhill as I am currently carrying a very heavy lil bubs, and getting out and about is becoming increasingly difficult as the weeks go on. Since hitting the 3rd trimester my appetite has decreased (savage, I know) and I'm putting it down to the fact that as baby grows bigger there just isn't as much space in there for all the food I want to consume! So with a very festive 3 courser on the way I knew I had to pace myself. Did that stop me getting fired into the canapes on arrival... unfortunately not. They were delicious!
Butternut Squash Bon Bons, mini sundried tomato and olive filled bagels, and Paprika Popcorn.
To start - Cairnsmore Goats Cheese, with pickled beetroot, red onion jam and candied walnuts.
The main - Pan Fried Rainbow Trout, with puy lentils, crispy bacon and sauce vierge
For Dessert - 'A Taste Of Winter' with brown sugar meringue, spiced plums, candied clementine, sorbet and mascarpone.
We were ordering from the festive menu, which starts at £15.95 per per person and is available until the 30th of December. Each of the courses I had were nice and light, but filling at the same time, and again I was impressed by Tempus use of local Scottish produce. My feedback from the last visit was that there weren't many veggie options for my friend Emma, and I was really pleased to see that the festive menu catered more generously for the vegetarians in our party (Lori, Lynsay and Amanda) There's nothing worse than going for dinner with your pal and feeling guilty of the lack of choice available for them. Luckily most restaurants in Glasgow are on the pulse when it comes to varied options for Vegetarians, Vegans and Gluten Free. With clean plates all round, and everyone feeling rather stuffed and satisfied we ended up taking the shortbread, stollen and mince pie for afters in little doggy bags to take home.
Food and festivities aside, the best thing about blogging for me is the people I have met and the friends I've made. People who will be friends for years to come. I still find it amazing that all of the ladies in the pictures above (Lynsay, Lis, Laura, Ruth, Lori, and not forgetting Amanda) I met through this tiny little corner of the internet. Thank you Laura for bringing a group of us together every December without fail. Thank you to the gals above, and to all of you, for being a friend to me, whether it's been over the internet or in person too. Thank you for reading this blog, reaching out to me when I have been down, following my journey, and for sharing your own with me too. I hope you have a wonderful time over the holidays wherever you are and whoever you spend it with. And thank you to this little blog for bringing me friends for life - not just for Christmas.
