Miller & Carter opened in the city centre earlier this month. They have restored 47 St Vincent’s Street to its former glory, creating a distinctive dining room in a building that was previously a post office and, before that, a bank. The transformation is impressive and the restaurant is already gaining a following.
Their menu boasts a selection of impressive cuts of meat that can be expertly grilled in their open kitchen then paired with crispy onion loaf, a dressed iceberg wedge and a grilled balsamic-glazed tomato before being served up, ideally with a glass of red wine or a cocktail.
We visited to sit down with manager Bob McQuarrie and explore Glasgow’s newest steakhouse.
Glasgowist: So, where did you work before this.
Bob: Well I’ve worked for Mitchell and Butler [who own the Miller & Carter chain] for about 10 years. I previously ran the Curler’s Rest in the West End, I worked there for about four years.
And in terms of this project when did you actually get involved?
I spoke to the region manager in February last year about the role as I had heard this was happening in the December before that. We only have one other Miller & Carter in Scotland, so when I knew I was going to be involved here I took a week out and went round seven or eight Miller & Carter restaurants down south to gauge what it was like. It’s a mix of suburban and city centre restaurants – suburban is very laid-back, very relaxed while city centre there’s more of a buzz to it.
How much of what we see in the new restaurant is influenced by the other branches? How much of this is particular to Glasgow?
Not being biased, but I think this is the most stunning restaurant that Miller & Carter have, we have a few old banks already but I think this is just a cut above, the glamour of the building, a listed building as well.
What are the challenges there? it’s great to have such an imposing space but you had to then put a restaurant in it.
[Laughs] Well, there’s never been a restaurant here, so it starts with things like where the designers or the engineers want to drill a hole for the electrics or the plumbing. Then, downstairs there are a couple of safe doors – we literally couldn’t move them, so we’ve left them as a feature. In the dining room it was great to see the oak panels restored to their original glory. They brought in the French polishers and for me, I love that trade and it was wonderful to see them going to town on it and making it look really, really good. We’ve put in huge kitchen fans and an open kitchen area, we had to make that into a natural fit with the room and you can look in now and see the chefs at work.
Looking around, it’s the type of dining room that would generate a good atmosphere, is that what you have found so far?
To see people in the restaurant is great, our first night we kept things small and then we’ve been running the lunch menu with about 100 people, then on Wednesday night we had about 170 guests to get the team ticking and it was great to see the buzz. Then, we get people asking if they can have a quiet table and we’re not really sure where that is yet! We’re figuring out the room. There’s already a few tables that I like sitting at.
What’s the best seat in the house then?
For me, if I was coming in at night time, that corner over there [points to far table at entrance side of the room] that’s where you can sit and you can see everything that’s happening. That’s just me, in the industry you like to be able to look around, if I’m out with my wife she’ll moan at me because I’m watching how long things take or if there’s a lightbulb that’s out or whatever. But that’s the table where I think people can just relax and take in the atmosphere.
Tell me about the steak. What’s the quintessential Carter & Miller experience, what are you all about?
For us, our motto is “for the love of steak”. We use Scotch beef, not Scottish – we’ve got the team trained up so they know the difference.
Wait, what is the difference?
Scotch beef is born, reared and bought in Scotland. Scottish beef can be an English cow that was butchered in Scotland. I’ll give you an example, smoked Scottish salmon is Scottish salmon that’s been smoked here. Scottish smoked salmon could be Norwegian salmon that’s been smoked here.
That blew my mind a wee bit.
Well that’s part of the training here and we actually took all our team to the farm to show them exactly where our steak comes from. We did a mini steak school and took fifty staff to the Gaindykehead farm in Airdrie. Imagine you are starting a new job and they say on the first day bring your wellies because we’re going to the farm? [Laughs]. After that it was back to Glasgow for a butchery demonstration as we have a team that do our own cuts here and we want the staff to be able to tell our customers about them. It’s great to see them now talking about steak at the table.
Who is coming through the door since you opened?
We always want to make a special night. Because of the size of the place, the location and the price-point we’re already seeing people coming back a number of times which is great to see. We want people from the local office to come in and try the lunch menu and make sure they can get fed during their lunch hour. We’re doing speed trials in the kitchen! It’s starting to all click in.
You’ve a beautiful big bar too.
People have been popping into the bar to see what it’s all about. We want people to come in before their meal and enjoy a cocktail. For me, when I was a barman years ago I would have loved a bar like this, you can see the whole restaurant from there.
What’s your favourite dish on the menu?
The 12-inch sirloin steak is just an awesome slab of meat. We also have a very nice 10-inch fillet on the bone. It has a strong dry-aged taste, it has a fantastic flavour. We do an old school American steakhouse thing where we serve what we call a wedge. It’s a crisp iceberg lettuce which we give a dressing and some toppings and it’s a great way to prepare for the steak coming out. Oh, and we also do a half roast chicken with a Jack Daniels glaze on it. They are my go-to meals.
Miller & Carter Glasgow
47 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, G2 5QX
T: 0141 243 2615
